Motor Home through the Australian Outback

Driving cross country in an RV is an old tradition in Australia. With its wide open spaces, vast star-filled skies, and gorgeous natural beauty, Australia is a motor home owner's dream.

So, why not head down under and rent a motor home for your adventure? Here's a taste of what Australia has to offer.

- Wide Open Spaces. Try the Outback! There are places where you won't see another human being, and you can park your motor home anywhere you please.

From Sydney on the east coast, to Perth on the west coast, it's 2,500 miles. That's only a few hundred miles less than a trip from New York to Los Angeles! Out in the western part of Australia, there are 100-mile stretches with no services. No wonder it's such an RV-friendly place!

The weather is mild all year round. On the coasts, the temperatures are moderate, although it heats up once you get into the interior, with temperatures reaching well over 100 degrees in the daytime.

- Natural Beauty. The outback is unlike anything you'll ever see anywhere else. Australia's beaches are also world renowned for their pristine beauty.

- RV Services. The land down under is probably the world's most motor home friendly country. You can rent RVs just about anywhere, and drop them off at a location you didn't start from.

There are lots of sights to see, and once you're there you can explore on your own, but here are some of the big ones.

Ayer's Rock, or Uluru, is one of the natural wonders of the world. It's just what you might imagine it to be - a giant rock. It is the second largest rock in the world (second only to Australia's Mt. Augustus) at 1,000 feet high, 5 miles around, and 1.5 miles below the Earth's surface!

It is also a magnetic rock, which means it has strange effects on electronics. The natives believe that it is a giant generator, with a current of energy flowing out to the entire world. For RVers, it is a great area to camp, in view of the rock where you can see it change colors as the sun moves across the sky.

Ayer's Rock is located 250 miles southwest of Alice Springs and is part of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park.

There are some pretty desolate spots on Australia's west coast, but Shark Bay is not one of them. It is a recognized World Heritage site, full of colorful natural beauty and endangered species. Shark Bay is an interesting place, too, because of the fossils that have been found there, dating from the beginning of life on Earth.

Shark Bay is full of great areas to see, including Hamelin Pool, where the water is so clear you can see all the way to the bottom. There are big sandy beaches, and you can see dolphins at a beach named Monkey Mia.

It may seem vast and empty, but actually the Outback is rich in sights to see. There are national parks and historic sights everywhere.

- Mungo National Park, located in The Willandra Lakes heritage area, has the "Wall of China." This one isn't man-made, but made by thousands of years of wind. It is made of clay and sand, and the formations caused by the wind and erosion are fantastic.

- Kinchega National Park is an area where there is water - sometimes! The Darling River winds through this area of red sand dunes and dry lakes. There is an abundance of uniquely Australian wildlife, including exotic birds like emus and others like kangaroos.

- Sturt National Park is an arid land in the Strzelecki desert, where you'll be surprised to find among the crags and dunes a wetlands area and forest. There are also white sands and red dunes for hiking.

In every part of Australia there are national parks worth seeing, and since motor homes are the most popular way to travel, you'll find plenty of places to stay. The state of New South Wales alone has more diversity than almost anywhere else, with land features like deserts, swamps, coasts, forests and grasslands.

If you're an RVer, consider the land down under.