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| Right in the Centre |
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| Northern Ring Neck |
24/08/16 Day 89 (We). Sunday we drove into Alice Springs. The drive was very wet.
We had not seen a drop of rain for 74 days since leaving Oakabella Homestead
nth of Geraldton. Apparently the number of average rainfall days for August for
Alice is 2 and we’ve had 3. It was a big days driving too as we covered 400
km’s and arrived in Alice just after lunch time. We went to the information
centre and then checked into the Heritage CP. It’s fully dog friendly in
evidence by all the poo bag dispensers around the park as well as their big off-leash
area. The remainder of the day was spent relaxing in camp. The temperature has
dropped significantly too with the max on Sunday being 21. It’s amazing that
two days previously we were sweltering and swimming in a pool and then a couple
of days later we are donning jumpers and beanies.
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| Dana and Till at Alice |
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| Chilly Day at Mt Ebenezer |
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| Sunset at Mt Ebenezer |
As we were pulling into our site we
saw Dana and Till for the third time. They are two mates from Germany having a
poke around Oz before returning to country WA for harvest. Dana had been
working on a farm for a few months and Till had just arrived in Oz in Darwin 6
days previously. We ran into them the first time when we pulled into Elliot for
a driving break and morning tea on our way to Renner Springs. They were pulled
up in a parking bay out the front of the servo with their bonnet up. Turns out
that they had cracked the transfer case on their Toyota Prado and were trying
to source parts to get it repaired. We saw them again the next day as we were
refuelling in Tennant Creek. They couldn’t get what they needed in Elliot and
had loaded the car onto a truck and had it delivered to Tennant Creek. When we
pulled into the CP in Alice they were already there. They also couldn’t source
parts in Tennant Creek and had loaded the car on a train to be delivered to
Alice and had scored a lift from another backpacker couple to Alice. What a
coincidence.
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| Mt Conner |
Towards the afternoon Mum and Lib
decided to venture to the bottlo and returned with a couple of bottles of plonk
and one of Drambuie. We spent the afternoon having a few quiet drinks and then
just before bed invited Dana and Till to join us for a nightcap. A good time
was had by all.
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| Uluru |
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| Uluru |
On Monday we had a relaxed start to
the day. We had covered approx. 1000 km’s in 3 days and so we had decided to
have a rest day (from driving). We caught up on our washing and housekeeping
and then Lib and I drove into town to stock up on supplies for the next leg to
Uluru and Kings Canyon. We gave Dana and Till a lift into town to get their car
and take it to the mechanic. Turns out they found the parts in Alice but the
repair was not going to be cheap at around $2000. We caught up with them after
the shopping and then returned to camp where we spent the rest of the day
talking and relaxing. I also managed to get a couple of repair jobs completed.
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| Sunset on Uluru |
Yesterday we woke early and after
refuelling we headed south towards Uluru. We pulled up for the night at Mt
Ebenezer in the CP behind the roadhouse. It’s nothing flash but it is super
cheap at $5/p a night. We had fish and chips for lunch in the dining room and
then spent two hours wandering around the Aboriginal Art Gallery at the rear of
the roadhouse where we agonised over the decision of which pieces we wanted to
buy. Eventually Lib and I decided on a piece each and Mum bought two. We took
the puppies for a wander around the grave yard and then through the junk yard.
There are heaps of little flowers all poking their heads out after the recent
rain.
This morning we drove to Uluru. And
it’s MASSIVE!
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| Kata Tjuta |
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| Valley of the Winds Kata Tjuta |
The photos just really do not do it
justice. Unless you’ve been here you cannot possibly understand the sheer
enormity of it. We could see it when we were still 50 km’s away on the highway.
And we could see the Olgas too. After checking in to the CP (a wrought at $40/N
unpowered), we had lunch and then went out to experience this monstrosity. It
is truly incredible and all my big words just don’t capture the size or the
beauty of this place.
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| Walpa Gorge Kata Tjuta |
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| Sunset at Yulara |
We parked in the carpark for the walk
to Kantju Gorge. It is also where the walk to the summit starts. It is really
incredible with all the reading material and signage around Uluru that people
are disregarding the wishes of the traditional owners of this amazing place and
still feel the need to climb to the top. We watched for a bit and then walked
around the base of the rock to the gorge.
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| Sunset on Kata Tjuta |
Afterwards we drove the circumference
of the base and ended up at the sunrise/sunset viewing platform to take a few
shots before driving around to the western side to watch the sunset on Uluru.
It was AWESOME!
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| Sunrise over Uluru and Kata Tjuta |
26/08/16 Day 91 (Fr). Yesterday we decided to have a sleep in. We had a late start
and were on the road out to Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) by 1100. We stopped on the
way at the Dune Sunrise viewing area and as we were walking to the summit, low
and behold, following up behind us were Dana and Till. They had gotten their
car fixed and then driven straight to Kings Canyon the day before. On arrival
Dana completed the 3-4 hr Rim Walk in two hours and then in the dark drove the
rest of the way to a free camp 20 km’s short of Yulara.
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| Sunrise over Uluru |
They hadn’t had much sleep when we
saw them as they were not really prepared for the cold nights and only had one
thin blanket each and had suffered accordingly. After a quick catch up they
headed off to Uluru and we moved on to the Valley of the Winds with the promise
to catch up later in the day.
We walked up the Valley of the Winds
to the first lookout point. The view at the top looking forwards and backwards
was breath taking.
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| Bess and the Big Red Rock |
After arriving back at the bottom we
headed to the Sunset Viewing area to have lunch and then completed the walk
into Walpa Gorge. It was magnificent walking between two of these massive
rocks. It was a hidden oasis with so much plant life. We saw many different
types of flowers and plants that are only found in that area. There were lots
of birds flittering through the trees and scrub. Through the middle of it all
ran a little brook keeping all the vegetation nice and green.
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| Valley of the Winds Kata Tjuta |
As we were finishing up dinner in the
evening Dana and Till came a calling. We chatted to them for about an hour
before we kicked them out to go to bed as we all wanted to get up early to
watch the sunrise on Uluru. We lent them two of Mum’s hire sleeping bags and
Lib and I gave them a crocheted rug each as we were only carrying them in case
Mum needed them, which she hasn’t to this point and it got down to 3C last
night.
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| George Gill Range, Kings Canyon |
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| Wildlife at Kings Canyon |
This morning we were up well before
to the sun to try and beat the masses to get a good vantage point from which to
view the sunrise. And believe me when I say masses. As the coaches rolled in
one after the other soon there wasn’t room to swing a cat. But we had a good
view from the front left corner of the top most platform. I just hope I got
some good shots.
We met Dana and Till in the car park
to retrieve the sleeping bags and make our final goodbyes. They are headed down
to Port Augusta, across to Esperance and then back up to Merredin where they
have jobs waiting for them on a grain farm. They are supposed to be there in 3 days
so they have a lot of miles to cover.
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| Sturt's Desert Pea, Kings Canyon |
When we returned to camp we had
breakfast, packed down and then drove the 300 km’s to Kings Canyon Resort where
we are spending the next two nights. Mum also finally saw a Sturt's Desert Pea in nature.
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| Kings Canyon |
28/08/16 Day 93 (Su). Yesterday we were up and starting the Kings Canyon Rim Walk
by 0930. It was a great trek. The landscape is unlike anywhere else we’ve seen
before. It does require a moderate level of fitness but we managed the whole
thing without any great drama. The sheer size of it is impressive and the dome
sandstone structures lining the cliff tops are awesome. One favourite part for
me was trekking down into the Garden of Eden where there are heaps of plant and
bird life and a large waterhole. It is very hard to describe the rugged beauty
of this amazing landscape. I highly recommend everyone to put this place on
their bucket list.
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| Kings Canyon |
After returning to camp and chilling
for a while we then went up to Carmichael’s, the resort restaurant. We partook
of a sumptuous three course meal before strolling back to the CP under the starry
sky.
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| Kings Canyon |
Today we were on the road by 0800 and
pulled up for the day at the Eldundra Roadhouse at the intersection of the
Stuart and Lassiter highways. When we arrived we found Lib’s parents had
arrived about an hour before and were waiting there for us. We spent the
afternoon and evening catching up and tomorrow our expanded caravan troop will
convoy up the highway to Alice.
If you want a true outback experience
then come and camp here. The flies were bloody horrible and ferocious, and the
smell of the septic permeated all corners of the camp ground. Bloody Wonderful!
It’s also as close to the centre of
Australia as you can get on the bitumen.
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| Kings Canyon |
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| Kings Canyon |
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| Garden of Eden, Kings Canyon |
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