Australians have always loved roadtrips, perhaps because our vast continent lends itself to so many epic journeys. The adventure and raw joy of a roadtrip holiday to the Australian outback is unique and compelling.
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Whenever I'm cocooned in the office, I feel the pull of the open road, big skies, far horizons, red earth, friendly pubs, colourful characters, enticing road signs and a captivating sense of wonder. And then there's the camaraderie with your partner or friend as you sing along to your favourite tunes, share lifer stories, tell jokes or solve all the problems in the world. It's time, it's space, it's an escape, it's a journey of many kinds - and there's nothing quite like it.
So when my mate and I realised recently we had a week's window away from our busy family and work lives to indulge our love of roadtrips and the outback, we grabbed a map and plotted a boys' own adventure from Adelaide to Alice - the long way, via the Flinders Ranges, Oodnadatta Track and a big rock called Uluru.
Flying to Adelaide, we kicked off our desert safari with a luxurious stay at the Adina Hotel Adelaide Treasury which occupies one of the most historically significant buildings in the city. Completed in 1876, this stately colonial building - and now deluxe, boutique hotel - was once the hub of South Australian politics, boasting a network of underground tunnels once used to transport gold and now used as guest passageways.
After living it up in the gym, pool, jacuzzi and wine bar, we headed next morning to pick up our mobile home for the week, our Apollo Motorhome Trailfinder Camper.
Tailor-made for dirt road touring, this pop-up 4WD camper with external, slide-out kitchen was perfect for our journey, offering comfortable lower and upper beds for two, middle-aged blokes! Road tunes lined up and excitement piqued, we headed north from Adelaide, taking our 'Apollo' mission into the great, empty interior of Australia.
Just over five hours north of Adelaide, the giant, jagged peaks of the Flinders Ranges rear their rugged heads. We were here to fulfil a life-long goal of mine to climb St Mary's Peak, the tallest mountain in the ranges.
After a hearty meal, refreshing ale and overnight camp in our Trailfinder at Wilpena Pound Resort, we set off for the lofty, 1171m-high summit on a steep, six-hour return trek which challenged our lungs and legs but rewarded us with exhilarating, jaw-dropping vistas over the rocky ranges and beyond to the desert plains.
Some might say those endless desert plains are boring but for us they are head-clearing, eye-dazzling, soul-stirring expanses of raw, wild beauty. After a banter over a beer with the locals at the Marree Pub, we pointed the Trailfinder to one of Australia's iconic dirt highways - the Oodnadatta Track.
A warm bore water soak in Coward Springs and the edge of Lake Eyre - Australia's largest lake and lowest point at 15m below sea level - broke our journey briefly but sometimes we just stopped to walk in silence into the never-never to feel the pure, primal power and overwhelming stillness of the desert.
Our next overnight stop was the remote hamlet of William Creek - South Australia's smallest town with a permanent population of just one - Trevor Wright, the owner of the quirky, character-filled pub. He also owns Wrightsair - a fleet of light planes which offer scenic flights over Lake Eyre and the little-known attraction of Painted Hills which stretch across Anna Creek Station - the largest cattle station in the world, equal in size to a third of Tasmania. Flying low over these remarkable, ochre-topped, sandstone formations was enthralling.
The mining town of Cooper Pedy was next on the horizon where we stretched our muscles with a gym workout before rejoining the bitumen and the Stuart Highway for the long leg to the Northern Territory and the spiritual heart of Australia, Uluru.
Coming face to face with the massive, 348-metre-high monolith, plonked improbably in the middle of the desert, is a powerful and moving experience that will live with you forever.
We circled the base of this historic natural landmark by bike along a fun and easy 11-kilometre circuit that reveals the secret canyons, caves, waterholes, multi-coloured textures and colourful ancestral stories of this amazing rock.
An even better view of Uluru was revealed on a brief but thrilling flight with Ayers Rock Helicopters - a must-do experience that will become more popular now that the climb up the rock is closed.
We toasted the last night of our desert journey at Sounds of Silence, a spectacular, outdoor dining experience that began with chilled sparkling wine and canapes atop a sand dune as we watched the sun set on Uluru, followed by fine cuisine enlivened by indigenous flavours and a guided, astronomical scan of the huge night skies above us.
Alice Springs was our destination next morning to drop off the Trailfinder at the Apollo depot and fly home but for now, huddled around the roaring logfire at Sounds of Silence, shiraz in hand, we soaked in the views across the darkened desert, in the middle of nowhere but at the centre of everything, and reflected on our escapade, vowing to feel the freedom of the open road again soon.
As they say, life's either an adventure or nothing at all!
The writer flew to Adelaide with Jetstar and from Alice Springs with Qantas.
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