I don't know about you guys but when I go on holiday, I prefer to stay away from city destinations. No frantic urban lifestyle, no grey towers of concrete, definitely not shopping; when I get away, it's really to get away and find peace and solitude.

My idea of an ideal escape would include rustic beach holidays, solo backpack treks, places away from the usual hustle and bustle of city life, where it's just blue skies, minimal traffic (human or vehicular) and peace. 

I definitely got that in Central Australia. It was great not to be part of a big herd as we travelled in our little posse of four (myself, our Tourism NT rep, Jacqueline, another writer, Ee-Lyn, and our guide, Vaughn). While our schedule was packed due to the distances we had to cover, I liked the fact it wasn't a rush job as most tours usually turn out.

Honestly though, I've only ever gone on three tours in my life - once was during a media junket to Bali that had us rushing from one place to another so much till we missed the famous Jimbaran sunset and didn't even get to hit the beach! Okay, we did, but only for a very short while. At the end of the day, it felt very unsatisfying because I felt that I missed out on a lot more of Bali.

I also went for a tour of Halong Bay in Vietnam and a day tour of Hanoi. They were okay, except my guides in Hanoi were two young women who were more touristy than our group of five! I swear they were taking more photos than we did! They weren't the best guides around but well, they were cute so I let it go.

Back to Australia though, I enjoyed our flexible itinerary and the fact that we could switch things around if we wanted to spend more time at a certain spot, or wanted to try something else like visit an Aboriginal heritage centre, for example. We could afford to enjoy the trip at our own pace and not try to squeeze everything in a week. Believe it or not, while a week seems like a long time, you will need slightly more than that to fully appreciate travelling through Central Australia.

It was good that we were able to digest the large chunks of information being fed to us about the huge sprawling land we were touring. Soaking in the experience made it more of a proper trip, rather than scooting through locations and landmarks. We were lucky to get a guide like Vaughn, who could explain to us everything from Australian history and Aboriginal culture to local wildlife, movies and philosophy! Someone like him was especially useful in a place as culturally rich and complex as the Northern Territories.

Other than that, it was refreshing to drive down the long Stuart Highway with no other vehicles honking you, and spotting wild camels or horses feeding by the roadside. We had a spacious 4WD for the trip and I found myself dozing off more than once due to the long journeys (and bloody early wake up calls). We didn't need to go elbow to elbow with other camera-toting tourists either! Sure beats bashing through a crowded shopping mall, anytime.

Would I go back? Of course!  Being one with nature; cool, crisp and clean air; and importantly, noone else to bother you. All I need is a 4WD and maybe round up some good buddies for an epic road trip!

This is the last of the series. Learn more about Australia's Central Australia and Ayers Rock in our print edition!