Campers in Australia's Outback can explore the continent from south to north

The Washington Post ^ | 28 March, 2010 | The Washington Post

[James C. Bennett]

There was a pretty good chance that I'd cry. After all, most of my outdoorsy ambitions had come to an end when I was 8 years old, at an overnight Girl Scout camp in Brandon, Miss. Bee sting. Horseflies. Vow never to endure again.

Yet now, at 24, here I was on a nearly 2,000-mile camping trip across the Australian Outback, the vast "Never Never" that foiled countless explorers and made the 2005 Aussie horror flick "Wolf Creek" (think serial killer plus backpackers plus complete remoteness) so terrifying.

Reactions from relatives and friends to news of my continent-spanning road trip, from Adelaide to Darwin, from campground to campground, had been unanimously faithless: "You? Sleeping outside? Aren't there snakes?"

Yes, yes and yes.

But it's Australia, I explained. Visiting without experiencing some sort of adventure is like visiting without seeing a kangaroo. (Of course, some might say that just setting foot in Oz is adventurous enough: The country does have a remarkable number of lethal critters.)

[James C. Bennett]

 

Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock, is climbed by an estimated 100,000 people annually. (Clemens Emmler/Laif)

 

 

Campers negotiate the harsh and rugged terrain of central Australia, which in ancient times was covered with water. (Megan Voelkel)

 

Camels have roamed inland Australia since the mid-1800s. (iStockphoto)

 

The Daly Waters Pub is chock-full of items left behind by tourists. (Megan Voelkel)

[AussieJoe]

Nice pics.

My wife and I spent our honeymoon bush camping around the middle of Australia, making our way back home via the Simpson desert. 5 weeks in all, with a couple of 2-week stretches during which we didn’t see another white human being, thanks to the 75 gallon diesel and 50 gallon water tanks in the Landcruiser.

I was a little disappointed to see how developed Uluru had become since my previous visits. Nothing but coaches full of Japanese tourists, and all the associated gift shop trinkets. Everything paved and fenced off... nothing like when we used to camp in the shadow of the rock.

It was hilarious when we came in from the West which they had been told by the tour guide that there was nothing but desert for hundreds of miles in that direction. They thought we were mr & mrs Dundee! ...we’re in at least a dozen Japanese holiday photo albums. LOL.

The only minor hiccup was a front CV joint that self destructed a few hundred miles from Alice Springs, so we had to make our way in on 3 wheel drive.... good times.