Week Four:  Alice Springs/Devils Marbles/Threeways

Alice Springs - we only just skimmed the surface of all that can be done in this part of the country.  The first two days were pretty much rest days.  Tony took the boys to the Reptile Park, which they thoroughly enjoyed.  The next day I was feeling a bit more energetic and we all headed to the National Transport Museum...which Tony and the boys absolutely LOVED! 



Wow!  A real Thorny Devil!



The next day we drove out along the west MacDonnell Ranges as far as Ormiston Gorge; then it was an easy walk for the boys and we were at the most magnificent gorge.  We are very lucky to be in Central Australia at the moment, as it is really in a boom period after the big wet season.  There are flowers everywhere, waterholes have water in them...it is just gorgeous. We then drove a little further back towards Alice Springs and stopped for a walk then picnic lunch at Serpentine Gorge...a true highlight of our trip thus far.  

Ormiston Gorge...definately going back there to free camp!

Soaking up the atmosphere at Ormiston Gorge

Perfection!  It doesn't get any better than this:  Serpentine Gorge.

Gorgeous boys in a gorgeous setting.

That night we went out to see a contemporary didgeridoo performance.  The boys were entranced!  Charlie would really like a didgeridoo...and we now have a new CD on repeat in the car.  At least it makes a nice chnage from 'Wonky Donkey' :)



Matt having a go at playing the didgeridoo.

On Sunday, after pancakes at the caravan park, I went with friends to the Todd Mall markets in Alice Springs city.  It was great to mooch along looking (and not having to worry about the boys!).  Afterwards, we headed out to the Desert Park.  This is a really great concept to show three different desert terrains, and the flora and fauna in them.  They have a Birds of Prey demonstration that is especially fascinating.

I knew  I should have written down the names of these...

We have seen SO many flowers...
photos don't do them justice.

On Monday we bid farewell to Alice Springs.  The boys had really enjoyed the caravan park (big playground and a jumping pillow, it was a hit!) and Tony and I have already made plans for when we would like to come back, next time coming across Qld from Rocky.  Alice...we will be back!
The drive was just over 400 km, but we got a good early start and pulled in to the National Parks organised free camp behind the Devils Marbles, by 2 pm.  We were so glad we opted for a free camp rather than a van park further back... The view was magnificent, the company superb, the stars shone in all their glory (we could see the Milky Way stretching across the sky).  It was a wonderful spot. 

The boys played 'Dinosuars' happily for ages in the dirt.
Note that Patchy is in the dirt also.  sigh.

Cute!!

Sunset.  Campfire, wine, good company...LOVE free camping!

Yep, I was up reeeaallly early to see
sunrise on the rocks.

Tony was super excited to be where we were:
a photographer's dream!

View of our van after sunrise, about 7:30 a.m.;
Matt in jim jams and beanie :) Cute!

The photographer's assistant at it again!

We took our time leaving the Devils Marbles, as it was only a shortish drive up the highway to Tennant Creek and then the ThreeWays Roadhouse.  The word on the track (in laundries, at clotheslines, in amenties blocks and at happy hour) is that Tennant Creek is not a good place to stay at the moment, they are having a bit of trouble there with the locals...so we opted for the roadhouse further up the highway...a big grassy area set up for camping out the back.  It's not flash but I did my washing and Tony washed the van and the car.  Tomorrow we will head just 50 km up the road to the renowned Banka Banka station, which has been highly recommended to us; so we can't wait to see it for oursleves!  You'll have to wait till next week, 'cos that's it from me! 
Cheers all,
Tanya

Week Three and a half:  Coober Pedy/Uluru/King's Canyon

Like Las Vegas, Coober Pedy just appears out of the desert; and while there you are bombarded with signs enticing you to ‘stay here’ or ‘do this tour’ or ‘come and see our display’.  It certainly does not have the lights and music of the Vegas strip, but you feel as if you are seeing a miniature Vegas in its infancy.  There is even the local indigenous population to add to the culture of the area, just as in Vegas. Whilst in Coober Pedy, we did enjoy doing the touristy thing:  we checked out an underground shop or two, toured Faye’s underground house – mostly created by Faye and two friends on weekends; as you do!  It is an awesome achievement.  The Old Timer’s Mine was also very interesting.   We saw how opal miners dug and crawled in order to find those elusive opals and it really helped us to appreciate the opal even more. I will admit to feeling slightly claustrophobic as we walked around the old mine.  Apparently around 80% of people in Coober Pedy live underground – and who can blame them, it is a lovely constant temperature of around 24 degrees Celsius underground…and as our host who guided us around Faye’s underground house said – you want a cupboard or shelf:  dig one out!  We had a look around the Serbian church – beyond the front door you walk down into a beautiful church – all dug underground!  Complete with arched ceilings, statues and stained glass windows.  Another amazing achievement.   As I was reminded by the lass at the van park reception – we were in the middle of the desert…so an interesting challenge for us at Coober Pedy was paying 20cents for a 3 minute shower…you could add another 20 cents if the water stopped, but who wants to hop out wet and put more money in?  Well, I will tell you that we all must waste a lot of time in the shower at home, because Tony and I were both able to fit everything in, under the 3 minutes!  Food for thought…

Charlie atop some mining equipment. 
Note the ex-movie prop in the background!

Faye decided she would like a pool, so she dug one out of the rock!

Faye's living room

Dining room

This is us preparing to go underground at the old timer's mine. 
Hand held self portrait so apologies for the blurriness!

How's this for a bath!  No need to worry about cleaning the walls!

The underground Serbian church.



  In the afternoon, we drove out to a national park area called ‘The Breakaways’, so named because the rocks have ‘broken away’ from each other.  This is an area of important cultural significance for the local Aboriginal groups, and you can imagine the stories being passed on from generation to generation.  I think it’s great that we can come along and appreciate the beauty of the area as well.  Tony, naturally, was extremely excited about the photographic opportunities… the thrill of chasing that ‘perfect shot’.  We saw another man there with a beautiful panoramic camera, he looked like a professional.  We were a bit jealous!  Matthew has particularly embraced becoming Daddy’s photography off-sider – it is so wonderful to see! 

After Coober Pedy, it was really still two days travel to Uluru.  We decided to stop at a free camp just over the Northern Territory border, near Kulgera.  This was pretty much a bitumen car park and a pit toilet.  My sensibilities can only handle free camping for one night (the power is not a problem – it’s the saving the water and not showering that I dislike), but we have always found the free camping to be quite enjoyable.  It is a convivial atmosphere and you get to meet some lovely people:  like Mal and Laurice, who were next to us that night, and then our neighbours again at Uluru; Sue and Peter, who were our neighbours at Port Augusta, then Kulgera, and then we caught up with them again at Uluru.  It was Sue and Peter that helped me search for Matthew when he ran off at the sunset viewing area at Uluru.  Sue, that calmed me down after we found him.  That was how we met our guardian angel Tracey, who noticed Matt on his own and brought him back up the line of people until she found his parents.  We owe Tracey a great debt: bringing our boisterous, larger than life, at times infuriating but also hilarious and smart Matthew back to us; and finally Deb and Jeff, who were our neighbours at Spud’s back at Woomera and then down a few caravans at Uluru.  It is nice to build up a network of friendly, familiar faces; to trade travel notes and caravanning tips with and to relax and have a few drinks with.  If you are reading this, friends: we salute you and thank you for the immense richness you have added to our travels. 

Our free camp at Kulgera.  Yep, it's a car park!

Uluru is worth every minute of the driving.  We spent three nights there, and enjoyed 3 beautiful sunsets and many beautiful walks around Uluru and Kata Tjuta (The Olgas).  Uluru is an immense, spiritual place.  It is amazing to consider such beauty and know that Mother Nature/The Dreamtime Spirits/God has created such a thing.  Whatever you choose to believe about how it came to be, it’s stunning beauty hits you smack in the face as soon as you get close to it.  I will let the photos speak for themselves:

My favourite photo.

 Feeling quite exhausted from our busy physical and social days at Uluru, we gathered up once more and drove 3 and a half hours to King’s Canyon.  It was not long after we got there, that we began to feel very relaxed.  Beautiful Tracey was here with her family, we knew we had the afternoon to relax and that tomorrow would be enough time to complete the walks.  Another factor contributing to the feeling of relaxation was NO mobile or internet reception!!  (one of the reasons for the late blog post).  It really does help you to relax being cut off from the outside world; I find it makes it easier for me to be in the present, to enjoy the space where I am at…but it is really hard for me to do unless forced upon me…but maybe I will try to do this a bit more often from now on!  Try, anyway J

Tony woke early Tuesday morning and walked around the rim of King’s Canyon.  He took his tripod and found some shots to take, so he was happy with that.  Here are 3 of the photos he took:

In the afternoon we all did the King’s creek walk, an easy 1 hour and not dangerous at all, unlike the rim walk.  Of course, it took us a bit longer as the boys like to stop and investigate what they find.  Matthew is especially good at striking up conversation with passers-by (he was at his finest on the Mala walk at Uluru, they had gone ahead and the people coming back up the path were saying, ‘Oh, this must be Matthew’s brother, oh yes, Matthew is down that way…Matt and the little dog, Patchy…’ and so forth.  Hilarious, yet slightly embarrassingJ). 

So we had a lovely balance, at King’s Canyon, of physical endeavour and relaxation.  We caught up with our new friends, Laurice and Mal, Deb and Jeff; and made a whole new set in Pam and Graham, Laurie and Sue and their dancing friends:  the boys were especially adored; Laurice and Mal spoiled them with yummies, and Pam was so kind to share her home cooked goodies with us.  It has inspired me to bake a chocolate cake here in Alice Springs, which I am enjoying the delicious aroma of right now!

It was quite a big drive from King’s Canyon to Alice Springs, hampered somewhat by the incredible pain I had been in since Sunday which seemed to be increasing…pain in my right side especially when I breathed in, coughed (which I was STILL doing, after 4 weeks) or heaven forbid sneezed.  Every time I had to turn around to the boys in the back (which is frequently) I was grimacing in pain.  So once settled in, I headed to an afterhours GP clinic and had Mum’s Sunday night over Skype diagnosis of pleurisy confirmed.  Now that I am on appropriate medication things are improving quickly and I sincerely hope that this is the end of any more ill health on this trip!!!

We are in Alice Springs until Monday, after which we will make the journey up to Darwin, via Kakadu. We have had amazing weather so far, although the real cold is about to start...apparently going to zero degrees tonight! Once we leave Alice we have 27 days to get to Broome, to make our booking at Cable Beach.  It all seems to be working out quite well, fingers crossed. 

I hope you enjoy the photos, the feedback is certainly positive.  Below, we are privileged to feature some of Tony’s  photos taken on the Nikon…the iPhone just couldn’t do the Olgas any justice, I’m afraid.  Don’t forget to check out Patchy’s page, he gets around that cheeky puppy!



Week Two:  Broken Hill to Wentworth/Burra/Port Augusta/Woomera/Coober Pedy

When travelling you sometimes have to go with the flow; make and change plans to suit the given day.  This was our lesson this week. 

In planning this trip I had been very keen to visit Menindee Lake near Broken Hill and Mungo National Park, near Wentworth/Mildura.  We visited neither.  The day we set aside for Menindee ended up being a much-needed rest day, and the next day we headed south so we could visit Mungo - and that is when the weather changed...and after yet another massive coughing fit, I finally gave in to how sick I was feeling and went to the doctor.  So, we now have two places that will go on our list of things yet to see...some other time. 
We did manage to spend a very pleasant afternoon in Mildura, on a paddle boat again - this one a rare steam powered one.  It felt right to cruise the Murray River, as we had previously cruised the Darling in Bourke.  The boys (big and little) were fascinated by the steam boiler, particularly Tony as he works on steam powered equipment at the Hospital.  We had to pass through a lock each way, which was very interesting. 
That night, I was ridiculously excited to be going out to dinner at the Wentworth Services Club...$50 to feed us all, I can see why we don't go out to dinner too often!  But it WAS delicious. 



We camped right next to the Darling River - nice view!




Where the Murray and Darling Rivers meet. 





The paddle boat 'Melbourne' and 3 of the many, many photos I took of us

going through the lock...I won't bore you with the details!

The boiler attendant hard at work.

On Friday we began to make our way to Port Augusta, planning to stay somewhere along the way for one night.  We decided on Burra.  I usually ring ahead and book a site, but that day I didn't...so we were lucky to get an unpowered site!  Another lesson learned.  The good news is that our caravan passed the test with flying colours.  Burra itself is the first town that we have come to that we really are looking forward to coming back to again.  It reminded us of many little towns that are dotted through Tasmania: steeped in history; and obviously a community that takes a lot of pride in it's past and future.  I went for a little walk in the morning and took a few photos just with my iPhone...it will give you an idea of why, Tony especially, is itching to get back there and spend a few days capturing the light. 

We were again camped beside water, this time the lovely little Burra Creek.

The best thing about Burra - for Charlie and Matthew - was the access to the school playgrounds right across the road...so warning:  photos of playgrounds ahead!

One of the playgrounds had an awesome high slide!  And, how cute is that

photo of Matt top right??
 Usually he pulls a face when I try to take a photo of him,

so it was nice to get one that reflects what a cutie he is!

The drive from Burra to Port Augusta was wonderful - the area around Burra was quite picturesque.  The scenery slowly changed to desert although it was quite nice then to lay eyes on some water once more...even if surrounded by industry! 

Port Augusta...I washed, I cleaned, Tony got the car as ready as we could for heading into the desert, we stocked up on supplies, we enjoyed some warm days. 

The drive to Woomera was a relaxing one, only 173 km.  It was another beautiful day.  The only sad thing was seeing the number of dead cattle on the side of the road.  We had heard from several sources that Spud's Roadhouse at Pimba, just outside of Woomera, was the place to stay - and the best thing was that it was totally free!  That is, unless you wanted a shower:  2 gold coins for a wash.  Pass.  Although we arrived quite early for a free camp (1:30 pm), there were already quite a few vans there.  We quickly unhitched, made a late lunch and headed in to Woomera, where there was a lovely park with lots of actual green grass and a great playground for the boys.  On the drive into Woomera we had passed a big display of old rockets, missiles, airplanes etc that had been donated or found around Woomera and the boys had a great time walking around them and checking them out.  "Talk to me about rockets, Mummy", said Charlie.  Cute. 

Back at Spud's the boys played and we had a lovely time having a few drinks and chatting with our neighbours, it got colder as the sun disappeared but it was warm enough that we were able to eat dinner outside.  Those times when you can sit and enjoy a few drinks and company really are a highlight of being on the road.  Naturally, as we have small children to organise, we don't have as many opportunities for this as the grey nomads, so it is extra special when we do.  The icing on the cake last night was when 2 lovely Swiss girls joined us with 2 packets of Tim Tams in their hands.  They had bought 15 (!!!) packets with plans to send them back home and have a Tim Tam party, but it had proven too expensive.  They had eaten as much as they could but could eat no more.  Hooray for us!

Today we are drove to Coober Pedy, a much bigger drive - 374.5km.  The scenery was beautiful, due to the huge wet season, I guess.  There is actually quite a lot of inland water around - Lake Hart was particularly big.  We did not stop to take photos though, we try to limit the stops on the bigger drives, otherwise it just drags on and on.  Here are a few I took from the car window, it gives you an idea of the outlook for 4 1/2 hours!!

Tomorrow we will explore Coober Pedy.  The boys have brainstormed all the things they know of that live underground...insects, foxes...I was quite impressed with the list they came up with!  It will be fascinating to see their faces tomorrow as we go underground. 

We plan to be at Uluru on Friday, so the next blog should be quite interesting - lots to see in the next week!

Finally, I will leave you with some random photos...

How big is this pizza???  This was dinner tonight, in Coober Pedy. 
Box is empty...we ate most of it plus 4 left over pieces for lunch tomorrow. 

We were lucky enough to be driving around this arvo right on sunset,
a truly beautiful sight seeing the sun go down over the desert horizon. 
The caravans behind the sign are free camping...don't know if I would this close to town...

And just to prove that Australia is truly a land of contrasts: 
this is driving back from Mildura to Wentworth...

...and this is on the road to Woomera. 

Thanks all, keep in touch - we love hearing everyone else's news!  And a big, big thanks to those of you who 'took the plunge' and commented on the last post ;)

Tanya, Tony, Charlie and Matthew