Heading to the West McDonnell Ranges via the Mereenie Loop Road we took our time, and kept a lookout as the traffic signs said to look out for camels instead of kangaroos.

The road condition was terrible, full of corrigates. The first wildlife we saw was a herd of wild donkeys. Later the warning signs were of horses and we saw plenty of evidence along the roads and a mob under the shade of some trees.

Not long after finally getting back on the tar we turned off onto a 4WD only track to Gosse Bluff. A crater site where a comet had impacted over 142 million years ago. We made a quick lunch and then followed some hiking signs to a trail leading around the base of the crater and then up one peak in the centre of the crater. You could see the circular walls where the impact must have been all those years ago.

A little further along we came to a lookout at Tyler's Pass where it gave a great view of the landscape and showed just how big an impact the crater had.

We stopped at Redbank Gorge and unhooked and left the van at the top of a steep track before heading to the gorge walk. It was along the dry creek bed and full of large stones that felt like marble. On the way back we spotted a black footed rock wallaby up above us on the rocks.

We had heard from another camper about a great free camp at Finke River opposite the Glen Helen Gorge Resort. We had just turned on off the road to what looked like a very sandy road when a Troopy was heading out the track toward us, the way it was rocking as it edged its way along the road was enough for us to change our minds and reverse the van back out. A quick look at Glen Helen Resort looked pretty well cooked out - ran into a guy from Orange who stopped to ask us about the road conditions from Kings Canyon and we recognized the local car club logo on his t-shirt. We had only just been joking that his ute looked like one for a local business and maybe it was a franchise.

We headed on up the road and pulled into Ormiston Gorge, tiny campsite which was also full. Next stop was Serpentine Gorge but the 2WD section only went a little way off the track and we'd had enough rough stuff for one day so u-turned back to a lookout. It was the best spot, great views across the ranges and we'd made it in time for a beautiful sunset.

Another family with kids the exact same age were there in a large caravan, it turned out they had been camped in front of us at Uluru. The girls all had a great night and we relaxed over maps with the parents as this was their first week on the road having taken the full term off school to caravan around Australia's having never even camped before.