On the Red Centre Way

 

Monday 1 August 2022 – On the Red Centre Way

A bit of a late start this morning as H has picked up a cold somewhere along the way (we suspect the plane back from Perth) and didn’t sleep well and then it took a while of slipping over rocks etc to get the cars hitched back onto the vans.  About 9.30am we made the long trek across the road to the Glen Helen gorge as as girl yesterday had promoted it by saying it was an easy walk in to a gorge filled with water and no dead fish.  We had to park out in the visitor area as we are not staying at the Discovery Park CP at Glen Helen so it was a little longer and possibly not even the right path as we ended walking through river bed reeds rather than the nice stone path that led down from the CP but we got there in the end and it was a lovely small gorge and worth the effort.

We took the short route back to the vans through the caravan park and reassured ourselves that our camp across the road and along the river was far superior in terms of views and aesthetics and had only been lacking the amenities and that was fine for a couple of days as we have toilets and showers in the vans so may as well use them!

It was then time to head west and then south with a stop at Tylers Pass lookout where it was jumpers back on weather as it was so high and windy.  Great views in all directions though including towards Gosse Bluff where a meteor hit a few hundred million years ago and left a giant impact crater (from the side it really just looks like a bluff).  We decided just to drink our tea in the car as it was too cold and windy at the picnic table provided (just to reiterate, NT really does do tourism well) and another half hour or so we were in Hermannsburg.   It’s a public holiday here but the fuel station had self service/payment and there was internet so we lingered a while to refuel, download drone software updates, upload Facebook and to chat to family where Kate let me know the Eagles had lost to Gold Coast by only 3 points yesterday – bummer!

We had lunch next to the Hermannsburg  historic precinct (it was originally settled as a Lutheran mission and became known for producing pottery) but decided we will come back on Wednesday as the cafe, which apparently does a suitably Germanic apple strudel will be open.  So lunch in the vans and then time to deflate the tyres in order to tackle the 24km of rough road/river bed into Palm Valley camp ground.  We stopped outside the NP to load up on firewood as we are down to our last bag (although the compressed logs have been a good buy as they are easy to store and supplement each wood fire nicely).  On to the campground and we are very happy with our sites that we have parked in sidewards so that we can sit outside and look directly out over the cliffs and park.  Once again, NT Parks have upstaged DPAW with this campground having a very good amenities block with proper flushable toilets and hot showers – gotta be happy with that.