Melbourne to Uluru Road Trip Itinerary - Britz

Nine nights from Melbourne to Alice Springs in a campervan, northwest through the wine country and then up the middle of the continent.

Ballarat comes first with its goldfields history, then Horsham in the Wimmera, and the Coonawarra, where a narrow strip of terra rossa soil over limestone produces the best cabernet in Australia.

Renmark follows on the Murray, in irrigated citrus country, then Port Augusta at the head of Spencer Gulf, where the farmland gives out altogether. Woomera comes next, a rocket range since 1947 and still a prohibited area, then Coober Pedy, where much of the town lives underground to escape the heat, and Kulgera on the Territory border. Uluru and Kata Tjuta follow, and Alice Springs closes the drive.

Britz supply the camper and the day-by-day plan, and the hire is priced live per vehicle rather than per person; campsites, fuel, ferries, park fees and activities are all extra, with a nil-excess insurance pack available at booking. Ten days is a brisk schedule for a crossing of this length, so the days are long and the stops are short. Winter is the only comfortable season for the northern half. This is a one-way hire, so a relocation fee is worth checking at booking, and the stretch between Port Augusta and Coober Pedy is the emptiest part of the whole route. The Coonawarra at the start is worth a night rather than a passing stop, and it is the last comfortable one before the desert takes over. Uluru at the far end is the obvious destination, but Coober Pedy is the stop that stays with people.