Every Picture Tells a Story

Uluru to Coober Pedy

Ayres Rock, Uluru or whatever you want to call it, is IMPRESSIVE. I don't think it matters what time of day you see the ROCK, it's always going to impress. we went to the Olgas first, kata tjuta is the traditional name and now I'm torn between the three. Mt. Connor,a sandstone mesa, Uluru, a monolith and Kata Tjuta, a conglomerate. They each are beautiful individually and I would prefer not to choose a favourite. suffice to say that the whole area is fascinating and, for the first time visitor, awesome.We had planned ahead and took a salad tea to make sure we were in the right spot for sunset on the rock. We drove around the rock after visiting the interpretive centre that was extremely good. Then we took up , what we had picked earlier, as the best site to view the sunset. it wasn't long before the whole car park was full and we were glad of our earlier planning. Spoke to Graham, who asked us to take his photo in front of the rock. Graham is a kiwi and riding a POSTIE BIKE around Oz..Unreal..Anyway, sunset incredible. Some cloud on the horizon changed the colour early but it came back again. After sunset we made our way with the throng, to Yalara and bought some diesel that would assist tomorrow. $2.10/ltr but we have seen it more expensive. 90klms back to Curtin Springs and a speed limit of 110. I choose to drive at 90-100 and I'm glad I did. A big red kangaroo came out of nowhere and hit the front of our vehicle and fortunately didn't do a lot of damage although paid the eternal price for this venture. Another 30klms to go before we got back to the van, not easy, but we were ok.
Next day, Andrew, a father of 3 who we had met at Macdonnel ranges caravan park had arrived with his family into Curtin Springs. Marg recognised daughter Abbie from pancake Sunday at the park in Alice. Andrew   helped me get the parking light back into a secure holding place and we lit a fire and happy hour with Charlie and Monique. Marg cooked cheese scones in our new bodurie and we learnt a lot from these French/swiss people.
Away and heading East again. At Erldunda we fuel up at .40c less than at Yulara and meet Graham (postie bike) again.
As we turn South, the tail wind is obvious and we cruise at 100klm'h and sit on about 13.5ltrs/100klms a great run. Into Marla bore tourist resort for the night after a couple of stops and once again passing GRAHAM. The night at Marla was incredible. Started with a dust storm and then the loudest electrical display we have heard/seen for a long time. The rain was only nuisance value but the lightning incredible.

Mount Conno

Uluru

Sunset at the Rock

Kata Tjuta

We had learnt from Simone at Macdonnel Ranges that the drive South to Port Augusta was boring. We can now confirm that although, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" applies as well. There is a LONG way between these points and done on a regular basis it could become mundane, however as first time visitors, we find the changes subtle but there just the same. the ghan train line comes back and is gone again, the undulating road gives views of hidden valleys and salt pans and rolling bare hills and then white mini-peaks that is the lunar type landscape around Coober Pedy.

Erldunda Footy Final

Before leaving Alice we watched as Collingwood were eliminated from the rest of the years matches by a great side Sydney Swans. Hope that they do well against the hawks in the Grand final. we watched the second semi at Erldunda tavern with allan and carol who are from Adelaide and of course Crows supporters. They are also disappointed with the crows demise, but, hey, there's always next year and nobody knows that saying like a Collingwood supporter.
Next day it's off to Kings Canyon. We stay at kings Creek station that is manned by international back packers. We're fine with that although language can still be a problem. Anyone rang Telstra  or Bigpond with problems lately?Anyway, we find our site with the help of a Geordie on a quad bike, out here on a two year working visa and about to leave at the end of the month because "It'll be too hot ay." Settle in and we still have plenty of time to explore Kings Canyon. Visit the resort first and check out their campinmg facilities and there is definitely more grass. We have red sand. The walk into Kings canyon was great. An easy walk in 34C heat and we should have taken our water with us but you learn from these things. Some insane people took the rim tour and we saw them half way up to the top of the canyon and they looked as if they were struggling, I know we would have been at that stage. At the end of the canyon, a school group arrived as we were appreciating the dramatic views. They set up for a group shot and we got out before take 18 or "stop mucking around" from one of the teachers. Chat resulted in they were staying at same place and putting a concert on tonight, please come along...... Bairnsdale secondary College band and the concert was VERY good.Off to Curtin Springs station next morning and caught a glimpse of what we thought was the ROCK but instead it was the equally impressive Mt.Connor as we came back to the intersection to turn to Ularu.

Curtin Springs is a station of about a million acres, yeah thats right!! it's 1,600 sq miles.. In a practical sense that's a lot of ground to look after. So if the homestead is in the centre, it's 2 days travel to the front gate. Our perth friends Ivan and Chris, in Ivans job he called a station owner once and was asked where are you, he replied at your front gate, the farmer replied OK I'll see you in two days, cos thats how long it took from the homestead to the front gate..WOW..

Alice to Erldunda

well, we said goodbye to Alice this morning, not so much a goodbye as a so long? (a corny mid 50's phrase)  we will be back. have been very impressed by the Alice. Moving on today.  we leave nice and early as far as the temp is concerned. Out of the park by about 9.20 and hit the road. I had already topped up the diesel yesterday, so it was really only a matter of packing up the camp. Under normal circumstances, i would be a lot more organised but with Collingwood playing in a semi and it coming through live, i had other things on my mind. i would usually dismantle the awning rafters, pack up the bbq and put the chairs in their travel bags before the morning came, BUT.....  Anyhow, all is history now, on the road and the EVER changing landscape seems to enthrall us with every turn. Changes between, riverbeds. grasslands and woodlands as well as the sandy areas incorporating salt pans as well, always changing, always grabbing your attention. Traffic is slow on the road today and we have wondered if the Road Trains have the weekends off because I am sure the number we meet must be minimal and I'm fine with that. We pause for a break at a monument for cannonball memorial. two officials and two Japanese competitors died here in 1994 doing what they all loved, no other details but I am sure they would be available. tragic circumstances I am sure, and I'm not gonna look for any more detail. we see bearded dragons on different parts of the road, traffic warning signs for kangaroos and a new one for camels. All the while, new messas come into view, rich in colour and the jump ups relatively close to the road look as if they have been placed there ever so carefully by a clever stonemasons hand but they were there before the masons, lovely stuff.

Every Picture Tells a Story

Around a town like Alice

I had mentioned in a previous Blog that we intended to go to those other attractions of the area but we have found that the NATURAL are much better. West Macdonnel ranges are amazing. The shape of these ranges and the trauma that occurred during there formation makes me glad that it was all done before we got here. Standley chasm that we have seen photos of and been featured in travel docos for years is better in  the flesh,so to speak.Simpsons gap didn't sound much but there again we were amazed at its beauty and ruggedness. Warming up here quickly so the morning is the best time to walk through these natural beauties than after lunch. We are learning. Dinner out at Robin and Darrells place was a nice catch up after nineteen years, and they have Sturt desert peas growing wild in their garden and at full flower at the moment, another WOW.John Flynn, from RFDS fame was a great pioneer of the inland. Flynn was born at Moliagul in victoria and died in Alice Springs and is buried beneath a large rock/monument beneath the West Macdonnel Ranges. Quite a fitting place for him when you know his history and what a great man he was.

Every Picture Tells a Story

Camooweal to Alice Springs

Camooweal was a treasure. Not sure why we haven't done very much bush camping until now, guess the opportunity didn't arise while we were on the coast. Barkly Homestead is an oasis in the middle of nowhere. Well shaded sites, a tavern, roadhouse and fuel are all available here. One night and off again. Interesting to see that the park here fills up by late afternoon and the next morning, everyone is on their way. Generator runs 24 hours here and there are signs near the fuel bowsers explaining why the fuel price is so high. The remoteness, the generators running and the provision of the convenience of a place like this out here is fair enough. we had planned not to get fuel here because we heard it was around $2.20/ltr. The Barkly highway is a good road here. It ends at a roadhouse come caravan park come truck stop at Three Ways. North, South or East are your choices. We chose to turn South to Tennant creek. Fuel was a great deal cheaper there at about 1.70/ltr. Our introduction to NT here with a bit of a shock at the number of "locals" sitting under trees, in the street and a town struggling with its culture. Something new for us with windows on businesses barred up and a look of fortress like. Lunch here at the Gold Battery and on to Devils Marbles or Wauchope hotel, not sure. free camp at devils Marbles looks quite good and level sites so this is it for today. An Australian Army recovery vehicle has pulled in opposite us with a couple in a camper trailer. Fire places are with nearly every site and the couple next door have a large pot on the fire cooking Silverside. We have our tea and settle in for the night. No internet or telephone or tv here.We are woken through the night by a dog howling and being answered by others around the area. I blame the disturbance on the samoyed across the way but no, they are dingoes.The dingoes are still around in the morning seeming like they have nowhere else to go. Unlike us, as we pack up and move on. Harry and Wendy with the silverside are heading to Gemtree caravan park, where flocks of wild budgies and a large array of other birds can be seen. It's 70 klms off the road and sounds good to us. A bonus with Gemtree is the fossicking for garnets and Zircons that are found in the area. We sign up for the tag-along tour which includes the hire of pick,shovel,sieves water buckets and 20ltrs of water to wash the stones. We follow the leader and two other vehicles out the 25klms of sealed road before swinging off the road and into their mining lease for about 2klms to the fossicking ground. Garnets are everywhere.No need to dig even, you can see them on the ground. AMAZING. We collect what we consider to be quite a few, have our lunch and collect some more before driving back to have them sorted, graded and appraised. We are quite happy with our lot and the deep red colour is magnificent.Flocks of budgies are here allright, we also see a pair of wedge tailed eagles on our way out and while we were having lunch, a flock of black cockatoos flew by. We went out to the zircon field the day before and just drove around the open pit area where there are plenty of No Entry signs. There is an old gold area further south along this road at Claraville but its a further 70klms and I have had enough corrugations and red dust for today.

Our friends Trish and Rob were going on the zircon tag-along but we had already extended our stay and it was time to move along to Alice Springs. Isn't it strange, we had never predicted that we would be going into Alice Springs from the North. Tourist information centre in town car park is on the banks of the Todd river where a couple of locals were sitting doing dot paintings and beckoned us over. We encouraged them to keep up the good work and moved on after a toilet break. We met a buddhist nun who was taller than Marg and exploring Australia as well. She is American and teaching buddhism here. On to Macdonnel ranges caravan park, a big 4 park and we have booked in for three nights.Notices say that didgeridoo lessons will be on at 5.00 so we go along to hear. Wow, a whitey playing the didge and a variety of them as well, brilliant. Next morning, Saturday after a Collingwood win, we head for the camp kitchen with our plates, knives and forks and coffee mugs for the free pancake brekky.Wow what a feed. Todd Mall market is on this morning so its off to that now. Just start into the market and run into an old friend from Shepparton,Robin Wallace, looking at lovely postcards. Wallaces have been here for 19 years and love it and have asked us around for drinks that night. Wallaces explain to us about the environment in Alice and some of the other great attractions of the area. transport hall of fame and desert Park just two of them that we plan to see.    

Camooweal

A nice place. one out of the blue, so to speak. Thoroughly enjoyed our time there and we'll be back. The sad thing is that Liz, from Drovers Camp, is giving it away at the end of this year. I have noticed on Grey Nomads site that they are looking for volunteers to take up the reigns, so to speak. A great story there and a load of memorabilia including current portraits of some of the REAL drovers who still took cattle down...Out of there this morning and on our way to Barkly Homestead. An oasis in the middle of the desert. Full telstra coverage and the sound of the generator can be heard humming in the background. Fuel here is 1.99 per litre and they justify that by saying the generator runs 24 hours a day and uses 500 ltrs per day.Welcome to the Northern Territory, Bruce and Marg......

mount isa to Camooweal

Left Mount Isa yesterday and moved the 188 klms to Camooweal. Wow and WOW again, what a place. As you can imagine, there is not a lot here either, but I think that that is what makes some places special.One pub, two roadhouses (fuel) a general store, town hall and a population of 310. But there is also an awesome tourist attraction called the Drovers Camp. You need to get here sometime and see that. Camping by the Georgina river is free but there are also 2 caravan parks in town as well.The free camp has two different sections to it, both glorious. The first, closer to town is obviously shallow. and contains no fish to speak of. The second, we are told, has both perch (yellowbelly) and red claw (yabbie) and sometimes you may even see a jabiru there. Resident pelicans control the second section as well. Cattle roam freely here, there is a sign as you leave town saying road unfenced next 190 klms.

mount Isa

Interesting place the Isa, a very strong Irish influence with the Irish club as part of the dining/entertainment scene. Meals are good and reasonably priced there. The larger "award winning" Buffs club is fairly well supported by the rest of the locals again with fairly priced meals and also of a good standard. Our caravan park is 2.5 klms out of the town centre and we are on the direct flight path for Virgin, rex and Qantas flights leaving here for goodness knows where. We are doing an above ground mine tour tomorrow and also plan to see the underground hospital built by the Americans after Darwin was bombed during WW2. Caught up with some people I went to High school with yesterday. The next caravan had Murray and Judy Webb in it, right on the next site mind you. That makes about three couples from the Korumburra area that we have met so far. I suppose that will not be the end.

So to Mount Isa

Cloncurry was an interesting place but we have klms to get over. The road was again different. probably better than we have had so far in that it was at least smoothe, not the culverts we had before Richmond and now we have hills. Yes, hills , big red ones and plenty of them. Nice trip. If you haven't been to Mount Isa before, those memorable images of the red and white stack in the background of photos of this town, seems to dominate the area and definitely does that. Although a second stack is now in the scenery, the red and white one is still dominant. Multi-cultural? yes, the cultures here seem to be across the spectrum and learning a little of the history with Afghans and camel trains, the local Kalkadoon people, the first inhabitants of this area, the Scots, the Irish and the finns and Hungarian miners that came to find their fortunes from the spinifex covered hills. the Americans who built the roads through the years of WW2 all have a part in the history of the area. We now have a well established commercial centre of town. an introduction of the place may be found at the local Tourist Information centre or Outback at Isa. Local tours can be all booked from here. The centre is close to the Hard Times Mine where tours are conducted on a regular basis. We stayed at the Sunset Top Tourist park which is a couple of klms from the town centre and seems to be quite busy. We last saw Park Full signs out at parks at Yeppoon and haven't seen them til now, a fair indication of the travelling public at the moment.

Every Picture Tells a Story

Richmond to Cloncurry

Julia creek was to be our destination today. We had heard a couple of differing reports on the park there and without even seeing it, had a bite to eat in the town and seeing that Cloncurry was only another 140klms down the track, we pressed on. A larger town than both Richmond and Julia Creek,

Cloncurry has the largest saleyards in Northern Queensland. the variety of cattle around here is a lot different from what we are used to. Brahman being the dominant breed but also Brangus and Braford, so you have the Angus cross and the Hereford cross. All heavy cattle that climatise well to this area. We have seen brolgas frequently as well, Australias closest bird to Storks, they dance and perform for each other in beautiful dance. well beautiful if you are another brolga, no doubt. The black kites are another dominant bird we have noticed. Their prey seems to be carrion, so road kill is high on their menu. Today we had another pleasant surprise. we could see from quite a distance a larger bird than we had seen for a while. as the car/caravan team got closer, it was obviously a large wedge Tailed Eagle. Always great to see these normally shy giants, close. We are well and truly in Channel country, part of the large sub-artesian water basin where this great inland sea used to be. The road is frequently crossed by small creeks sometimes several times by the same creek as its waters make their way to "the Gulf."