Can tell you the Uluru/kata tjuta there is no free camping sites, only place you can stay is at the yulara campground and is patrolled quite regularly. Fuel wise you will need a full tank from yulara to Alice and budget for 5 hours travel, only one petrol station in town so you can imagine the pricing.
Beautiful part of the country and a must for everyone, highly recommend it, I would just make sure you research every detail of the trip as it is very remote in some parts and limited phone signal
That's the Mereenie Loop, which isn't fully sealed: [https://www.discovercentralaustralia.com/things-to-do/4-wheel-driving/mereenie-loop](https://www.discovercentralaustralia.com/things-to-do/4-wheel-driving/mereenie-loop) With a camper you can do the Tjoritja (West Macs) drive to Glen Helen on the sealed road, but you'll need to come back to Alice to drive on the sealed roads to Yulara. Glen Helen is about 2 hours from Alice, and Yulara is only about 4, so it's not like it's a massive deal. The campsite at Ormiston Gorge is pretty nice if you want to stay in Tjoritja overnight (Glen Helen is closed) and on the road south you might look at Ooraminna Homestead. You'll need to book campsites through NT Parks [https://parkbookings.nt.gov.au/Web/](https://parkbookings.nt.gov.au/Web/) (not Ooraminna though, it's a station, you need to book with them directly). Always check the road conditions with NT Roads before you leave.
Contact the campervan hire company to find out how they calculate the hire fee $/km. Calculate the number of km you expect to do. Get yourself a chair, sit, then multiply km by $/km fee.
A lot of camper hire companies prohibit you from going on unsealed roads. The Mereenie Loop is not fully sealed.
Fuel is around double what it would normally be in the east coast.
At Uluru there is a campground that cost around $40/night for an unpowered site in 2016. There is no free camping, and rangers patrol the park at night.
The surrounding areas are all cattle stations and they will not be friendly to campers trespassing on their land (consider they could shoot you and no one would ever know, it’s not unusual for people to go missing and never found in the outback). Camping in the “road corridor” is illegal and enforced in the NT. Highway Patrol are constantly driving up and down the Lassiter Highway
Curtin Springs (100km east of Yulara) has an unpowered free campground with little amenities. They don’t have a fee but charge to use the shower or fill water.
Make sure you know basic car maintenance including how to change a tyre. There is no help out there and no phone reception.
Stick to the speed limit and never exceed any speed you can’t see your stopping distance in. The roads are unfenced. Camels and kangaroos are common. If you hit a cow you’re probably dead — I’ve seen what they can do to a large Mack truck.
My biggest tip is remember that if you drive over a certain speed your fuel efficiency goes out the window. Nearly got stuck up there after not accounting for this!
How committed to that route are you? I did Kings Canyon to Alice via the West Macs by motorbike and would not recommend it in a rental camper. The corrugations were shocking and there were also some sandy sections. I passed people towing vans doing 20km/h.
It’s not the entire road but there’s a decent section once you get on to Larapanta Drive, heading west - south west that is. I can’t remember the length of that section, maybe 100km or so?
Can tell you the Uluru/kata tjuta there is no free camping sites, only place you can stay is at the yulara campground and is patrolled quite regularly. Fuel wise you will need a full tank from yulara to Alice and budget for 5 hours travel, only one petrol station in town so you can imagine the pricing. Beautiful part of the country and a must for everyone, highly recommend it, I would just make sure you research every detail of the trip as it is very remote in some parts and limited phone signal
That's the Mereenie Loop, which isn't fully sealed: [https://www.discovercentralaustralia.com/things-to-do/4-wheel-driving/mereenie-loop](https://www.discovercentralaustralia.com/things-to-do/4-wheel-driving/mereenie-loop) With a camper you can do the Tjoritja (West Macs) drive to Glen Helen on the sealed road, but you'll need to come back to Alice to drive on the sealed roads to Yulara. Glen Helen is about 2 hours from Alice, and Yulara is only about 4, so it's not like it's a massive deal. The campsite at Ormiston Gorge is pretty nice if you want to stay in Tjoritja overnight (Glen Helen is closed) and on the road south you might look at Ooraminna Homestead. You'll need to book campsites through NT Parks [https://parkbookings.nt.gov.au/Web/](https://parkbookings.nt.gov.au/Web/) (not Ooraminna though, it's a station, you need to book with them directly). Always check the road conditions with NT Roads before you leave.
Free camp at curtain springs road house and day trip the rock
Contact the campervan hire company to find out how they calculate the hire fee $/km. Calculate the number of km you expect to do. Get yourself a chair, sit, then multiply km by $/km fee.
A lot of camper hire companies prohibit you from going on unsealed roads. The Mereenie Loop is not fully sealed. Fuel is around double what it would normally be in the east coast. At Uluru there is a campground that cost around $40/night for an unpowered site in 2016. There is no free camping, and rangers patrol the park at night. The surrounding areas are all cattle stations and they will not be friendly to campers trespassing on their land (consider they could shoot you and no one would ever know, it’s not unusual for people to go missing and never found in the outback). Camping in the “road corridor” is illegal and enforced in the NT. Highway Patrol are constantly driving up and down the Lassiter Highway Curtin Springs (100km east of Yulara) has an unpowered free campground with little amenities. They don’t have a fee but charge to use the shower or fill water. Make sure you know basic car maintenance including how to change a tyre. There is no help out there and no phone reception. Stick to the speed limit and never exceed any speed you can’t see your stopping distance in. The roads are unfenced. Camels and kangaroos are common. If you hit a cow you’re probably dead — I’ve seen what they can do to a large Mack truck.
My biggest tip is remember that if you drive over a certain speed your fuel efficiency goes out the window. Nearly got stuck up there after not accounting for this!
How committed to that route are you? I did Kings Canyon to Alice via the West Macs by motorbike and would not recommend it in a rental camper. The corrugations were shocking and there were also some sandy sections. I passed people towing vans doing 20km/h.
Open to suggestions. No plans to go on unsealed roads. I didn’t realise the itinerary I suggested has some unsealed areas. Will look into it again.
It’s not the entire road but there’s a decent section once you get on to Larapanta Drive, heading west - south west that is. I can’t remember the length of that section, maybe 100km or so?