It's hard work keeping up with events. We were in Alice Springs for 5 nights, leaving on Sunday 10th June (Day 1 of the Finke Desert Race) for the West MacDonnell Ranges - Simpson's Gap, Standley Chasm, Ellery Creek Big Hole, Serpentine Gorge, Ormiston Gorge, spending the night at Glen Helen Gorge. All stunningly beautiful and all different.
Yesterday we headed west from Glen Helen Gorge, and then south to Gosse's Bluff. A circle of mountains, like Wilpena Pound, but created 142 million years ago by a 600m wide comet hitting the earth.
So far we have resisted the temptation to drag the caravan (now christened 'The Tardis' - larger inside than out) on dirt roads. Yesterday (Mon 11th June) was his baptism of fire. From Gosse's Bluff to Hermannsburg 60km (including 43km of dirt) or about 230km of bitumen going the other way round. The Larapinta Drive was very rough in places ... occasionally we were down to 10km/hr ... but we made it unscathed, and just in time to get the last campsite ... phew!
Today we subjected the Merc to the seriously rough (4WD only) road to Palm Valley (south of Hermannsburg). Two hours to do 20km ... it was hard. We were mightily impressed to see a Subaru Outback that made it through! Some of the "road" can only be described as rock steps. Back to the safety of The Alice tomorrow.
It's hard work keeping up with events. We were in Alice Springs for 5 nights, leaving on Sunday 10th June (Day 1 of the Finke Desert Race) for the West MacDonnell Ranges - Simpson's Gap, Standley Chasm, Ellery Creek Big Hole, Serpentine Gorge, Ormiston Gorge, spending the night at Glen Helen Gorge. All stunningly beautiful and all different.
Alice Springs (Thu 7th Jun) ... already been here two nights, will be here a couple more days before heading for Simpsons Gap, Standley Chasm, Glen Helen Gorge and Hermansberg in the West MacDonnell Ranges.
This evening (Mon 4th Jun) we saw a partial eclipse of the moon. It appears that Melbourne weather wouldn't have allowed you to see the moon! Last two nights were at Kings Canyon Resort. Yesterday I did another 7km walk, this time round the rim of Kings Canyon ... fascinating ... wonderful place. We are now at Erldunda the junction of the Stuart Hwy and the Lasseter Hwy (to Uluru etc). On the way we took a walk at Kathleen Springs up the Kathleen Gorge. Well, Judy went on her (electric) bike.
Before leaving Yulara on Fri 1st Jun we took a helicopter flight over Uluru and Kata Juta, thus joining up the dots of where I had walked, and where Judy had taken her Year 11 students in the 1980s. Great fun ... just the two of us (and a wildly enthusiastic, very young pilot) in a tiny helicopter.
Thu 31st May was our last night at the Ayers Rock Resort in Yulara. We watched the sunset on Uluru three times. On Wed 30th May I got up a 5:30am to see the sunrise and walk 10km round the base of Uluru. In the afternoon we went to the camel races, as you do. Today was Kata Tjuta (Olgas) day, walked another 10km all up, much tougher route than yesterday.
Stayed three nights in Coober Pedy (Thu 24th May) where we have to pay 20c per 30 litres of water when filling the caravan water tanks. Amazingly crowded camp site with a perishingly cold wind.
On Tuesday 22nd May we made a "bush camp" on a track a little way off the Stuart Highway a few kilometres north-west of Glendambo. This was our first time in a free "campsite". Lovely sunset. Our first night was great, no wind, camp fire. Wed morning was lovely ... but the wind got up and the temperature plummeted at lunch time. It was too windy for camp fire and the gale continued into Thu ... not a lot of fun.
In our bush camp, close to the Stuart Highway, we can hear the occasional road train (truck with two trailers) rumbling past, otherwise total silence!
In the intervening few days, since leaving Port Augusta, we have been to Woomera, Roxby Downs, where we left the caravan to travel up the Borefield (gravel) Road to the (gravel) Oodnadatta Track. We paddled (John immersed himself totally) in Lake Eyre South and stayed the night in the car at Coward Springs - a station on the old Ghan Railway where there is a natural spa, which we tested.
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