GORV - Digital Magazine Issue #40 | Page 52

ERLDUNDA ROADHOUSE The Erldunda Roadhouse is 95km north of the SA/NT border. It is the perfect stopping place before heading west on the Lasseter Highway to Uluru. Years ago, we were camped at Erldunda for one night, and we saw the most adorable joey in an enclosure by the hotel. It turned out her mother had been killed by a vehicle, and the owners were raising the little orphan, whose name was Opal. A few years later, we were camped at Erldunda again, and a young, female red kangaroo was working the campsites. I went to the hotel to find out if it was Opal. It was, and we ended up booking in for another night just so we could observe her antics. Opal the red kangaroo at Erldunda. CURTIN SPRINGS The only other roadhouse on the way to Uluru is Curtin Springs Wayside Inn, 161km from Erldunda. It is also a destination in its own right. Curtain Springs Roadhouse. The roadhouse is a tiny fraction of the 1 million-acre cattle station that includes Mount Conner looming in the background. It offers most facilities and services one hopes for from a roadhouse. The campground has powered sites that can be booked in advanced, or free unpowered sites. Mount Conner. What makes Curtin Springs unique is the opportunity to explore the region either on extended, guided walking tours and/or a guided 4WD tour to Mount Conner.