Rolling to the Rock: Day 3

Perhaps we should have called it ‘Racing to the Rock’...

Not that we’ve been speeding on our Rolling to the Rock caravanning trip. Just that our goal to drive the 2300km-odd from Melbourne to Uluru in three ‘driving’ days became a bit of a marathon after we picked up the brand-new Swift Explorer 620 test caravan from the Melbourne Caravan Supercentre a day later than expected.

So instead of breaking up the journey with a day in Coober Pedy, we decided to get back on schedule by driving three days’ straight, and thus spent the last three days setting up and packing up in the dark!

And while those who’ve done it will know the Melbourne-Uluru drive is a relatively flat, straight and smooth bitumen experience, we’ve had a few dramas to make it a bit more exciting than usual.

The first day’s drive was punctuated by some serious cross- and headwinds, as we worked our way along the Western Highway to Adelaide. While the buffeting caused a drop in cruising speed to 90km/h, our streamlined Sorento/Swift rig proved up to the job, slicing through the gusts with sure-footed stability despite the winds’ best attempts to push us over.

After departing Port Wakefield Caravan Park for Coober Pedy on the second day (for another gloomy 5.30am start), it all quickly ground to a halt just short of Port Augusta, arriving just minutes after an horrific, three-car accident resulting in two fatalities.

With no way through for hours, and not wanting to risk a single lane, dirt road short-cut back to the Stuart Highway (a good move considering we later heard a bus got bogged!) we lost three hours after back-tracking to Port Pirie and taking a longer, bitumen route via the lower Flinders Ranges.

This meant the last hour of our drive into Coober Pedy that evening was in the dark; not advisable in the Outback with wandering animals, but with high beams and reduced speeds we cruised into the BIG4 Coober Pedy park around 7.00pm, expecting everything to be shut.

Not only was reception open until late but, much to our daughters’ delight, we enjoyed a few slices of the park’s delicious in-house pizza to end the day on a high.

Setting off again early on Day 3, there was another adrenaline rush after mis-calculating a fuel stop and almost running out of fuel.

Average fuel consumption has been hovering around 14.5L/100km from the 2.2-litre turbo-diesel SUV but our average speed of 78km/h, has seen the 70-litre tank drain at a frenetic rate.

Stopping for brekkie at Marla, the trip computer indicated a fuel range of 240km, which should have easily covered us to the next fuel stop at Kulgera, 156km away.

However, about 30km shy, the fuel range indicator went blank, the fuel light went on, and we were forced to limp into the servo at around 70km/h, with only litres to spare.

Our new motto is “when in doubt, fill ’er up”.

Speaking of fuel, diesel prices went from $1.70/litre in Coober Pedy immediately north of $2 upon entering Northern Territory, and rising. Wonder what they’ll be charging at the Ayres Rock Resort, where we’ll be camping for the next four nights, before heading back up the road to Kings Canyon.

We certainly won’t be shopping around!

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