Rock Patrol: Days 3 to 6

The Groovy Bus - Mr. Cricket

Day 3

Leaving Coober Pedy at 5:00 AM, we drove through the desert in the dark of the night through which was quite exciting. We had breakfast as we watched the sun rise over the breakaways. It was a bit cold, but definitely worth it - it was beautiful!



That day we crossed the border of South Australia and the Northern Territory. We were really excited because we knew that we were getting closer to seeing Uluru, Ayers Rock and seeing that Australian icon is of course one of the highlights of the trip. Every time that we saw a big rock in a similar shape to Uluru we thought we that was THE rock, but our tour guide let us know that it was not the rock yet. Eventually, when we did see Uluru it was magical, capturing our attention instantly.



Our camp for the next two nights was at Yulara, where Groovy has it own site and shower and toilet facilities are only 20 meters away. That was the first night that we were going to sleep outside in swags. In the evening we went to the sunset lookout point at Uluru. We brought some champagne and classy goon to celebrate this unforgettable moment.



The Tough Ones - Sleeping in Swags

That night some of the group slept inside because they were too scared of snakes and spiders that might be outside. The tough people (including myself) slept outside in the swags which was a great adventurous experience and is amazing to sleep in the open air and gaze at the millions of stars in the sky.

The next morning everybody was still alive and except for some ants crawling on the swags no other creepy crawlies were spotted, hallelujah!

Day 4

We watched the sunrise at the lookout point at Kata Tjuta which was also worth getting up really early for. After breakfast at the car park we drove to Kata Tjuta to do the Valley of the Winds walk. This walk is absolutely amazing, but make sure that you start the walk before 11 am because otherwise a certain part of the track will be closed, due to the heat. In the afternoon we went to the cultural centre where we learned a lot about the aboriginal culture and afterwards went back to camp to chill in the pool for the rest of the day.

Day 5



Uluru Base Walk



That day we did the base walk and the Mala walk around Uluru, learning more about the stories and culture of the aboriginals. After the walk we headed back to camp, packed up our stuff and headed to our next destination - Kings Creek Station. It was another beautiful day so in the afternoon we chilled in the pool again and it was possible to go for an optional helicopter, quad bike or camel ride. I and some other passengers hopped on the back of a camel and a sexy Australian cowboy took us for a ride.

That night finally everybody was brave enough to sleep outside and it was a night which we will never forget. We were all lying in our swags and couldn’t stop staring at all the millions of stars in the sky, it was stunning!

Day 6



Kings Canyon at sunrise



The next morning we had to get up at 4 o’clock because we had to drive to Kings Canyon and hike to the top before sunrise. Firstly we had to climb Heart Attack Hill, which definitely makes your heart beat a lot faster than normal. We waited at the top of the hill for the sunrise and then continued the walk. It was an amazing walk with some great views, a beautiful crater and a landscape which reminded me of the moon. After the 3 hour walk we headed back to camp and prepared a massive Aussie BBQ. Totally stuffed we jumped in the bus and headed to our final destination - Alice Springs.

That night we decided to have dinner together at Annie’s Place in Alice Springs (only costs us $5 each) which ended with all of us dancing on the tables! After the party at Annie’s all the Groovers returned to their hostels and jumped in unfortunately a normal bed this night. The next day everybody went their own way, but definitely left with a lot of new great Groovy memories.

Rock Patrol: Days 1 & 2

Alligator Gorge

Day 1 Early on Wednesday morning I arrived at the Groovy office where tour guide Brian was waiting for me with the Groovy bus to start our desert trip. The swags, our beds for the next few days, were all loaded on the top of the trailer.

We picked all the 15 passengers up from the hostels in town and made our way up north. The first stop was at Clare Valley, which is one of Australia’s oldest wine regions, where we stopped to buy some drinks to share in the evening.  

The Southern Flinders Ranges are located next to the Clare Valley and east of the Spencer Gulf known for its beautiful nature.  Our campsite was in Wilmington, Stoney Creek. We had lunch at the campsite and because the rain seemed like it could come down any minute we decided that we would sleep in bunk beds in the shed that night. 

In the afternoon we took a hike through Alligator Gorge and spotted some kangaroos bouncing around. The walk through the Gorge was about an hour an a half and was absolutely beautiful. During this time people got to know each other a bit better, as most people were asleep on the bus.

After a lovely barbeque dinner at night the entire group played some card games, but didn’t go to bed that late because we had to get up early the next morning, to drive to Coober Pedy.

Don't fall asleep - you might miss a camel crossing

Day 2 After breakfast we headed to Coober Pedy, which was around 600 km away from Wilmington. The landscape that you drive through on the way is very remote; you can drive for hours and not see a car, person or town. You should pay attention though because you will spot camels, snakes, lizards, kangaroos, dingos and other wildlife over the drive. We made a stop at a Lake Hart, a beautiful salt lake where we took some nice pictures.

Lake Hart

Late in the afternoon we arrived in Coober Pedy, which is known as the opal capital of the world. We did an opal mine tour at Umoona, where you see a video about the history of opal mining and take a tour through an opal mine. They also show you how the town’s people live underground, which is quite interesting to see. For dinner we ordered some pizzas and enjoyed a couple of drinks, played some more card games and enjoyed each others company. That night we slept like the locals, underground! The locals sleep underground because the temperature outside is really hot and underground it is always constant and comfortable at 20 degrees Celsius.

Opal Mine - Coober Pedy

Next week you can read more about the Rock Patrol tour, we will cross the border of the Northern Territory and will finally see the big red rock: Uluru, do the amazing Kata Tjuta Walk and go to Kings Creek Station.