Having worked in tourism, I can tell you that one of the biggest challenges is getting 'families' to travel to the red centre - it's just hot, hard and not very child friendly - this doesn't change with the time of year - it's just even harder if it's raining. However as an adult, it's so, so amazing! The spirituality, the silence, the big sky. Just, wow!
Regarding best time of year: It's desert, so really there is a wet season and a dry season, it's pretty much stinking hot all year round. Having said that, the nights in the colder months can be freezing. I went in May - it was perfect. My advice would be: April/May (autumn) or August/ early Sept (spring). That way you miss the worst of the cold nights (June /July) and it's not too hot (Dec - Feb).
If you decide on Kakadu, go during the dry season, without doubt. More details on seasons: http://www.travelnt.com//
If you're definitely going to Noosa, I would really look into the East Coast. It's hugely popular for a reason. You can definitely campervan your way down with the kids. Cairns follows the same wet/dry seasons as above, but once you get a bit further south you want to be in there anytime from spring to early autumn, so Oct through to April, so you can enjoy the beach. It's a dry beautiful coastal heat.
Summary:
Red Centre (Ayers Rock etc) is the most amazing, wonderful experience for fit, healthy adults without a doubt! A lot of walking in extreme heat, but worth every step. Time of year: April/May or August/ early Sept
Kakadu and Arnhem Land (aboriginal territory) is amazing for adults and kids alike. Time of year: as above, but double check that on trip advisor. Ideally you want to go at the tail end of rainy season when all the water holes and waterfalls are full but the rains have stopped.
East Coast, October through to April ideally. Beachy, great for kids. Not quite as unique and wow as the red centre (especially if you've travelled the world as you have! Give me a Greek island any day. The people lack a little sophistication) Although look up sailing in the Whitsundays & Great Barrier reef - one of the worlds natural wonders - it's heavenly.
My vote is leave the kids behind (they will thank you) and go to the red centre! Do romantic stuff like dining under the stars, watching an electrical storm roll across the desert, eat crocodile, ride a camel, take a ride on the back of a Harley at sunset etc. Ayers Rock (Uluru) exceeded all my expectations. It's a 10km solid walk around the base - do it with an aboriginal guide to really appreciate the incredible spirituality and significance. this would be so tough on little kids. A helicopter ride is a must, not sure your budget, but I can imagine this would get costly for everyone to go. The distances you travel between sites are so enormous with nothing to see, it's like staring out at the ocean: adults enjoy the contemplation, but not sure about kids, if you know what i mean...
Adventure Tours campsite in Kings Canyon ;)
Red Centre
First up, the red centre is ah-mazing. I feel it's my duty to warn you, however: It's not very family friendly (I've thrown in some alternative suggestions below). The distances between sites are HUGE, flat and a tad boring (red dirt for 4 hours as far as you can see). It's all about walking, hiking and driving in quite extreme heat. It's kinda like hiking in the alps: beautiful, magical, spiritual, but physically a little challenging and maybe not so fun for little kids. The bugs (remember you'll be camping!) won't kill you but - eeek! Having said that, I am sure you will make whatever you do fun!
Best time of Year
March vs Oct: October! Hot and DRY - this is what you want! Esp if camping. March is our autumn/beginning of wet season. Could still be ok, but risky. October is still 'spring', so not the hottest time of year (phewf), and the heat is actually pleasant, it's dry and breezy. It gets cold at night which is lovely.
Distances
Visitors always underestimate distances in Oz: It's a 4 hr drive from Alice to Kings Canyon (a must-see) with nothing but red dessert in between. Then another 4 hours drive to Uluru (Ayers Rock). "Are we there yet, are we there yet?" x 5.
Getting there
Either fly straight to Uluru or Alice (Alice is a bit of a shit-hole of backpackers, drunks and white trash rednecks - just sayin'! But if you do end up in Alice, there are still things to do - outlined below).
Accommodation
The best best way to do the red centre is to camp (as i mentioned; glamp, with permanent tents and nice camp sites!) I went with Adventure Tours Australia - could not recommend them enough. Beautiful creusset casserole dishes cooked in a coal camp fire, clean elevated campsites and buses etc. There is a 4 or 5 star hotel at Uluru which I've heard is amazing, the ultimate glamping!
Must do's
Kings Canyon, the Olgas, helicopter ride, harley ride through the desert (seriously!) all from Kings Canyon (plan extra $ for these things outside any tour package price). Sunset drinks looking on to Uluru and sunrise walk around the rock (10km) - phenomenal. Of course there are things like Aboriginal dance/dinner touristy things, worth it to get a basic sense of aboriginal culture in limited time. Hearing the didgeridoo in the desert is truly an amazing experience.
If you do end up in Alice, there are lots of aboriginal experiences (dinner & dance, art galleries etc), I also did a sunset camel ride + dinner which was great and went to the astronomical observatory where we learnt aboriginal stories of the southern skies. There's a reptile zoo etc. Aboriginal spirituality is just wonderfully linked to the land, and you really feel it in the red centre.
Territory Discoveries is a good start for all things Red Centre, Darwin and beyond:
Darwin & Kakadu
Other suggestion (with kids in mind) would be Darwin, Litchfield and Kakadu (amazing! Swimming in water holes, croc tours, feeding baramundi, eating crazy stuff like termites (yummy citrus flavour!) jumping off water falls, aboriginal experiences etc. And you can fly from Darwin to Uluru afterwards.
Weather: unlike the desert, the heat is subtropical & humid.
East Coast
OR Cairns, Cape Tribulation and Great Barrier Reef. You could fly to Cairns and travel down the East Coast to Noosa! Hugely popular trip with whitsundays, Fraser Is & more in between! 3 daysailing, snorkelling and swimming in the whitsundays is the closest you'll get to heaven on earth!
Weather: The heat is pretty lovely in October - great coastal breezes. March could also be ok as it's the end of summer & not yet rainy season.
So let me know roughly what you end up deciding on, where you end up flying to and how much time you have and then I can send more detailed suggestions.
Do you have a travel agent for flights etc? If not, I may know someone who can do your flights plus help with tour/travel suggestions (I used to work with her in a domestic travel agency).
Hi Sarah,
With 8-9 days you should be able to cover a lot of ground in the outback. We really enjoyed our time there but we spent fewer days so we could also hit the Great Barrier Reef and Sydney. I don't recall a lot of camper vans, and if you're planning the Mereenie Loop Road (see below) a 4WD is a must. Here's our day-by-day schedule although there is plenty of room to stretch it for a longer stay.
- We flew into Ayers Rock Resort where we stayed at Sails in the Desert. If I remember correctly it's the nicest accommodation there (at least if you are taking kids), although like most places in Australia hotels aren't usually terribly fancy. The outback is certainly no exception. We basically just settled in and went to the Uluru visitor's centre, then had dinner.
- We spent most of the day walking around Uluru. People CAN climb it during parts of the year, although the aboriginal peoples discourage that. We figured around was good for us. We were there in summer and really rationed our water to the point where Marnie and Jeff accused us of abuse, then found at least two refill stations on the trail. That night we ate at Pioneer BBQ, where you buy your raw meat and grill it yourself. Angie and I had the outback combo: kangaroo, crocodile, emu sausage and beef sausage. We ended the night driving part way to Uluru and stargazing with the help of the Night Sky apps on our phones and/or iPads.
- The next day we took a hike in Kata Tjuta (The Olgas). We parked at the main parking area (P on the map below), walked in (right), then turned right (counter-clockwise) and did about half of the loop. It was a very nice hike and we should have gone all the way around. I think we thought the rest of the loop was longer. We also drove over and watched Uluru during the sunset, then had dinner back at the resort.
http://www.planetware.com/i/map/AUS/kata-tjuta-uluru-the- olgas-ayers-rock-map.jpg - Day four we left Yulara and drove to Kings Canyon (Watarrka National Park). Did a short walk to Kathleen Springs in the afternoon but it wasn't worth it. Lunch and dinner both at the resort, which was the only option. The camel burger (with a beet on it) was great. The second restaurant (by the gas station / store) was closed.
- We woke up and did the rim walk around Kings Canyon. It was great, although we got caught in a HUGE rainstorm and ended up soaked to the bone. All part of the fun, right. We drove the Mereenie Loop Road to Alice Springs. Definitely ask about weather conditions first. I think we were supposed to register at the store, but we missed that step. Anyway I was accused of trying to kill the whole family with my crazy driving, which you can see (or at least hear) on the video linked below. We turned off and drove into Alice Springs through West McDonnell NP. In Alice Springs we stayed in a two-bedroom at Alice on Todd Apartments. Simple but OK. I'm not sure what the hotel situation was there, but the apartment worked fine for us with 6 people. We had dinner at the Juicy Rump (good food and plenty of jokes there) and two of the hostesses were LDS women from New Zealand. If we are ever together again ask me to tell you the story from the Juicy Rump. It's hilarious, but needs to be told in person.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZG6P1t9IkFM - Last day in the outback. We didn't find that much to do in Alice Springs but we hadn't seen any kangaroos yet so we went on a quest to find some. We drove out to the telegraph park and saw tons of them, plus big nasty reptiles and other wildlife as well. Flew out of Alice Springs.
Other links -
The Frommer's page we used as a starting point: http://www.frommers.com/
Our family newsletter for the month: http://www.
My FB photo album for the trip: https://www.facebook.
OK, that's a lot of information. Digest all that and come back to me if you have more questions about the places. Enjoy!
