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Hi Guys, If you do happen to travel the Oodnadatta Track, There is a caravan park at Leigh Ck which is Ok and the pub has a great feed too. There is also another van park about 5 kms past Leigh Ck called Copley. It too has a van park and the pub there has a fantastic (country pub) feed and there is a good pie shop there too and is famous for their Quondong pies. I would recommend staying here over Leigh Ck. Make sure you plan a night at Farina Station. It is only about 70kms from Copley and there is 28 kms of dirt starting from Lyndhurst. There is not a lot to see around Lyndhurst. (Lyndhurst is actually in the middle of Farina Station). Faria Stn would be one of the best camping areas is SA Outback Donkey showers and flushing loos and grassed camp sites. If you don't have timber, you can buy sleepers from the owners Once at Farina Stn head to the camp ground and set up as to can walk to all the sites of interest (the ruins, cemetery,old railway bridge). The owners are Kevin and Anne Dawes …………… say G'day if you see them as they are really great people. You may even find that the bakery is open. If it is, it has the best cream buns in the world. The next stop to think about is Coward Springs is a great overnight stop or you can detour at Maree and head out to Mulcoorina Station. It is a beautiful spot but you will have to backtrack (but worth it if time permits). Turn right about 2kms west of Maree and travel 50 kms (all good dirt roads) It is beautiful. It has a large waterway and plenty of bird life. When you get there you will come to the small toilet block, look to your right and you will see a single date palm in the distance. Just past there is a beautiful camp spot at the very end of the road and has plenty of room to turn the van around. You have to take your own wood for the fire. You will have to back track for this spot too. The next spot along the Oodnadatta track is Coward Springs …………….. a must. It has a thermal bore pool and is wonderful. You can have fires there also On the way to William Creek there are a few things to see along the way if you choose.William Creek Hotel is a must for lunch and then onto Oodnadatta. Oodnadatta to the hwy is the Painted desert and it is spectacular. We also lived in Alice Springs and travelled it extensively and know of a lot of beautiful locations that are "not so well known" and very worthy of a visit. Guys I hope this helps and if you need any additional info , give us a call as we have extensively travelled and worked in the whole area you are looking to travel in and have a lot more info if required Hope it can help you Steve

G’day All We are still researching vans and are down to Bushtracker and Kedron. My question is will the XC3 (second hand), or XC5 (new), be capable to undertake corrugated roads over long distances? We will be travelling roads such as the Gibb River Road, Savannah Way, Cape York,etc. etc. the list goes on and on… Obviously the correct speed and tyre pressures are crucial, but I am looking for information on the vans capability. Thanks John

Many thanks Chris, I’ll call MacDonnell Ranges Park today. That was one of the places I was planning on staying at. Both Curtis Springs and Redbank George sound good. I was also thinking of Ormiston Gorge in the West MacDonnell. I like the idea of the Oodnadatta. We did it a few years ago as far as William Creek and stayed at both the Flinders and North Flinders. Absolutely love the place, esp. Arkaroola and keen to go back. I looked up the wildlife park. Looks great, I’ll add it the itinerary. We’re planning on selling our van shortly after the trip so my thinking was that this time we’d try to keep dirt roads to a minimum to reduce damage to the van. Perhaps I’m being too precious in regards to this... Anyway, we’re hoping to be back in the area with the new van in the following year in which case we would definitely do the Oodnadatta and the Flinders.

In Alice Springs, book well ahead as it gets very busy there. We like the MacDonnell Ranges caravan park for the size of the sites and the facilities. Consider staying a night at the Curtin Springs freecamp on the Lassiter Hwy before getting to Uluru, and then it is a short cruise in to Uluru. There are other freecamps closer to The Rock but we haven’t stayed at them. Have you thought about taking the Oodnadatta Track as an alternative to the Stuart Hwy either on the way up or back? A great trip with the added advantage of going through the Flinders Ranges first. I love the Flinders and have a couple of favourite camp sites there. in Alice, the Wildlife Park is a must. And while you are in the region, and if you have the time, go see the West MacDonnell Ranges. My all time favourite camp is Redbank Gorge, at the ridgetop site.