Into the Northern Territory

The Stuart Highway is the main highway that links Darwin in the north with Pt Augusta at the top of the Spencer Gulf, effectively cutting Australia in half vertically.  We rejoined the highway at the small town of Cadney Park and travelled through Marla, at the northern end of the Oodnadatta Track, to the state border between South Australia and the Northern Territory.  On the way the road was lined with golden wattles and yellow cassia.  Travel was smooth and much faster than we had been used to on the dirt roads of the past 1,000km.

The border is well signposted and there is an informative information display about the Northern Territory.  The gardens were well tended and we saw Sturt Desert Peas with their bright red and black flowers.  The trees were alive with zebra finches.

Back on the road we turned into the Lasseter Highway at Erldunda.  This is the road that will take us to Yulara where we will spend a few days soaking up the sights of Uluru (Ayers Rock) and Kata Tjuta (The Olgas).  We pulled into the Kernot Range Rest Area where we camped for the night amid the desert oak trees and the red, red sand.

In the morning we drove past Mt Connor on our way to Yulara.