There’s gold in them there hills!

 

Thursday 28 July 2022 – there’s gold in them there hills!

According to ABC Alice Springs it got down to minus 3 degrees last night!!  As it was just the two of us today we had a lovely lazy lie in and waited until the air conditioner had warmed up the van before throwing back the covers.  Pancakes and bacon for breakfast and then we were finally ready to go adventuring by about 10am.

We decided to head east and down the Ross Highway and that we would go to the furthest of our destinations of choice and then other points of interest on the way back.  Hence our first destination was Arltunga historic reserve which was 70km of bitumen and 30km of dirt road from Alice Springs.  The 30km of dirt was part of the Binn Track so now we can say we have tackled a bit of that desert track as well.  The scenery was absolutely outstanding which was surprising as the East Macdonnell ranges don’t get anywhere near as big a rap as the West Macdonnell ranges do.  The road ran in amongst soaring craggy hills and red cliffs and up and down through a great number of dry river beds some rocky and some sandy.  The 30km or so of dirt road did go on a bit and we were both thankful to finally head into Arltunga and the visitors centre.  Arltunga was the first town in central Australia (well before Alice Springs) and at one time boasted a population for 300 people.  It really is a long way from anywhere and would have been an incredibly tough life with supplies coming in by camel from the south every 3 or 4 months.  Of course the people were here hoping to find the motherload and apparently that included rubies, garnets and gold.  There are still quite a few buildings standing or that have been rebuilt by the National Trust including the old police station and lock up and a few of the government buildings including the assayer’s office and the mine manager’s residence etc.  It was all very interesting as well as the fact that it is all quite spread out with the police station a good kilometre (we know, we walked up the river bed between the two sites) from the government buildings. 

                                                

                                                

                                                

Back in the car and we continued east to the Great Western mine.   The map said it had a picnic area which turned out to be a small slatted wooden seat with dodgy nails so that when you sat on one end the other end flew up in the air.  We quickly ate our sandwiches and then decided to do the walk in to the mine.  A couple had just come back to their car and told us to ignore the sign saying it took 46 minutes return as they had just done the return trip in 11 minutes.  They also advised to take a torch as you can go right into the mine.  Suitably equipped we walked up the path (mostly uphill on the way in so took a little longer than 11 minutes and then knew we were getting close to the mine due to the big piles of quartz tailings heaped up around the entrance.    We ventured a little way into the mine and L was adventurous and went right down into one of the tunnels where the torch was required.  More the fear of spraining an ankle on all the loose rock underfoot rather than of one falling on my head, kept Jenny closer to the entrance.  We had the whole place to ourselves so we could more than imagine what it must have been like to be out here in the middle of nowhere about 130 years ago.

                                                

                                                

                                                

Time to start heading homewards so back in the car and back the 30kms or so over the dirt road to the bitumen.  Only on that for a few k’s though before we turned off the main road and took the road into Trephina Gorge.  A very narrow, winding road with always the threat of a car and/or caravan coming around the bend (there is a big camping ground at this gorge) kept Larry on his toes!  Quite a few people camping out here and I’ve since found it it’s a long weekend here coming up so maybe locals are setting up camp for the next few days.  We decided we still had enough time in the day to do the 2km Trephina Gorge trail which they said should take about an hour.  Well that was because the first few hundred metres was straight up the side of the cliff so that you could walk around the rim of the gorge before clambering all the way down again just to have to walk back along the dry river sand at the bottom of the gorge.  Suffice to say exercise was had and Jenny was more than happy to sink back into the car seat at the end of it with a well earned Coke and a final swish of the countless flies who had gone for a piggy back ride on clothes and face.

                                                     

                            

                            

It was, by now, after 4pm so we hurtled back into town (Larry taking full advantage of the 130km/hour speed limit in the NT and then rewarded our efforts with beer and pizza at the Alice Springs Brewing Company conveniently located right next to the caravan park.  The “Centralian’ ale went down a treat.

Back to the van for dessert, blogging and feet up after another great day exploring this vast country of ours.

Birds, animals and planes

 

Wednesday 27 July 2022 – Birds, animals and planes

Very chilly overnight – hovering around zero degrees but it was a dry cold with no frost or condensation outside when we dared to poke our noses outside of the van.  We rugged up warmly and were in the car by 8am and off the Alice Springs Desert Park.  We were in time for the 8.30am keeper talk/feeding in the giant aviary and it was lovely to see the birds fluttering around our heads for the dried insects the ranger tossed about.  A few of the silly finches were making nests in the information boards so that they have to keep fluttering away and leave the eggs cold when anyone comes near to read the boards – oh well, survival of the fittest/smartest I guess!

Larry liked the Australasian Grebes which are like miniature ducks (but without the small dog complex).  They have incredibly big feet and are very ungainly on land - rather like us when we put our flippers on the beach and then have to try and walk to enter the water.  They actually can’t take off from land and must be on water to take flight.

From there we wandered through the sand plain/clay pan portion of the park with not much to see and it was still too early and far too cold for any lizards or perenties to be sunning themselves on their paths which H&M remember from their last visit here.  We made our way around to the dingo enclosure by 9.30am where the keeper told us all about their nature and habitat.  Interesting that thylacines ranged right up into the Territory about 6000 years ago (as evidenced by rock paintings etc) but slowly disappeared as the dingoes became the apex predator.   As the dingoes didn’t get to Tasmania before the island broke off, thylacines remained there until more recent times hence why they are now mainly known as Tasmanian Tigers!

We left that interesting talk and headed straight to the birds of flight display and took up our position behind about 50 pre-primary kids from the nearby Bradshaw Primary School.  They we very good and all sat quietly when required to and all obeyed the strict instruction not to stand up or move about while the birds were flying about.  The show was very good with everything from a magpie to an eagle coming out and flying over out heads and dive bombing the keeper for bits of food.  The star of the show, however was a little willy wag tail who shadowed the keeper up and down the steps and danced around his feet demanding attention only tactfully disappearing to the sidelines when a big hawk or falcon flew through!  Very enjoyable.

                                                        

                                                         

We wandered on through the park and got to the nocturnal house while H&M decided to go on to a cultural talk about bush foods etc.  L&J had only been in the dark for about 5 minutes before all hell broke loose with 50 small bodies hurtling through the dark shouting at each other to look in all the displays.  We hugged the edge of the display in order not to trip or be tripped by small children and it was interesting that the vibrations they caused did actually make some of the pythons move around a bit although most animals had the good sense to find a rock or branch to hide behind.  We left the kids at the exit but were joined by H&M who had found the talk a little too ‘lectury’ and judgmental for their liking so we turned around and headed back through the nocturnal house, this time in a much more serene way and thus spotting quite a few more animals darting around on the sound.  I particularly like the plains mice with one climbing up on a branch and coming right to the glass next to me to say hello.

We finished the circuit of the park by heading past an empty perentie enclosure (that or they are very good at playing hide and seek) and then past the bustard aviary – they really are huge birds.  By this time we had shed jackets and gloves and our tummies were starting to rumble so it was time to head back to camp.  Whilst jackets and gloves had come off, jumpers were still on and it was definitely cold enough to have hot soup and bread for lunch.

H&M did a bit of pack up and lock up of their van and changed into their flight clothes and then we drove them out to the airport as they are doing a quick trip back to Perth for Tom’s graduation ceremony.  We left for the airport a little early so that we had time to stop and look at all the planes parked up in a corner.  There must be about 50-60 planes waiting out Covid limited travel in the dry desert air – a lot of planes from Asia such as Cathay Pacific and Singapore airlines as well as quite a few Scoot as well as some others that none of us recognised the logos for.

                                            

Having dropped H&M at the terminal (we felt a bit like locals dropping off visitors!) we headed into town to do a grocery shop and replenish supplies.  That was all then taken back to the van where homes had to be found for it all.  A load of washing done and now we are ensconced in the van in the warmth after a yummy dinner of chicken katsudon.

Onwards and upwards

 

Tuesday 26 July 2022 – Onwards and upwards

A pack up day this morning but we were on the road and heading out of town by about 8.30am.  A quick stop off at the dump point and then it was time to head east.  Once we turned that way Uluru disappeared behind the dunes and hillocks and L only got occasional glimpses from the side mirror.  About an hour of driving got us to the Mt Conner lookout where we pulled over for a cuppa and look at another quite impressive rock rearing out of the plain.  I wonder how many people mistake it for Uluru as they drive out from Alice Springs.  We all got some exercise by crossing the road and heading up a rather steep sand dune for an even better view of Mt Conner in one direction and a huge salt lake in the other.

                                                

                                                

Back in the car and Jenny drove the next hour or so until we reached the end of the Lasseter Highway and turned left and on to the Stuart Highway.  At this intersection is a roadhouse where we made use of the facilities and bought some hot chips to pay our dues.  Another 30km north on the Stuart Highway we stopped at Desert Oaks rest stop for lunch which was much quieter and shadier than the roadhouse had been.  We had a leisurely lunch and then spent a bit of time peeling the stickers from Ayers Rock campground off the front of the vans.  They left quite a bit of sticky residue so it took a bit longer than it should have.  Yet another thing we think that campground could do better!

Larry back in the driver seat and another hour or so of driving north.  We have been listening to a talking book Mum thought Larry would like called Long Flight Home which is all about the flying competition from England to Australia in 1919 from the perspective of the engineer who kept Ross and Keith’s plane in the air.  What an adventure it would have been and I love the descriptions of the people running out of the houses and hotels across Europe, Egypt and India to see the plane flying above them and shouting and waving at what have been a very novel sight!

We stopped at a sign marking the Cannonball run memorial which marks the site of where a crash had occurred during this famous motor car race.  In the same carpark a bloke had pulled up to give his dogs and their seven or eight blue heeler (looking) puppies a stretch of their legs.  Very cute seeing the puppies gambolling all over the place whilst always keeping Mum in sight and occasionally heading back to her for a quick top up of milk!

                                            

Not much longer before we were heading into the outskirts of Alice Springs.  Interesting to see the huge stockpile of planes out back – many nearby countries have stored surplus planes here in the dry, desert air during Covid restricted travel. 

We checked in to the G’day caravan park and were shown to lovely wide, grassed and shaded sites where we back on to each other.  As we are here for four nights we have set out mats and awnings and furniture and will be quite happy camped up here for a few days while H&M make a quick  dash back to Perth for Tom’s graduation ceremony.  Apparently it will drop down to minus 2 degrees tonight so time to pull out all the winter woollies as well!

Beef brisket, Turkish bread and coleslaw for dinner tonight.  I don’t think we realised when we were menu planning that we might want something more hearty!!

Kata Tjuta and the Valley of Sniffs

 

Monday 25 July 2022 – Kata Tjuta and the Valley of Sniffs

A very early alarm this morning and we were all in the trusty Land Rover  by 6.30am to head out to the sunrise viewing point halfway between Kata Tjuta and Uluru.  That way we could see the sun come up behind Uluru and then spread its creeping tendrils of light across the desert floor until it lit up the face of Kata Tjuta.  It was really cold and all the people on the viewing platform (and there were a lot of them!) were rugged up to the nines.  Larry’s was not the only Big Freeze beanie up there!  It was very spectacular and well worth the early morning start and we were glad we had made the effort.

Drove on and in to Kata Tjuta with a quick stop at the toilets as our on-the-go coffees had worked their way through by this time.  A queue there as a bus load of tourists got there before us and although the toilets were marked male and female there were plenty of women in the men’s queue!

We drove on to the Valley of the Winds and hiked up to the first viewing point.  You can certainly see, sorry feel, how it gets its name as an arctic gale whistled through the valley and hit us in the face.  The walk was very quickly renamed valley of the sniffs as the cold wind made our eyes run and our noses stream!  It was a very pretty walk up to the view point, however, and the red rock faces and blue skies are quite reminiscent of the Bungles.

Made our way back down and then decided another quick trip back to the toilets was in order – something about the cold weather? – where we were amused to see that someone had swapped the male and female toilet signs over so obviously it really hadn’t mattered what queue you had been standing in previously anyway!

We next headed to the Walpa walk gorge which was equally cold and windy but also equally visually stunning with soaring red cliffs to either side of us.  There were quite a few bus loads of tourists on the path but H&M say Yulara is significantly quieter than the other times they have been here so I would hate to see just how busy it all gets once the lingering effects of Covid are over.  We have done a fair amount of walking this morning (Larry’s watch says over 10,000 steps whilst Jen’s has shut down in either shock or with a dodgy battery) so time to head back to the van with a quick stop at IGA for fresh, crusty bread.

It was still cool enough to warrant hot soup to go with the fresh crusty bread for lunch and then the effects of an early morning and full stomachs was too much and it was time for an afternoon nap.  Then another couple of industrious hours of blogging before time for more drinkies.  Gotta love being on holiday!  Much cooler tonight so M’s shepherds pie and a glass or two of port went down a treat.

The Rock

 

Sunday 24 July 2022 - The Rock

H&M were keen to get up early to watch the sunrise over Uluru.  L&J were not and considered a lazy lie in on a Sunday to be the way to go.  Heard quite a few cars pulling out as we snuggled in bed and then, at what we thought was a civilised hour, headed up to the amenities block for a long, hot shower and a hair wash before back to the van for a cheesy omelette.  We then hopped in the car and headed out to Uluru, first stopping to get out visitor passes, making our way to the Mala carpark where we met up with H&M for a 10am tour with a local ranger. 

Quite a few people joined the tour and it got crowded and hard to hear what James (the ranger) was saying or to see what he was talking about with so many heads and bodies in the way and eventually I felt like I just wanted to wander along the paths at the base on my own and/or with just Larry and just ‘experience’ the magnificence and ‘presence’ of the rock.  There were enough signs around explaining the cultural significance of the places that we knew which bits we shouldn’t take photos of and really, it is just so vast that no photos really do it justice in any case.  We walked into Kantju Gorge and had the place to ourselves for a little while so that we could just sit and reflect and be at one with our surroundings.  Quite appropriate to have the moment of inner peace on a Sunday morning and you can see why it is such a spiritual and culturally significant place.  We left just as a couple of boomers wandered in who had ridden their bikes in as far as they could – at least 300m past the bike rack and sign that read ‘please leave your bikes here and walk into the gorge’.  Another sigh and eyeroll from Jenny.

We walked along the base of the rock enjoyed the sight of the hundreds of tiny finches zooming in flight formations to and from the rock faces searching out insects or perhaps tiny pools of water that may still be in some of the crevices.  At one point a squadron few down and between us, rather than over our heads, which was a bit of shock and made a lady near us squeal as she hadn’t been watching them and wasn’t expecting it.

H&M were still following along with the ranger but they have been here a couple of times before and didn’t feel the need to explore as much as we did so we left them to it and headed back to the carpark and then along the base of the rock in the opposite direction for another kilometre or so.  At the Mala carpark you can still see the footpath up the rock face from when people climbed up with the help of a chain.  It was officially closed in 2019 so I guess in time the footprints will weather away.

We headed back to the car and then around the cultural centre to make use of the facilities.  Still the rock called to us so we chose not to go into the building but to head around to the other side of the rock to the Kuniya walk and the Mutitjula waterhole.  Once again, there are plenty of signs explaining the ways of the local mala people and how they hunted and gathered bush tucker here so we did learn a lot while we enjoyed the beautiful scenery.  This waterhole has obvious signs of where the water comes cascading down the rock faces in heavy rains and there is still quite a lot of water at the base at this time and you can see from the lines on the rock how high the water comes – pretty much to the level of the viewing platform.  It must be a sight to see and L and I discussed how good it would be to do a quick trip to just watch the rain on the rock.

A fair wind had picked up over the morning and the dust was whipping up in the car park so we decided to call it a morning and head back for late lunch at the van.  Another lazy afternoon with a bit of a nap, a bit more washing and some footy watching (Eagles v St Kilda) then we packed up cheese and bikkies and wine into the back of the car and we all drove out in the Cruiser to the sunset viewing area at Uluru.  We had thought to get there early to nab a picnic table but there were already a good twenty or so cars there when we arrived so we made do with the tailgate and a couple of folding chairs and settled in for the afternoon’s viewing.  The rock does indeed change colour from a vivid orange in the sunlight, to a soft chocolatey brown in the dusk, to a glowing red towards sunset but then the sun hit a cloud bank and we decided that was as spekky as it was going to get and to pack up and leave before the other hundred or so other cars did and made good time back to Yulara.

Tonight was a night off from cooking for all of us so we headed straight to Gecko’s café for barramundi and chips for Jen and a steak sandwich for Larry and best still – no washing up! 😊Back to the vans where Larry tried but failed to stay up and watch the F1.  And so to bed.

Hello Northern Territory

 

Saturday 23 July 2022 – Hello Northern Territory

                                                    

The plan was for an early start so that we made it into Yulara before the queue to check in at the caravan park got too long – it’s a notoriously slow process apparently.  Hence we were up just as the sun was peering over the ranges and on the road at dawn which maintained that half light for longer than you would expect.  In fact the sun was still just creeping up as we got to the border and stopped for the obligatory ‘We made it!’ photo.  The Northern Territory government obviously wants to make a good first impression by providing a lovely smooth piece of tarmac and a bit welcome sign. Slightly embarrassing to turn 180 degrees where the WA sign says ‘Quarantine Warning!’ in large letters with a tiny ‘Oh yeah, and by the way, welcome of WA’ underneath with gravel stretching as far as the eye can see.

                                                  

The tarmac lasted as far as the Docker River community turn-off and then the road turned back into the worst corrugations we have so far encountered on this trip.  Right up there with the Kalumburu Road.  We slowed down so much that we were finally able to see a real live camel and he trotted along the road in front of us for quite a while before finally veering off into the bush.  He was just heading for the hills as we drew level but we did some of our best cameleer calling and he stopped and looked around long enough for us to get photographic evidence.

                                                    

We continued on past a broken down car with a guy camping out of the back of it and stopped to see if he needed any help.  He reckoned he would get it fixed today and the only real help we may have been able to provide would have been the provision of a smoke or two but not being able to even do that, we drove on.

Next stop was Lasseter’s cave which was a lovely picnic stop with a water tank with lots of little finches darting around trying to get drops of water from the tap.  We obligingly filled up the little trough for them and made their morning.   We made the short walk up to the cave where Lewis Lasseter hung out for a while (25 days) in January 1931.  He’d been back in the area trying to find the gold reef he reckoned was nearby.  Unfortunately his camels had bolted and so he was without food and only about a litre and a half of water.  He finally set out to try and walk to the Olgas to meet up with his relief party but died of starvation along the way.  The cave he sheltered in wouldn’t be a bad place to be it you had sufficient food and water as it is right on the Hull River with shady trees and lots of bird life but probably a vastly less attractive place in the heat of summer and no food.

                                                    

Back in the cars and we drove and drove east across the plains with the Petermann Ranges in view and the corrugations never ending (although not quite as bad as before Lasseter’s Cave).  We drove until both H&L needed a break so pulled over on a little lay-by just after a floodway.  There are no P stops or any other places to get right off the road on this stretch so we stretched our legs, had a snack and did some running repairs to H&M’s car fridge (the connection having jiggled loose on the bumpy roads) right on the edge of the road.  No passing traffic at all whilst we were there though so all good. 

                                                     

Another good hour or so of driving and we were more than ready to catch our first glimpse of Kata Tjuta (Mt Olga) which we finally spotted and then watched loom up larger and larger in the windscreen.  The beginning of the National Park also meant the beginning of the bitumen and we were all relieved after the last few days of bumping to be back on it.  The road curled around the southern side of the Olgas so we saw how vast the range actually is and then we started looking forwards through the windscreen again for our first sighting of Uluru.  And then there it was.  Just as large and magnificent as everyone tells you it is.  A great, looming presence over the desert plains.  As we turned away from it and north for the final few kilometres into Yulara it filled up the entire side mirror and rear vision mirror and reminded you of its presence.

                                                    

The queue into the caravan park was as expected to the point where they had traffic control guiding caravans into holding patterns of fenced off waiting areas.  Of course there was one boomer who couldn’t follow logical directions and parked the opposite way to everyone else and when the traffic control guy asked him to move replied with ‘Why?’.  Honestly, we all just remembered why we had enjoyed the last few days so much – no being surrounded by stupid people.  We will have to get used to being back amongst them – sigh!

Checked in and parked up in our nice sites which are on the small lead in road to the big caravan park area and hence we only have neighbours either side with the laundry opposite and bush behind and trees/shrubs between the vans so not in the area where they are all jammed on top of each other – score!  We had a quick late lunch in the van and then spent the afternoon doing chores including laundry, car and van cleans and tidies, a quick shop at the IGA to top up supplies and then relaxing under the awning with a cold drink or two.

Larry was so settled in that he ‘minded the vans’ with a beer of two while the other three of us walked up the hill behind the CP to watch the sunset over Uluru.  Very pretty and changing colours and then it was time to head back to the vans where Miranda cooked up garlicky chicken parcels and rice and our toes were attacked by a small hopping spinifex mouse who was particularly keen on the Moroccan flavoured couscous in the salad.  Much warmer today so we had to run the air conditioner in the van before bed.

What time is it really?

 

Friday 22 July 2022 – What time is it really?

I don’t know that our bodies really worked out what timezone to wake up in so it was about 8am NT time and 6.30am WA time when the sun woke us up.  We were a bit slow to get packed up and, with a few checks of car related things as well, it was a late start of about 9.20am out of camp.  H&M had time for a little wander and reported back that there were fresh camel tracks over our wheel tracks in so, once again, the stealth camels of the night eluded us once again.

We drove about an hour up the road to a more official overnight rest stop called Yarla Kutjarra which was close enough to Jamieson for a little phone reception.  Being an ‘official’ rest stop it also had a picnic area and a drop toilet – luxury!  We availed ourselves of everything the camp offered and had a leisurely cuppa.  We don’t have a long way to go today or much to see so we can afford to take it leisurely.

Another hour or so down the road we stopped at the Gnamma holes rest stop as it lots of holes which range in size from 1-3 metres in diameter and are full of water being replenished from underground supplies and rainwater run-off.  They look a little stagnant at the moment and a couple had camel bones in them so we are always seeing evidence of camels but not that many live ones.  In the rest stop nearby there were also lots of camel footprints in the fine sand so they around here somewhere!

                                            

From here until Warakurn the road was pretty rough and we were glad we had lots of time to spare and could take it at the right speed.  The corrugations were reminiscent of the Kalumburu Road which almost makes your teeth rattle loose.  We stopped at Warburn to once again top up with fuel where the guy from the roadhouse filled up for us whilst regaling us with dad jokes.  The roadhouse had a little gallery attached so we checked out some lovely artwork done by the local Indigenous community.  We thought it funny that one had done a West Coast Eagles inspired picture but not a Dockers one – they obviously have taste!

We headed slightly out of town to the Giles weather station but it was closed to visitors, as was the community next door, due to Covid-concerns so we just stood at the gate and had a look at the weather related instruments from there.

                                                

Another hour of so of bumpy road and we made it to Gil Pinnacle rest stop, the last of our free camps along the Great Central Road and by far the most spectacular.  We are perched at the highest part of the campground with 180 degree views of Gil Pinnacle and the entire Schwerin Mural Crescent range.  Looks fabulous and will be worth lots of photos both at sunset and at sunrise tomorrow as we have to make an early start to get to Yulara campground before the queue forms late morning.

L&J on dinner duties tonight and it promises to be another big campfire, the last we will have for the next week or so as we hit civilisation.  It was an interesting exercise in cooking with one hand and waving the flies off with the other – far more flies than we have experienced elsewhere but they disappeared around sunset and Miranda whipped up a self saucing chocolate pudding for dessert so another lovely evening around the campfire.

Back in (another kind of) isolation

 

Thursday 21 July 2022 – Back in (another kind of) isolation

I think I fell asleep just after 9pm so consequently it was just before 6am when I woke and felt it was extremely unlikely I would sleep any more.  Read my tablet for a while but L woke up shortly afterwards and when we opened the blinds we realized the sun was just rising and reflecting pinks and oranges off the dappled clouds above so I sent Larry outside to get some fantastic photos of the golden sky above the caravans.

                                

                                

We had leisurely coffee and cereal and a pack up but we were already to hit the road by 8.30am given our early wake up time.  It was only a short drive to Tjukayirla Roadhouse where we made use of the very good toilet facilities and topped up with fuel once again.  We figure we will just keep topping up every time we find available fuel just in case we get to a community where it is closed for some reason (apparently this can happen if there is a funeral on or something).  Just across the road the mapbook suggested there was a breakaway named ‘The Zoo’ which was worth checking out.  We followed the track past another graveyard of broken 2WD’s and happened across the rock formation that with a lot of imagination you could see a few animal shapes that might explain the name.  Pretty imaginative for a dry community in any case!

                                            

                                             

It was then drive east and slightly north stopping at rest stops whenever we felt like a break or to check the cars, dust etc.  Quite often we would completely miss the rest stops on WikiCamps as just not being very visible tracks from the road.  We stopped at the Desert Surf Rest stop just because it sounds so intriguing and other bloggers/vloggers have mentioned it as a good campground.  It’s certainly very large and there are lot of places to camp judging by the numerous campfire pits left behind.  We had a quick cuppa and a quick walk to check out the rock face which, once again if you have a vivid imagination not fuelled by alcohol (this section of the GCR is all dry communities) you might consider to be a wave you could surf on.

Back in the cars and continued on with a surprising section of 50km of bitumen through an area prone to flooding which was nice followed by some sections of road that were as rough as the Gibb River Road.  We got close enough to Warburton for our phones to start pinging and I received a message form Beth telling me that her brother and sister in law (Rod and Jenny) are also on this section of road and heading in the same direction as us so to keep an eye out for them.  Small world indeed as we were thinking we are in the middle of nowhere and not thinking we are likely to bump into anyone we know!    We pulled over to a very average rest stop and ate our sandwiches and all of a sudden an hour and a half had passed!  Not really, it was just that when our phones had pinged they had also flicked us over onto NT time. 

                                            

A short drive into Warburton where we did another fuel top up and Larry broke another pump (having already destroyed one in Laverton) and then only another short drive to ‘Piggies Place’ rest stop which we have to ourselves again.  The cars and vans get set up in the usual L formation (this tie a little closer together so rogue camels can’t sneak up behind us) and we have the campfire going for another slap up meal of marinated salmon, creamy potato bake and veg followed by spiced apple damper.  We certainly don’t rough it on these holidays!

Hitting The Dirt

 

Wednesday 20 July 2022 – Hitting the dirt

As it was a more leisurely start it was a cooked breakfast morning with a yummy bacon and egg sandwich.  A short drive into Laverton where we visited the visitor centre dump point and toilets (surprisingly clean) and then filled up with fuel and another loaf of bread at the service station/roadhouse/supermarket/centre of town.

Turned onto the Great Central Road and after about 52km we hit the road and felt a bit like the adventure had really begun.  We stopped at Giles Breakaway (also known as Bubbles Rockhole) for a morning tea stop.  The Great Desert Road map book describes this as ‘a spectacular valley of colourful cliffs’.  Well, there was a small rocky ledge that was yellow and white and was slightly underwhelming but it actually looks quite spekky in the photos so there you go.  We chatted to some people who had come from the other direction.  They were quite ecstatic to be close to the bitumen which suggests we may be in for some bumpy bits of roads.  One couple had done in it in a roof top tent.  Her words?  Never again!

                                            

We trundled on for another hour of so at a rest stop named, somewhat creatively, The Pines for a quick dust check.  There was a little bit dust around the door which was a little disappointing but none in any of the internal cupboards that had previously been a problem so we may invest in a bit more rubber stripping in Alice Springs for the door and hopefully that helps.

Drove on for another hour or so.  We kept our eyes scanned for camels as instructed by our map book but the countryside was completely desolate – no fauna of any kind to be found.  We called into a convenient rest stop for a quick lunch stop as it was not a particularly attractive although we were impressed that someone had gone to the effort of actually digging a big hole for their car wreck.  Actually for every camel we haven’t seen we have seen 50 car wrecks.  A lot of them are just abandoned but some people get creative and balance them one of top of another, or on their noses or paint colours on the side.

We had another little stop just up the road at the next rest stop so H&M could fix a rattling of bottles in the back of their car and stumbled across the two MDC camper trailers.  We gave them a friendly wave as were a distance from them and wondered when and if we would next see them.

Our last stop for the day was at the Beegull waterholes which is also the site of a white cross erected by the nearby Indigenous Christians and some small caves with some rock paintings.  Our watches were very happy that we finally did some steps as we climbed to the top of the rocky outcrop to check out the (dry) waterholes and to get a good view of the GCR heading off into the distance with the occasional dust cloud showing the location of another trepid traveller.

We made our overnight stop at Nullye soak about 4pm,  set up camp and got the fire going.  Larry made dinner whilst Jenny did a few days worth of blogging thanks to a loan of Hendrik’s laptop.  A very yummy chicken, mushroom and bacon casserole done in the camp oven went down a treat.  You always know it’s a winner when there are no leftovers!  We sat and digested whilst we stared at the fire and then decided the coals were too good not to doing something with and decided we would use some of the apples we need to eat before the border by making baked apples in the coals.  Just as we were cutting up apples and giant gurgling sound came from nearby.  Considering we are staying at somewhere with ‘Soak’ in the name I first thought that something was gurgling up from the ground but Hendrik and Larry assured us that it was only a camel close by but completely invisible in the pitch dark surrounds outside of the glow of the campfire.  Larry went a grabbed his high powered torch and we spotted one ghostly looking camel wandering along about 100m away or so.  It certainly had sounded closer when it gurgled though!

We ate our yummy apple dessert with a few glances over the shoulder just in case a camel wanted to creep up on us whilst we weren’t looking but we survived the evening and after watching the stars for a bit longer it was time for bed.

Breaking new ground

 

Tuesday 19 July 2022 – Breaking new ground

We aimed to be on the road by 8.30am and had packed up all the outside stuff last night which was just as well as this morning we woke to thick fog and everything dripping wet.  It was kind of eerie driving north in thick fog, not what we were expecting at all, and having cars and trucks looming out of the mist at us.  Two idiots not quite sure how to drive in fog – one just had park lights on which you couldn’t see at all and the other had a light bar across his roo bar completely dazzling us.  Just normal headlights people!

By the time we got to Menzies the fog had burnt off and the sky was blue and sunny.  Menzies was a surprisingly neat and tidy town with very clean public toilets so that we felt no worries about abandoning our van and H&M’s car and van in the hotel carpark whilst we made the side trip to Lake Ballard.  Popped into the tourist bureau to let the lady know to keep an eye on them for us and were reminded about Covid being a thing with the requirement to be completely healthy and to wear a mask before entering the threshold.

It was a quicker drive than we expected out to Lake Ballard on a predominantly sealed road and were soon hiking out onto the lake to check out statues.  Our progress became slower and slower as the mud built up on our shoes and H thought it was probably the closest he had come to wearing high heels!  We walked a half hour circuit around half a dozen or so and thought about going up the small conical hill for a great view across the lake to more statues before Jenny and Miranda realized that what goes up steeply also comes down steeply and doing it in slippery, muddy shoes was probably a bad idea and left it up to the boys to risk it instead.  Of course, our excuse was that we needed to be at ground level so that we could get the great photo opportunity of the boys silhouetted against the crest of the hill!

                                                                

We had found that there is a great campground at Lake Ballard complete with picnic tables, toilets and even a dump point so we took advantage of the former to consume our sandwiches and have a cuppa.  Back to Menzies to retrieve car and vans and then continued north towards Leonora.  All along this road we heard on the radio “Southbound 4 and a half” and took us a while to figure out that she was alerting southbound traffic to a wide load so we assumed we would eventually come up behind a slow moving big vehicle but we never caught them so will never know what the wide load was.  Just as we were heading into Leonora we did another quick little diversion to Gwalia where we checked out the tiny cottages of the ‘ghost town’ and then headed up to the museum precinct.  It is done very well with access to lots of the old Sons of Gwalia mining equipment etc and inside the museum is old trucks, a tram and even a hearse from around the area.  M had a little oopsy out of the tram but fortunately didn’t injure anything other than her pride but we all couldn’t believe the boomer who just stood and stared instead of politely moving away once it was clear no real damage had been done.

                                                    

We made our way up to the lovely house once lived in by Herbert Hoover and is now a B&B with a café and were super impressed by the lush, green surrounds and the lovely furnishings in the house.  The door to one of the guestrooms was open as there were no occupants and it looks a lovely place to stay.  Maybe next time!  The most incongruous thing about it was the garden ending at a fence which had a 1700m deep mine pit on the other side of it.  No kicking the footy on the grass little Johnny in case it goes over the fence!

We could have stayed much longer but we still had another hour or so to go including a stop in Leonora to top up the fuel.  Finally made it to our overnight camp spot at All Hands Well rest area where we parked in an L shape around a conveniently pre prepared campfire spot and soon had a lovely fire going.  It was about this time that the two MDC campervans that we had had lunch next to at Merredin turned up and camped nearby.  Funny if they are doing the same trip as us and we keep bumping in to them.  Nice to sit staring at the flames and eating M’s yummy lasagna and a glass or two of wine.  Dessert was icecream with H’s chocolate liqueur poured over which was a taste sensation and then we sat back, digested and viewed a sky full of stars.  Absolutely no light pollution (apart from the glow of Leinster on the horizon) meant starts very close to the horizon were visible.

Eventually the roar of road trains passing stopped and we headed to bed and snuggled under the doona as clear skies mean chilly nights!