Off to Rainbow Valley

After a cold night, we enjoy our breakfast in the warm sun. The flies are still dazed from the cold, and we can leisurely spoon our muesli.

Since the days since Alice Springs have been packed with sights close together, we need to make more 'distance' today. Google estimates about 4 hours of driving time to Rainbow Valley (on the way back towards Alice Springs). In between, there are only a few roadhouses. An opportunity to talk about some practical things.

But first, our highlight of the day, Rainbow Valley. Although there's not much to do here, we are absolutely thrilled. The walk to 'Mushroom Rock' is quite something. We walk through a clay pan at the foot of the Rainbow Rock (the main motif) and look up at the rock walls in awe. The Mushroom Rock itself is just a bit larger than a camper van, but is full of little attractions like overhangs, bird nests, and delicate washouts. We watch the sunset from a small dune, how beautiful! At the associated campsite, we are completely alone.

Now for the practical and everyday things of our trip.

Here, we drive on the left side. You get used to it relatively quickly, but from time to time, old habits creep back in. In such moments, it is helpful to be two!

About the weather: You can already see the daily sunshine from morning to evening in the photos. Blue sky, every day. We were really lucky! The temperatures were always between 23 and 28 degrees during the day. In most cases, ideal for activities. However, there was always a bit of wind, which made the felt temperature lower. Although we were usually in short sleeves, we had to put on something warmer from time to time.

At night, the temperature dropped significantly. This is generally pleasant, but there were also three nights where one froze, and the extra blankets came into use. However, we went to bed with warm clothes every day (Peter: jogging pants and hoodie).

Our converted 4WD Toyota Hilux is well thought out and equipped. The rooftop tent is spacious and very easy to set up and take down. A telescopic ladder is used for climbing up and down. After the cold nights, the interior walls were damp. We wiped them down, and the rest was taken care of by the sun during breakfast.

The built-in kitchen is practical to use, especially the electric hot plate is very comfortable. Coffee and tea water heat up quickly. The fridge has lasted us 11 days, no shopping needed since then. Although we have cooked almost all our meals ourselves. We are not using the storage space for non-perishable items to its full extent. The kitchen equipment with cutlery, pots, etc. is minimalist. We wished we had more. We could have shopped in Alice if we had checked this at the pickup. We’ll do better with the next vehicle (and overlook something else for that 😀).

Our electrical supply with photovoltaic and battery storage was never below 80%. So, top-notch!

We have two water tanks with contents of 100 and 40 liters each. That lasts a long time; we wouldn’t have needed to refill.

The diesel tank holds 140 liters, which allows the vehicle to go over 1000 km. We had to fiddle a bit with the compressor (needed for the more demanding 4WD sections). It works smoothly now, though.

There is also plenty of storage space for our bags, etc. However, our long travel bags do not fit side by side in the trunk. One had to go on the back seat.