Rolling to the Rock: Day 11

After visiting Uluru and Kings Canyon, our original plan was to continue along the Red Centre Way, the ‘inner loop’ that connects Kings Canyon with Glen Helen in the West MacDonnell ranges and Alice Springs.

The only catch was having to travel a 200km unsealed section, the Merennie Loop Road, described by the Lonely Planet guidebook as “rugged” but suitable in dry conditions for vehicles with good ground clearance.

As it hadn’t rained for days and both the all-wheel drive Sorento and Swift van were up for some rough road treatment, we were prepared to tackle it but were put off by local advice that it might be too risky for an on-road caravan.

Other factors to consider included we weren’t carrying much in the way of tools or spares, were travelling alone without a satellite phone or UHF, and lacked the budget for a $2000-plus rescue truck from Alice Springs.

The longer, 550km/seven hour bitumen route back on to the Stuart Hwy and up through Alice Springs to the Glen Helen Resort probably added around two hours to the trip, considering we would have traveled pretty slowly on the lumpy Mereenie Loop Rd anyway.

However, it did give us the chance to stop by a couple of landmarks: the memorial, about 86km south of Alice Springs, for the four men that died during the 1994 Cannonball Run, and a bit further up the Stuart’s Well roadhouse owned by the Cotterill family that opened up Kings Canyon to tourists. ??

It turned out to be a brief but eventful experience, as not long after arriving sparks started flying from the coffee machine, threatening to send the historic place up in smoke, prompting a quick return to the car!

Speaking of safe confines, so far we’ve clocked up more than 3500 (mostly towing) kilometres since heading off 11 days ago from Melbourne, and 48 very comfortable and mostly relaxed hours in the driving seat.

While my co-driver Liz has been more than happy to take the reins, I’ve been happy to drive continuously, with brief rest stops every 2-3 hours, and each time I’ve stepped out with little stiffness or soreness.

We’ve been pumping the tunes through the Bluetooth audio via iPhones, and the sat nav on our Premium grade Sorento has been keeping us on track, picking up everything but the smallest roadhouse stops.

With similarly comfortable rear pews with adjustable back rests, leather seats and two, accessible 12V outlets, our two primary school age children have also been happily whiling away the hours on iPods or portable DVDs.

As well as the 2.2-litre turbo-diesel-powered Sorento pulling the 1800kg Swift caravan with ease, it’s swallowed a lot of luggage in the rear cargo area, and has also been handy for collecting firewood.

It’s also rode confidently over some rough dirt tracks to access places of interest, like the ruins of the Serpentine Chalet, a 1960s tourism venture that went belly up due to lack of water.

After a surprisingly high 14.5L/100km average during the Melbourne-Uluru run, bumped up by our brisk pace and fierce headwinds, we managed a much improved 12.7L/100km on the Kings Canyon-Glen Helen run, after dropping maximum speeds to around 90-95km/h.

While the Sorento is more than happy sitting on 100 clicks when towing, it seems the extra 5km/h makes a big difference to fuel economy. Our only wish is a Prado-like 150 litre tank instead of the  70 litre fuel tank to make us less concerned about the next fuel stop.

And slightly less tyre and wind noise to compete with the audio listening experience, although to be fair this has been exacerbated by coarse Northern Territory bitumen and our extended caravan mirrors.