Monday 30 July – Today we have had a lovely relaxing day.  We woke pretty early, Grant was woken by a couple of very loud light aeroplanes taking off – so he headed off down to the Roper River, at the bottom of the walk past the pool to go for the big catch.  I didn’t get up straight away, and after showering, having breakfast, doing a bit more hand washing and reading some more of my book, I decided to go down and see how he was going.  And as he had been gone over two hours I thought he may have needed help to carry home the haul!

I had only got down to the roadway the path to the river leads from and there he was – empty bucket, so no barra being cooked today.  He said it was a beautiful spot where he fished, and even on his way down to the river there had been people in the pool.

So after he had his toast and cuppa for brekky we went for a walk to the Elsey Homestead which is on the property here.  It is not the original homestead, which no longer exists, but was built strictly to plans, etc for the making of the film We Of The Never Never.  It had the story of the Gunn’s and some items of interest on display such as some of the gowns the Jeannie character wore in the film.   Once we had been there we got in the car and drove the 21km to the Elsey Cemetery, which is situated about 300 mtrs from the site of the original home.

It is south of here, so we followed the Stuart Highway for about ten km, then turned onto the road in to the property.  About halfway along that 8km stretch, we came across a snake crossing the road.  It was wriggling really hard and was quite scary.  We drove over it, though not with our wheels, but it gave me the creeps.

The cemetery was most interesting, with probably about a dozen people buried there, but generally spread well apart.  The main grave was that of Aeneas Gunn, the husband of Jeannie who wrote the book We Of The Never Never using the name of her deceased husband Mrs Aeneas Gunn.  They went to live there in 1902, and he died in 1903, after which she returned to Melbourne.  But the experience was so meaningful to her that she wrote her autobiography of that time.  After leaving there we drove the 300 mtrs to the site of the original home which is now marked with a cairn of stones and a plaque.

From there we took a bit of a drive into the township of Mataranka, which is quite a nice town, and having most services available there.

Back at the camp we had a bit of lunch and a cuppa before heading to the pool for another dip.  We took a few photos of Grant’s fishing spot first, then spent about an hour or so enjoying the warm water.  We caught up with a couple we talked to yesterday as well as the Jessup/Gladstone connections, and as I was getting out of the pool I heard “G’day Dawn”.  I looked around and said G’day to the bloke who had spoken, and he had to remind me that he and his wife had been our neighbours at Daly Waters and helped to save the young fellow’s camp site.  You talk to such a lot of people that I couldn’t remember his name.

For all the doubting Thomas's who think I don't go in the water!!

So now we’ve had tea, packed up what we can ready to get away reasonably early tomorrow as we move on to our next destination – Litchfield National Park.

Sunday 29 July – Today has been a really easy day.  We left Daly Waters at about 9.10 this morning and were here at the Mataranka Homestead Caravan Park by about 11.30.  It was a beautiful sunny day – I believe the top temperature expected was 28 degrees, and I know we were fairly warm once we had finished setting up.

The trip was again uneventful, with the main topic of conversation being the increasing height of the termite mounds (still not huge though), the obvious greening of the countryside, and the greater amount of road kill today – which of course means more bird of prey sightings.  It’s amazing the things we do to while away time and to keep from nodding off.  I compile statistics.  And for your no doubt burning interest in my findings, I offer the following:  Todays tallies – Living creatures: 33 eagles, 6 hawks.  Freshly non-living creatures: 1 brahma, 4 rabbits, 1 lizard, 1 eagle, 5 wallabies and 4 unidentified carcases.

Once here at the park we paid at reception and were told we could park anywhere in the powered site section, so as we drove into the section and were slowly scanning the area to choose the site we wanted, my attention was caught by some movement to my left.  As I turned my head to see what it was – you guessed – it was our ‘thought we’d never see them again’ acquaintances, Bob and Irene waving frantically at us.  We are now set up next to them, but not too much of a problem as they are leaving tomorrow.

After a brief chat we said we needed to have a cuppa, which we did, and had a sit around outside the van for about an hour.  Then we decided to go to the hot springs for a dip, and of course there they were again.  The springs were just beautiful – 34 degrees, so just like a nice warm bath, and I guess we stayed in the water for well over an hour, chatting to all and sundry.  We eventually got out all wrinkly, and while we were drying off a bit I started talking to another couple who were just sitting watching everybody.

 

Now as we all know, one thing leads to another, with the outcome of this conversation being that they both were from Beechworth originally and knew the Jessups and the Gladstones (Mum’s family), with the fellow Graham Spencer having a cousin who married a Gladstone!  He’s promised to say hello to Ray and Thelma and Norm for me.

Back at the van we sat around for a bit, I did some washing, and now we have just finished tea – yummy stir fry we made.  Grant is looking at throwing the line into the Roper River just a short walk past the thermal pool tomorrow, as we believe that there are barramundi in it, and a couple have been caught in the last week.

So tomorrow is a take-it-easy day, sleep in, maybe visit Elsey Homestead (where we are staying is the setting for the book We Of The Never Never), and cemetery, have another warm dip and maybe cook a barra for tea.

Saturday 28 July – Well very little to report today.   Left the Three Ways by 9am on another sunny morning.  There were no major sightseeing stops today, so it was almost midday when we had a wee stop at Elliott.  The star attraction at Elliott was the wonderfully loud, repetitive and incoherent conversation a local female resident was having with herself as she turned in several circles whilst trying to keep from falling over.  She eventually sat on a park bench where she alternately continued her ranting, then put her head in her hands. 

A few kilometres further along we stopped at a rest area for lunch and chatted for a while with a bloke who had pulled in to camp for the night.  There were four vans already pulled up for the night and it was only about 1pm.  We made our destination - Daly Waters – by 2, so had an early end to our drive.  We are staying at the campground attached to the Hi Way Inn on the Stuart Highway, and it is very nice – even a bit grassy!

We sat out and read this afternoon between chatting to passers by, and particularly a young man, Brett (41) who is returning to Central Australia from attending a wedding in Darwin.  He works with indigenous young people at Hermannsburg, so we had long and interesting discussions with him.  I think he is sleeping in his car.  We minded his site for him when he went for a drive into the historic Daly Waters pub later in the arvo.

The main excitement for the day was the close encounter we had with a brahman cow, as it stood on the verge of the bitumen deciding whether or not to cross.  It eventually did cross the road, and fortunately we had waited till it did.  So apart from that, and its fellow herd of more brahmans, we again had to rely on the birds of prey to break the wildlife drought – today, 16 hawks and 22 eagles.

Shorter drive tomorrow – only about 160 km to Materanka.

Friday 27 July – Up and away by 9.30 this morning – we’re not the earliest risers in the camp by a long shot!  Today was totally a driving day, with our first stop for a leg stretch about 120 km north of Alice at a place called Ti Tree, which boasts a population of 50.  But a point of interest prior to that was the marker showing that we had just crossed the Tropic of Capricorn about thirty kms north of Alice Springs.  From there we drove to Barrow Creek, famous as being the town nearest where Peter Falconio was murdered a few years back.  We sat out the front of the pub/roadhouse and had our lunch, accompanied by the local publican’s dog, and when Grant went to look for the toilet he found it was located in the pub and you had to ask the publican for the key, which Grant duly did.  The response from the publican was you’ll get the key when you buy a beer!
We passed through some pretty major towns today: Aileron population 10, Ti Tree as mentioned above, Barrow Creek 11 and Wauchope 7.  I’m not sure where the five aboriginal men we saw by the road were counted, or if indeed they were, but they were a fair way from anywhere.

The touristy highlight of the day was the visit to the Devil’s Marbles – I thought there was just one clump, but there were lots.

We passed through Tennant Creek and are now in the caravan park at the Three Ways Roadhouse, about 25 km north of Tennant Creek, on the junction of the Stuart and Barkly Highways, and is a pretty busy stopover.
  We also saw lots of termite mounds (magnetic anthills – so named because they are constructed aligned in a north-south direction).  Today’s weren’t real tall, only between 60 and 90cm, but I expect we’ll see big ones further north.

Wildlife sightings today gave a couple of new specimens.  As well as about twenty eagles and a similar number of hawks, we saw heaps of budgies darting around.  The ones in the wild are all green, they fly very fast and dip and turn with amazing speed and a style which could teach our synchronised swimmers something!  The other new sighting was a snake – not sure what sort, but it was lying on the edge of the road – and quite alive.  Not so fortunate was the dead cow, which was outnumbered yet again by the half dozen burnt out abandoned cars.

Oh to see some living four legged native wildlife.  We live in hope.

Thursday 26 July – We were in no rush to do anything today, so we had a leisurely breakfast and pottered around till about 9.30 when we left the camp for today’s sightseeing.  Once again we went and topped up on petrol as I had a couple of discount dockets that could still be used, and we may as well get the bit of benefit from them.

Our drive today took us via the Ross Highway to the Eastern McDonnell Ranges, and we only travelled 50 km out.  Our first stop was at Emily Gap where we had quite a short walk to the gap.  It was pretty, and quite similar to Simpsons Gap, with a very sandy creek bed.  It was freezing cold there, as though the sun was out there was a real bite in the wind. Then another eight or ten km on was Jessie Gap which was very similar to Emily, but even wider at the bottom.  Here we talked to a NZ couple and discussed the difference between the West and East part of the Range, with this side appearing not to have the grandeur of the west.  They were doing their trip by small plane – their own, which he was piloting.  They did a similar trip in 1998 and loved it.  They were interesting to talk to.

We next stopped at Corroboree Rock – very important to the aborigine people, but though it was reasonably big and knobbly, we were a bit underwhelmed.  We had just discussed this, when the NZers arrived again, and they agreed.  We talked there for about twenty minutes before deciding that we wouldn’t go on to Traphina Gorge, as when reading the literature we weren’t sure that we could access it.  When the NZers asked if we were going on to it and we said no, they said they had decided not to as well, and asked us where to turn off to go to the western range.  They had hired a car for the day and were obviously going to make good use of it.

Back in town we first drove up Anzac Hill to get an overview of the town.  While we were there we saw the Ghan leave the station – heaps of carriages, and a swag of cars carried at the rear.  While at Anzac Hill we had our lunch then drove to the town centre, walked down the Mall, saw some interesting local indigenous characters, did some supply shopping, then returned to camp.  After packing away the shopping we sat over with some neighbours Graham and Chris Keed from Canberra and yapped for an hour or so.  They had arrived here late yesterday, but we have run into them a few times since Coober Pedy.

So we have enjoyed an easy day, and tomorrow look at driving over 500km, so once again we head north.

Wednesday 25 July – Today was a very full day, but I’ll start at the beginning.  Up a bit after 7.30, so managed to leave to fulfil today’s plans at about 8.45.  We drove into town and filled up with petrol first.  Alice Springs is a very nice place to look at – lovely tree lined streets, wide streets and nicely laid out.  We haven’t been to the shopping areas yet – that’s saved for tomorrow.

From there we headed west along the Larapinta Drive towards the Western McDonnell Ranges where we had a list of things we wanted to see.  The furthest spot we wanted to visit was Ormiston Gorge – about 135km from Alice, so we decided that on the way out we would stop off at all the points of interest on the left hand side of the road, and on the return we’d see the others.  Our first stop not far out of town was the grave of John Flynn (Flynn of the Inland), which I remember from my College visit here in 1961.  That was the only stopping point for that side of the road, so we got to Ormiston Gorge at about 20 to 11.

First we did the short waterhole walk, then went onto the Ghost gum lookout point which was 2.6 km round trip, with a beautiful view from the lookout.  Obviously to be a lookout, the walk is a steep one, and this one had lots of steps which had been put in.  Once back from that we had a bit of lunch before starting the return drive to Alice.  I chatted to a young woman at the waterhole with a tiny baby in a pouch on her front and two other toddlers playing around in the sand.  It turns out that she is the rangers wife, the baby is five weeks old today, and she called this their front garden.  They live there in one of five residences there for rangers and their families.

Next stop was at the ochre pits, a place where the earth was various colours and where the local aborigine tribes gathered the ochre for their ceremonial body painting.  We only needed to do a short walk there as they were quite close to the carpark.

From there we went to the Serpentine Gorge, and again did a good walk to the waterhole in the gorge where one brave (or silly) man had a swim.  I could hear him gasping for breath when he immersed his whole body, and I called out: ‘Is that really cold or am I asking a silly question?’  He replied; ‘Silly question!’  He got out pretty well straight away, but told us it was good for the soul!  It was another really beautiful spot.

Ellery Creek Big Hole was our next stopping point, and a short walk from the carpark took us to this really big permanent waterhole where a group of young adults were having a swim, but again it was really cold.  There are warning signs around these water holes about the freezing water in the winter months, and the risks attached to staying in the water too long.

One of the features of the Centre that I have always wanted to see is Standley Chasm – our next stopping off point and walk.  It was incredible!  Very steep sheer cliffs and the chasm really narrow for its whole depth.   The sun was getting down a bit in the sky, so we didn’t see the sun shining through the gap, but it was very impressive anyway.  That was another solid half hour walk into the chasm, though once in there it was fairly flay, though a bit stony.  The difficulty with these walks is the very rough terrain you are walking on – you have to watch every step you take as it is so rough and rocky.

By now it was close to 5pm, and we still had Simpsons Gap to see.  I had been there in 1961, and remembered it quite well.  We didn’t walk right into this one – probably because my knees were not behaving too well today – but walked on the sandy creek bed and took some photos there before returning to the caravan park at about 6pm.

Had our showers when we got back, then I did a load of washing and pegged it out (it’s quite mild tonight), and had the always exciting baked beans on toast for tea.  That was as good as I could manage tonight.

Now it’s to bed and a good night’s sleep in preparation for what tomorrow may bring.

Monday 23 July – Wow! Another strenuous day but was it worth it!!  Amazing scenery, beautiful day and another challenge met.  We didn’t wake till about 7.45 this morning, and didn’t rush to get away too early.  The drive to Kings Canyon was about 34 km, and we got there at about 10.15 ready to tackle the rim walk.

So fully equipped with our backpacks and enthusiasm, we started off at 10.25, walking down the track to the start of the mountain range we had to scale.  We had been told that the first part of the 6.6km walk was pretty steep, and that is certainly no exaggeration.  When we got to the base, I did turn over in my mind whether I could make that starting climb, as it looked really scary, but clenched the teeth and off we headed.  Grant decided to stay behind me in case I slipped.  I’m not sure what he could have done, but I have faith in him.  I very soon realised that the only way I could make the ascent was to do it on my hands and feet, so I basically did the first hour that way.  Of course I had several stops, and we allowed anyone coming up behind us to pass, as we didn’t want to be keeping everyone down to my pace.

Once we reached the rim of the Canyon, the walk of course wasn’t as steep, but it was very rough, as it extremely rocky, and you had to have your eyes on the ground for every step you took.  So of course there were lots of stops to take in the magnificent views.

At the furthest extremity of the walk, you then go on very steep steps down into the canyon then up the other side.  Down near the bottom there were a couple of waterholes and amazing ferns, ghost gums and various other plants.  We enjoyed these on the wooded bridge which spans the gap at this lower level, then made the climb back up the opposite side to the one we had just walked.  This climb was much easier as it was several stages of man-made steps (pretty close to ladders) and no rocks to complicate matters.

But of course once we were on the opposite rim, the track was the same as earlier.  Eventually we spotted the carpark, and the descent to the flat country was again very challenging, as it was rock steps going down the sides of pretty sheer mountains.  But at last, after four and a half hours, we were back at the car, enjoying a sit down, a cup of soup and a snack.  And mainly resting my very sore knees and feet.  Grant even had a bit of soreness in his hips, but boy, it was well worth the discomfort.  I’ve got to say Grant was great today, giving me an arm to grab when the steps were too steep or too narrow for me to be confident with, and patiently matching his pace to mine.  I would not have been able to do the walk without his support.

Back at the camp it was a lovely hot shower, a sit with a cuppa in the sun outside the van and a hamburger for tea from the station shop.  Today has been a most memorable experience, and I just hope the photos give an inkling of how good it was.

Won’t be too long out of the cot tonight as tomorrow we have a pretty big drive to Alice Springs.

We've had no coverage for the last few days, so it's catch up time.

Sunday 22 July – Well we did get a good sleep with no disturbances, and didn’t wake till about ten to eight.  After brekkie we rang Margaret for her birthday (Happy Birthday Margaret!), packed down the van and left the park at about 9.30.  By the time we got petrol and picked up some bread and fruit at the local IGA supermarket, it was around 10am when we actually left the resort.

It was quite windy today for the first couple of hundred kilometres, but the last hundred or so it was much calmer.  We had a pretty uneventful drive, and as far as wildlife went it was almost non-existent – 1 eagle. 3 cows and 3 hawks.  That was until we arrived at our camping spot for the next two nights at Kings Creek Station – about 39 km before you get to Kings Canyon.  Here they run a very large camel business, part of which are camel rides, so they had quite a lot of camels in an enclosure near their entrance.  We had been recommended this place by some fellow travellers back in Coober Pedy, and it’s good.

It of course has virtually no grass, and the sites are just red bulldust, and it has quite a bit of character.  And tomorrow when we go into Kings Canyon, we don’t need to take the van.  And we had a first today!  When we checked in, the Asian girl at the reception office asked if we had a Seniors card, and so we got a 10% discount.  We’ve noticed there are quite a few Asian people working at these places, also an awful lot of them travelling, too.  In fact we have seen a couple cycling, with all their gear attached to their bikes.  I don’t mean they were travelling together but we’ve seen them at two separate times.  Gutsy effort, that’s for sure.  The one we saw today was peddling hard against a strong headwind and didn’t look too comfortable.

Anyway, we are installed here, didn’t do anything this afternoon except sit out in the sun with a cuppa (or three) reading my book and resting up for the walk tomorrow at Kings Canyon.

Today’s interesting fact – three days ago, when heading towards Uluru we got petrol at Curtin Springs at $2.05 per litre, and today when we topped up there on our way here, it was $2.17 per litre.  Not a bad hike in three days! 

Saturday 21 July – Another wonderful day, though the night leading up to it was a bit of a challenge.  Went to bed last night at about 20 to 11, read for a bit, then fell asleep.  All good so far.  Then at 2am and again at 4am we were woken by loud bursts of fireworks being let off here in the park – in fact pretty close to here.  There were five or six loud explosions each time, and you could hear some talking and laughing.  So that was a bit of a bummer so far as getting a good night’s sleep! And so much for the smart a…’s who obviously thought it was funny.

Relaxed this morning, before preparing a bit of food for lunch through to early evening, then left at about 11.30 for Kata Tjuta, about fifty kilometres distant.  I reckon they have been ripped off as I think they are equally as stunning as Uluru, but they don’t get the attention it gets.  First walk we did was the Walpa Gorge walk – 2.6km return, but much rougher walking than the base walk we did yesterday.  That took us about an hour, and the scene at the end of the furtherst extent of the walk was beautiful, and so peaceful.  There wasn’t a sound to be heard.

After lunch we drove a couple of kilometres further along the site and set off on the Valley of the Winds walk.  We only intended doing one leg of the three stage walk.  The entire walk is 7.4km and rated as difficult, so we opted for the Walpa Gorge section of 2.6km and rated as moderate.  Again the walk was beautiful, very rocky which I find hard on the knees, but the view from the first lookout showed us beyond to other formations and domes in the site.  It was lovely, and did in fact certainly live up to its name – the Valley of the Winds.

We really only ambled along for this walk – let’s face it – ambling was all I was capable of.  But as we had a lot of time before sunset, it didn’t matter.  After we had finished that walk we drove to the sunset over Kata Tjuta viewing spot, packed our thermos and eats into our backpacks and went and found ourselves a good spot to watch the sunset from.  It was fairly quiet until about 6pm when a bus load arrived, and we spent quite a bit of time talking to a couple from Orange who sat themselves down next to us at about five o’clock.

The sunset was magic – better, I think, than the one over Uluru the other night.  The colour is so vibrant as the sun goes down.

Once the sun set we made our way back to the camp, tired but very, very satisfied with the time we have spent here.  Now for a good sleep tonight in preparation for our drive to Kings Canyon tomorrow.  Please, no more fireworks!

Friday 20 July – Woke this morning at about 7.30 after hearing a bird attempting to commit hari-kari during the night by crashing into our van.  There was quite a pile of feathers outside our door when we looked, but that’s all.

After brekkie we made our way to Uluru which is just spectacular.  It is massive!  We arrived at about 9.30, and while we were waiting for the 10am guided 2km Mala walk, which started where people do the climb of the Rock, there was a sign up that the Rock was closed for the climb as the winds were too strong.  However before we headed off on the walk it was opened, and a heap of people – most of them Japanese, and some young children, took off on the climb.  It looks terrifying.  The tour we did was where we learned of the significance of Uluru to the Mala people.  It was most interesting, and well worth doing.  When the walk was completed we decided that we would continue on and do the base walk, right around the Rock.  We had to back track a bit to get to the main walk, as the tour had gone off on a bit of a detour, and we  left on the main track at midday.

Though we are both really tired tonight (and stiff and sore), we completed it in 2hrs 37 minutes, and because of the detour for the guided walk we finished up walking a total of a bit over 11 km.  It is very different when you see it up so close, as you become aware of all the caves, waterholes and other features around the base which you can’t see from photos.  It was fabulous.  But of course now we are wondering how we will pull up tomorrow when we go to Kata Tjuta and attempt some of the walks there.

Back at the car at the conclusion of the walk we sat and enjoyed a cuppa and soaked up the whole experience before visiting the Cultural Centre there, then returned to the Caravan Park.  Had another cuppa, then I went and did some washing and had a lovely hot shower (but it would have been even better to soak the aches away in a bath).  We were too tired to go back for tonight’s sunset, and will probably see sunset tomorrow night over Kata Tjuta, as I believe that is also really something to see.

Today’s highlight was obviously seeing Uluru at close quarters, and on a personal basis, being able to walk the distance we did.

Thursday 19 July – Woke this morning to the sound of roosters crowing!  When Grant went out of the van he discovered emu footprints going across behind our van and also between our car and our van, so there must be a bit of wildlife around.

We left the park at about 9.15 after filling up with petrol, and travelled about an hour before we turned left off the Stuart Highway and pointed our noses towards Uluru.  About halfway along the road to the Rock we stopped at a lookout to take in the great view of Mt Connor, which apparently many people mistake for Uluru.  We took some photos there, then crossed the road and scaled a steep red sandhill to see what was on the other side.  There were no signposts or anything, but there were a couple of short posts indicating a pathway to take.  What a surprise when we reached the top.  There was a massive salt pan below, covering quite a large area – totally unexpected.

After catching glimpses of the Rock as we neared our destination, we arrived at Yulara Resort a bit after 2pm and set up.  It is a massive complex, and we have found the staff we have come across to be really friendly.  We’ve booked in here for three nights, as there are things to do that will take me longer than perhaps the average person – like the ten kilometre walk around the Rock and a similar walk at the Olgas (Kata Tjuta), about 40 km away.  After setting the van up we went to the shopping centre and found the money machine, so reloaded the wallet, then as we wandered back to the carpark we came across a small group of aboriginal men performing.  We didn’t stay long there, but boy! the fellow demonstrating the didgeridoo was brilliant.

From there we drove 6km towards Uluru (the resort is about 20 km from the actual Rock) to the entrance to the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park to obtain our entry permit ($25 per head for a three day pass) the 3 day pass was the shortest you could buy.  We then came back to the van for a cuppa and to rug up before heading to the sunset viewing area to watch the sun set over Ayers Rock.  This park was about 16 km away from here.

We thought we were early, arriving there about 35 minutes before sunset, but there were already hundreds there.  And it didn’t disappoint.  It was amazing – a wonderful sight just the Rock itself, but to see the changes in its colour as the sun gradually set was breathtaking.

Today has been a great day.

Today’s highlight – watching Uluru at sunset.

Today’s statistical wildlife observations – Living specimens: 4 wedge-tailed eagles (one feeding from carrion on the roadside), 2 hawks, 1 emu, 2 camels and 6 brumbies.

Roadkill:  1 wallaby, 1 fox and 1 cow.

Abandoned, burned out cars: 3.

Wednesday 18 July – Left the caravan park at a bit before 9 this morning after posting off some postcards.  We broke the drive today at Marla where we had lunch, an icecream and filled up with petrol before the second half of the drive.  The countryside changes periodically, though it is pretty flat for most of the time, but with different vegetation.  The road kill count is growing, with the majority being cattle, followed by wallabies, and todays living wild-life sightings were nil.  But outstripping the roadkill count is the derelict, dumped, burnt out cars that are just off the road along the way.

We reached tonight’s stopover place – Kulgera Roadhouse at about 2.15 this arvo, and after setting up I went and gave my sneakers a good scrub as they were already pretty grotty, and the marks left by the splattering pasta the other night added to the effect.  Now I have to get them dry.  Today has been a lovely sunny day again, but the breeze is still a bit cool at times. 

Just before we got here (I was driving), when I pulled over to read a sign about the state border.  Then when I pulled out, I obviously incurred the wrath of a road train driver coming up behind us, and via the UHF I was handed a massive foul mouthed blast, then another for not responding.  I’ve now learnt my lesson.

At about 4.30, we were sitting outside having a cuppa when we heard a Hello from a couple we have seen at the last three nights stops – Irene and Bob.  They had intended stopping at Marla tonight, but when they got there they decided that it was too early to stop for the day, so they came on to here.  They’re not really our type, but they seem to like talking to us, so what can you do.  Even tonight when we went over to happy hour at the roadhouse pub, they arrived a few minutes later and came and joined us and the other couple we were talking to.

We appear to have no phone or internet coverage here, though I’ll try again after I finish this diary.  Just finished tea – spaghetti bol, with the bol sauce I had made back home and frozen.  It was good!  And now the first week of our trip is over.

Today’s highlight – the sighting of three or four wedgies (eagles that is!).  Grant has been hanging out to see them.

Tuesday 17 July – Well we’ve had a very full day today.  I didn’t think there would be so much to see in Coober Pedy!  It was quite a chilly night last night but the van is cosy and warm, so we were fine.  Again we have enjoyed beautiful sunshine, with the temperature I guess in the low 20’s.  After brekky I did a bit of hand washing, then we went for a drive round the town and its surroundings.

After driving down the main street where several parts reminded me of a few park areas in Morwell and Moe where local groups gather, we headed out to check out the golf course, a few kilometres out of town.  It’s an interesting grassless course – just gravel, and apparently is the only golf club in the world that has a reciprocal membership with St Andrews Club in Scotland.

As I mentioned, the entire course is free of grass and golfers are given a piece of turf to take around with them to tee off from each hole. From there we went to the public noodling area and noodled for about three quarters of an hour – but we were out of luck – no opals for us.  After a bit of top up shopping at the IGA supermarket we then followed the sign to boot hill, site of the Coober Pedy Cemetery.  It too has a style of its own, with one grave featuring a beer keg as it’s headstone, on which is written ‘Have a drink on me’., followed by the fellows name Karl Bratz.

Back to the van for lunch, getting in the dry washing, then going to the pickup spot for the afternoon tour which turned out to be most worthwhile.  We visited a mine about twenty kilometres from town, the Breakaways (very unexpected rock formations and colours), Moon Plains, the dog fence, an underground house and a magnificent underground Serbian Orthodox

Church (which to me was anything but orthodox), as well as a very comprehensive tour of the town, which included a sighting of the space ship used in a film called Pitch Black which was made here about nine years ago.  This is a town almost completely devoid of trees, where most of the houses and many businesses, churches, etc are underground, and where the local Aussie rules footy team must travel a 900 km round trip to play its away games.

Back from the tour at a bit before 6pm, we enjoyed a pizza from Yanni’s pizza shop in the Caravan Park.  Tomorrow we hit the road again as we head towards the Centre.

As is obvious, I haven't updated this every day as there has been nothing too exciting happening, apart from the odd drama.
Day 1 - We couldn't get the interior lights in the van to operate for about half an hour - though the power was operating everything else.
Day 2 - When it became dark, we couldn't get the lights going at all, so ate in the camp kitchen and read, etc using lantern light. Organised an electrician for 7am next morning.
Day 3 - Electric problem diagnosed after some time - problem is probably a broken wire between the van roof and it's ceiling.  Can't be fixed without the roof of the van being removed, so electrician did a patch up, substitute fix.  He was with us for about an hour.  We now have lights.  Later that day, went to get some of the meat I had cryovacked out for tea when I noticed that the cryovac machine hadn't worked properly, so I had to throw out about ten meals of meat.
Day 4 - Cooking a pasta dish in the microwave for tea, and when I went to take it out of the microwave, the plastic handle attached to the saucepan broke, the pot hit the floor and the pasta flew everywhere and redecorated the van.


So now to today's news.

Monday 16 July – Yeeha!  Our first day without a drama.  Up at about 7.30 and left the park a bit before 9.30, (in tshirt and long shorts) ever onwards towards Coober Pedy.  Today we travelled under a perfect blue sky with not a cloud to be seen from dawn to dark, though there was a coolish breeze.  But it was the weather we have been hoping to find.  About 113 km north from Woomera we stopped at Glendambo (population 30), passing by a couple of very big lakes along the way – Lake Hart and Island Lagoon, and filled up with petrol.  Saw a few specimens of wildlife today – all emus except for a few (dead) kangaroos.

We had lunch at a roadside stop where many other travellers seem to have a break, and again came across three young fellows driving a very colourful and distinctive bongo van with some most interesting illustrations and writing all over it – the main features being two gingerbread type figures in some most interesting positions, complete with long and detailed written descriptions.  We had first seen them mid-morning at a photo opportunity stop.

Our ‘home’ for two nights  here at Coober Pedy is the Stuart Ranges Caravan Park and is very nice – big sites, clean facilities, but not much shade.  They run half day tours of the area here, so we have booked to go tomorrow afternoon.  We’ve heard reports from other travellers that the tour is very good, so we’ll be able to give our opinion on that tomorrow.

Grant did his good deed for the day today.  We were sitting outside our van, enjoying the sun and a cuppa and reading – as well as having long chats to anyone who was passing by, when along came Bob, who we’d met last night asking whether Grant happened to have a 13mm spanner in his tool box.  He’d had some sort of car trouble, and needed to tighten a few connections.  Anyway, Grant was able to oblige, so the job was done and Bob was very pleased.

Today’s highlight – no dramas!

P.S. Grant is sitting here opposite me at the van table with his headlight strapped to his head reading a map.  It’s a good look.

Thursday 12 July 2012 - Hard to believe, but we are finally away!  After numerous hiccups, we pulled out of our drive at 9.45 this morning, only to return twenty minutes later after I had tried to arrange forwarding our home phone calls to Grant’s mobile, then realised I had to do it from the home phone!  I never was very good at understanding technology.

So our real departure was at 10.30, and we left in overcast, cold conditions which didn’t get any better for the majority of todays drive.  It wasn’t till about an hour before we got to Kerang that it lightened up and we even got to see a bit of sunshine when we reached here.  A great omen for the rest of the trip – sunny days ahead. 

It has been a fairly uneventful day, as we intend to spend the first few days getting across to the Stuart Highway and pointing our noses north.

 

Todays highlights – the few detours we took (due to Dawn disagreeing with Zola, the lady who talks on our GPS), and the fact that we have finally made day one of our holiday.

P.S. Adding this just before bed .... major storm warning for here tonight, gale force winds, very large hailstones, and don't shelter under trees!!  OOps!  We're camped under a tree.  Well we had lots of loud thunder, and heavy rain, but it seems to have passed.  So - sunny days ahead.