July 5, 2012 - a day in Alice Springs

We live dangerously!  Bob found a white-tailed spider in the van last night &, to add to our precarious existence, we discovered that we had slept with the door open (only the fly wire was was closed)!  Still, when you've reached our great age, you can be excused for harbouring a poisonous spider & committing a serious breach of security!

We had a fabulous day!  Went to the School of the Air, which was fascinating (I could have stayed all day).  It is the world's largest classroom, more than 1.3 million square kilometres (502,000 square miles) & serves children from the very remotest parts of this vast continent.

  Visited the Royal Flying Doctor Headquarters, which was equally impressive - they do a fantastic job.  Moved on to the National Pioneer Women's Hall of Fame, where we discovered the wonderful contributions that women have made in helping to establish this country.  We thoroughly enjoyed it all & have nothing but admiration for the early Australians, who were so courageous in overcoming the tremendous obstacles that faced them.

  We ended the day with a meal at the Alice Springs Golf Club - a good old-fashioned roast!

July 4, 2012 - Exploring the area around Alice Springs

Charlie took us on a great trip today into the West MacDonnell National Park.  The scenery was absolutely fantastic - I hadn't realised that Australia had this type of terrain.  We stopped at Simpson's Gap, where we walked along the river, with beautiful trees & rock formations on either side.  Some film makers were on location there & a large work force seemed busy "setting the scene".

We moved on to Stanley Chasm, where we had quite a long walk, over rocky ground, to arrive at a spectacular gulley, where the light was perfect for photography at 12 o'clock midday, when the sun was in an ideal position.  We took some great photographs & met up again with more of our fellow travelling friends.

Next stop was Ochre Pits, where the coloured bands of rock were amazing to behold - cream, yellow, purple, etc.; an artist's delight.

Finally, we visited the breath-taking Ormiston Gorge, with its sheer red walls & permanent waterhole.  Several dingoes were running about amongst the rocks & a lady told me that she had seen one catch a fish!

We'd had a long day, but a really enjoyable one, with some welcome exercise & plenty to see.

July 3, 2012 - a look at Alice Springs

Sunny & bright again, but the wind was still chilly.

When Judy & Charlie drove us into  town, we saw a lot of Aboriginals.  The poor things do not show themselves in a good light & generally look unkempt, aimless & rather pathetic.  They do not appear to have any aspirations & merely sit around or wander about in the shops.  How sad that they do not seem to want anything better.

We drove up to the Memorial, which is high above the town & had some panoramic views.  Whilst up there, we met a young family that we had befriended at Uluru - we do tend to meet the same people again & again, as we all follow the same route.

 

We had a brief look at the shops.  Judy & I found a couple of bargain tops, had some lunch, then bought some food in Woolworth's.

In the evening, we did lots of work on this blog in an effort to bring it up to date.

July 2, 2012 - King's Canyon to Alice Springs

We left King's Creek Station at 9am - it was bright & sunny, but very cold.  We had to travel along the Lasseter & Stuart Highways, the latter of which goes all the way to Darwin.We hoped that we would soon have mobile phone contact again.

We passed a shorter dirt road to Alice Springs but weren't game to try it.  Didn't fancy being "all shook up"!  We stopped for coffee at the Lasseter H'way junction & met a couple with an "off-road" caravan.  They'd travelled 100km along the dirt road & had found chaos inside their caravan when they stopped - the contents of the fridge were all over the floor, units had come away from the walls, the glass microwave plate had shot out, etc., etc!  We were wise to avoid it.

Lasseter Highway Junction

We came across some road works & the red dust was unbelievable!  Quite a lot has found its way into our van & my feet will probably be red for ever!

We joined the Stuart H'way at Erldunda, where we refuelled.  It was a very busy filling station as cars, coaches & caravanners queued to fill up for their long journeys ahead.  When we moved on to the highway, the speed limit changed to 130kph & we "shuddered" as huge trucks thundered past us!

We found a pleasant rest area for lunch, then set off again through a range of sharp-ridged hills.  Throughout the rest of the journey, the terrain alternated between hilly areas & vast, wide plains.  The sun shone relentlessly & we were grateful for the extensions on our windscreen shades.




Lunch stop

We saw markers, at intervals, to show the depth of floods in the wet season - hard to imagine, since all the river beds we'd seen, were dry!  At Stuart's Well, there was a camel farm - very suitable animals for this environment.
When we finally arrived at the Winter Sun Campsite, in Alice, Judy was cooking a roast pork dinner for us - magic!

July 1, 2012 - Rest day at King's Canyon

We decided to have a relaxed day, as we'd been very "busy" previously.  Had a late breakfast, caught up with the laundry in the site's antiquated washing machine, then sunbathed & read our kindles.  The site was quiet, peaceful & well spread out - most relaxing.  We enjoyed bright sunshine & a perfect blue sky, but the wind was a bit chilly, probably because it's winter & we were at a fairly high elevation.  However, it was absolutely gorgeous, sitting in a sheltered position.

We tried to work on the blog, but without success - we were in such a remote spot that we were unable to make connections of any kind.  After dinner, the generators failed & there was no electricity, so we had to rely on our battery.  We did enjoy the location, though, despite the rather hit or miss amenities.

30 June - Uluru to King's Canyon (304km)

Another glorious day - not a cloud in the sky!  We left Yulara just before 10am.  After numerous kilometres of "sameness", we noticed wooded hills ahead.  The road began to wind & the terrain became more undulating.  At first, we saw no wildlife at all, apart from the occasional magnificent eagle, hovering & swooping above us.  However, roadside droppings suggested animals in the area (probably kangaroos).  Finally, we encountered a group of wild horses.

Frequent "Floodway" signs appeared, making us glad we'd come in the dry season.  The route became more scenic & gum trees became prevalent among the bushes.

We climbed, with a massive escarpment on our right, which developed into a vast panorama stretching far into the distance.

At King's Creek Station, we took the last powered site - it had electricity, but no hook-ups for water (only free-standing taps).  We settled in, had lunch, then set off for the Canyon., which was 38km further on.  Wild melons (known locally as "paddy-melons") grew along the roadside, but we learned that they were inedible.

10km from the Canyon, we saw towering escarpments, reminiscent of many we'd seen in Arizona.  The King's Canyon environment was very picturesque - massive walls of rock, huge boulders, sunlight on leaves, the trunks of gums gleaming white, bright orange rock against intense blue sky & birds darting amongst foliage, the tiny honey-eaters feeding off orange holly leaf grevillea flowers.  A truly beautiful place - only wish I'd been fit enough to climb the ridge & look down into the canyon below.

29 June - a day in Uluru/Kata Tjuta National Park

No travelling today.  We went to the Cultural Centre at Uluru, where the Aboriginal way of life & their beliefs were explained & illustrated.  We watched a husband & wife, Millie & Brian, painting in the traditional style, using the tips of sticks to produce hundreds of tiny dots.  We found one of Millie's pictures particularly attractive & so we bought it.

We paid a second visit to the Rock & watched people doing the climb, which is not popular with the Aboriginals, but reluctantly tolerated to promote tourism.  It looked really challenging, not to mention somewhat dangerous!  In fact, one of the climbers snapped his Achilles Tendon & had to be brought down by helicopter.



See climbers at top, right of picture.

We did a short walk around the base of Uluru & were surprised at how the elements had carved out wierd & wonderful shapes, some of which we were allowed to photograph.  Others were regarded as too sacred & so we could not take pictures of them.
On leaving Uluru, we moved on to Kata Tjuta (the Bungle Bungles), which are also fascinating structures that make an impressive outline on the horizon.  Unlike Uluru, they are made up of several massive rock formations with huge crevices & valleys between.  We saw four wild camels grazing nearby (apparently, Australia has an enormous number of them, roaming freely).

28 June - Kulgera to Ayer's Rock/Uluru

This was our first day alone in the outback!  Judy & Charlie had left for Alice Springs since they'd already been to the area we were about to visit.  We left our campsite at 9.30am & proceeded to fill up with diesel before setting out on our journey.  Bob had to provide identification before he was allowed to put fuel in the car (I guess people had left without paying, in the past).

We saw several big eagles feeding off dead animals (possibly dingoes).

About 140km from Uluru, we saw a huge, red monolith in the distance, which turned out to be Mt Connor (apparently, frequently mistaken for Uluru).  The vegetation changed & we began to see desert oaks, with feathery foliage & black trunks, as well as juveniles of the same species, which were thin & rocket-like.

The caravan site at Yulara (near to Uluru) was very busy & we could only get an unpowered space, which we had to accept.

We went to watch sunset over the Rock, which was a very special experience.  Uluru changed colour dramatically as the sun sank lower in the sky.  Quite a large crowd had gathered to watch & cameras clicked busily.  We befriended two young families & a lady from the Blue Mountains.

27 June - Coober Pedy to Kulgera (border of S. Australia & Northern Territory)

Filled our water tanks & left Coober Pedy by 9am.  The sky was blue & the sun shone, but it was cold - only 9C & my feet were freezing!  Passed numerous little piles of soil as we left the town - apparently, there are over a million diggings.  There was a vast amount of "nothing" between C.P. & Marla (our next stop).  The only signs of life were white cockatoos & a couple of dingoes, one feeding off some roadkill.  We'd seen a dog fence yesterday, designed to keep dingoes out of South Australia - I guess they're a threat to sheep & cattle.

A vast amount of "nothing"!

We had quite a scare when a huge bull suddenly stepped out from the bushes at the roadside (much of the grazing land is unfenced).  We just prayed that it wouldn't try to cross the road, as Bob couldn't have stopped - God was in His heaven & an accident was averted!

Marla, where we stopped for lunch, was a real little oasis - green grass, tall trees & bougainevillea, as well as all the services.  Diesel was more expensive than formerly & probably will become even more so, due to transportation costs.

Moving on, we saw "brumbies" (wild horses) grazing in the bush - all these loose animals are as worrying as the riderless horses in the Grand National!

The temperature rose to 18C & it was hot in the car.  At about 3.30pm., we crossed into the Northern Territory & chose a free camp at a place called Kulgera.  We had travelled just over 400km.



A friend's impression of the two of us on the road (with friends like that, who needs enemies!)



26 June, 2012 - Exploring Coober Pedy

Had coffee in an underground cafe, then went up to the "Big Winch" for an overview of the town & surrounding area - it was rather like a moon-scape.


Who cares about spelling when there are opals up for grabs!





The Big Winch



We moved on to the "Old Timer's Mine", which was constructed in 1916 using only the most basic equipment.  I soon realised that I could never have worked underground & felt very claustrophobic.  However, subterranean homes & churches are an excellent idea when temperatures reach melting point on the surface!  The underground houses were cool & fascinating, even if not exactly appealing.

I couldn't resist buying a pair of pretty blue/green opal earrings.  They came in a myriad of colours & it was difficult to choose from amongst them all.

After lunch, we drove out of town, with Judy & Charlie, to an area known as the Breakaways - it was very beautiful & scenic.  We enjoyed panoramic views of the fantastic landscape, which was an artist's delight, displaying bands of white, yellow, orange & various other shades.  The Breakaways is sacred to the Aboriginals & visitors are asked to respect this.



The Aboriginals call these two hills "The White Dog & The Brown Dog"



25 June, 2012 - Bon Bon to Coober Pedy

It was freezing when we awoke at 8am - we could see our breath in the van!  Though cold, initially, it turned out to be a glorious day.  Bob cooked us all bacon & egg & we left the area at 10am.  There were more vehicles on the road, it being a Monday, & we met lots of "grey nomads" at each stopping-off place.  Soon after setting off, we saw crows feeding off a dead kangaroo - I guess this will be a frequent sight.  The outside temperature rose steadily & I began to recover, not only from the early morning cold, from also my reluctant use of a "long-drop", which was not the best experience I'd ever had!

At intervals along the road, we saw strips, where the Flying Doctor aeroplanes could land - a great comfort to those living on outlying stations. 

Last stop before Coober Pedy

 As we neared Coober Pedy, we noticed exploratory diggings, where they were testing for opals.  The temperature crept up to 15C.

The town was strange & very different, having grown up purely for the purpose of opal mining.  It was sandy, dusty & "gritty" & obviously short of water, which we will have to pay for.

Tomorrow, we hope to see one of the famous underground houses, constructed to escape the searing heat of summer.  It is said that many "wanted" characters escape to Coober Pedy & live underground to remain undiscovered.



.

23 June, 2012 - Port Augusta to Bon Bon

Met my first Aboriginal just before we left Port Augusta - he was called Peter.  We had a long chat; he told me he was from Western Australia but had travelled all over (Charlie said we couldn't take him with us!)

The landscape became really arid, with bush, scrub & very few trees.  A road sign warned of kangaroos & cattle in the road.  The sheep were quite orange, from the sandy soil.  We passed some cyclists - where on earth were they going?    The trucks became huge, often 3 or 4 trailers long!  Occasionally there were roadworks going on - Charlie reckoned that, if you worked out here for too long, you'd start blowing kisses to emus!

We stayed in good contact with Judy & Charlie via our CB radios - very handy, except that a "truckie" offered me a polythene bag after I'd requested a toilet stop!  You obviously have to watch what you say as there are "sticky beaks" about.

You wonder how the early explorers survived in this wilderness that goes on for 100's of miles with hardly a hiccup.  We saw carcasses of dead cows all over the place, so accidents must be frequent.  Cattle stations are enormous & the animals wander far & wide, searching for grass.  We also saw emus, or "bush chooks" as we've heard them called.

Our next stop was at Woomera, where Britain & Australia began developing rockets as early as 1947 at Churchill's instigation.  It was a fascinating place - a real desert town, isolated in the middle of a vast, endless landscape.  The land was the flattest we'd ever seen, but the skies were enormous, extending upwards & outwards for ever, unbroken by any natural or man-made formation.  Bob was delighted to find a Canberra aircraft at Woomera - he'd worked on Canberras for 7 years during the early years of his career.

Our next camp site was a simple parking area, just off the road, with no hook-ups for power or water, so we had to rely on our bottled gas, batteries & water tanks.  We were almost on a par with the early pioneers ... but, not quite!  Charlie has brought a spade along, but Judy & I are refusing to use it.

We had a lovely meal of beef, that Judy had cooked yesterday, then went outside to look at the night sky, which was amazing.  All around us, it was black, but the sky was ablaze with stars, so bright & numerous that they defied description.  A new moon shone amongst them & the scene was one of sheer magic!