With World-Heritage Listed National Parks and endless desert plains, the drive from Alice Springs to Adelaide is an experience that cannot be replicated in any other part of the world – and our cheap campervan and 4WD hire lets you truly sleep under the Outback stars! Rich in Indigenous history and culture, the land is as much a place to be revered for its beauty as its spiritual heritage. Alice Springs is a quirky little Outback town, with a bunch of colourful locals and pubs – it’s a great place to begin your campervan or 4WD hire adventure! Before starting your campervan adventure, be sure to pop in to the Visitors Centre to grab a few maps and brochures. The guys in the Alice Springs Visitors Centre are very helpful and can also provide you with heaps of information about the surrounding landscape – and the best place to stay for the night in your Wicked Campervan or 4WD Hire vehicle!
The World Heritage-listed Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park covers an area over 311,000 acres. Uluru (Ayers Rock) - is one of the world’s largest monoliths. Uluru is 348 metres at its tallest point: 43 metres higher than Sydney’s Centrepoint Tower, 24 metres higher than the Eiffel Tower, and just 33 metres lower than the Empire State Building. You’ve come too far not to see this amazing natural wonder!!!
The West MacDonnell Ranges and the incredible Kings Canyon are definitely worth a couple of days exploring in your Campervan or 4WD!
Once you get back onto the Stuart Highway, you’ll head south towards Adelaide. The border town of Kulgera is basically just a service station & pub – but it also has a great little campground attached, so you can park your campervan or 4WD for the night and grab a few outback beers! Kulgera offers a great chance for some funny pics too, with a bunch of weird statues and stuff all around the place!
Once you’re into South Australia, you’ll have done close to 1200km in your hire Campervan since leaving Alice Springs – and the road opens up completely to reveal a flat, desolate landscape. There’s desert lizards and snakes all over the place, so be careful where you step (and where you leave your shoes at night!). The next town you’ll reach is Coober Pedy – an Opal Mining town in the middle of fuck-knows where. All of the quirks and eccentricities of the outback are all tucked away off the beaten track – and a campervan or 4WD really gives you the freedom to explore! Coober Pedy is strange, but awesome at the same time – most of the houses are built underground or into the sides of the surrounding hills, so they stay cool in the desert summer heat! Coober Pedy, the famous Australian opal mining town, is positioned 850 kilometres north of Adelaide and about 700 kilometres south of Alice Springs. The landscape of Coober Pedy is particularly exotic and stunning, which is explains why it has been used as the setting for many renowned Australian films. Mad Max Beyond Thunderstone, Priscilla Queen of the Desert and the TV series, The Amazing Race, were all filmed in the area.
Alice Springs will by now feel like a distant memory as you hire campervan or 4WD heads deeper into the South Australian Desert. If you’re in a hire 4WD, then you’ll be coming up on the Oodnadatta Track ($300 Fee applies) – it’s really out there and gives you great access to the massive salt pans (lakes?) of the region – but remember – you can only do this sexy little bit of road if you’ve hired a Wicked 4WD in Adelaide or Alice Springs!
You should by now be coming up to the Flinders Ranges – again worth checking out in your hire campervan or 4WD! Heading further south in your rental vehicle you’ll reach Port Augusta (about 1200kms from Alice Springs and 400km from Adelaide). It’s your classic Aussie country town, with cheap pub meals and red dirt. If you have a bit of time up your sleeve, cruise south towards Adelaide along the roads closest to the Spencer Gulf and visit towns like Port Pirie. The sunsets over the Gulf are particularly beautiful on a nice day and a great way to spend the end of a hard days’ drive in your hire campervan or 4WD!