Uluru and Kings Canyon

  After a most enjoyable stay in Coober Pedy it was time for us to hit the road again. As usual our camping neighbours had all left by the time we got up. I don't know why they set off so early, maybe to bag the best camp spots at their next destination. Whatever the reason it is not the way we like to travel. A man gave us some very good advice a while back - never drive for more than three hours in a day, never go more than 300kms and always arrive before 3pm - obviously it has not always been possible to stick to but we have found it to be a pretty good rule of thumb.  

Brown Honeyeater

  Before departing we had coffee in  a pleasant little underground  gallery we found on the previous  day, went back to buy a pair of  opal earrings I had taken a fancy  to and filled up our water tanks from the paid water pump in the  middle of town.  We knew the next couple of days were just going to be about getting from one roadhouse to the next along the, rather boring, Stuart Highway. It had certainly been a dull stretch of road through South  Australia and was one of the few downsides to the trip but an essential one if we wanted to see the places we had come to visit. The road took us through hundreds of kms with no phone signal, occasionally there would be an emergency phone by the roadside but, more often a layby with a mobile phone booster where drivers could put their own phone in the cradle and make a call in an emergency. So, looking at those was what passed as fun until we reached our destination for the night, Marla Travellers Rest.  

Zebra Finches

 The roadhouses were the only places to stop and there were horror stories buzzing around about staggering fuel prices  but we didn't find the cost too outrageous considering how far from anywhere these stops were.  I was not expecting much but the camping area was pretty good, $25 unpowered with good toilets and hot showers, a well stocked camp kitchen and happy hour from 3-5pm with $5 beers.

 

It was much warmer during the evening but still cold overnight and in the morning there were a few clouds around, I had not seen one of those for a while. I was excited because this was the day I would enter the Northern Territory for the first time in my life so I was keen to get going. The Stuart Highway was long and straight as usual but, the minute we crossed the border into NT, the landscape changed. Gone were the cleared paddocks of South Australia, suddenly the land became more undulating with rocky hills in the distance and grasses and the trees of all different colours made the outlook very pretty and far more interesting. 

Grey Headed Honeyeater

We reached Erldunda Desert Oaks Resort, it sounded grand but it was just another roadhouse, and set up for the night. There were quite a number of flies about so we whipped out the bug tent we have been carrying with us for ten years now, we debated throwing it away as we have only used it a couple of times but it was about to come into its own on this trip. The camping facilities were good, $36 unpowered with decent showers, playground, little animal reserve behind with camels and emus and a well stocked shop which was packed with first nations people shopping. Turned out it was Bush Bus day, a service from the APY Lands (Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara) a settlement nearby. Harvey proved to be very popular with the kids and made lots of new friends. 

Mount Connor

  Erldunda got really packed by the late afternoon but they were all up and off again by the time we emerged. We were planning to reach our stop for Uluru later in the day so set off knowing we were on our last driving day for a while. I had tried to book the Ayers Rock Resort but found it was fully booked months in advance so we were headed for Curtin Springs, a roadhouse with free unpowered camping, basic toilets and $4 showers but no dump point, the nearest being one hour away in Yulara. As we approached Mount Connor came into view. Many people mistake this for Uluru, I don't really know why because it does not look much like it but I expect they are excited and a big rock pops up and who can blame them. Mount Connor could be seen from the roadhouse which had extremely attractive gardens with an aviary full of cockatiels and budgies, I was hopeful this might attract wild budgies as I had still never seen one despite being told I would be falling over them in the Northern Territory. 

  We had to decide what to do with Harvey as Uluru is in a National Park and we had expected to be staying at the resort nearby with its resident dogsitters, not an hour away as we now were. We noticed a few other campers leaving their dogs in their caravans and decided to do the same. I must point out this was winter and we would not have left him in summer temperatures. So we set off to scope out Uluru wondering if we would be as blown away as everyone seems to be, it is a rock after all. Suddenly it appeared after nearly an hour of driving and it took our breath away. So huge and staggeringly beautiful in the morning sunlight, we were blown away already and we had not even entered the national park yet. 

Kata Tjuta

  Entry to the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park was $38 each for a 3 day pass which covered  pretty much everything so seemed like a bargain. The Cultural Centre was informative and beautiful and we attended a cultural talk before setting off on several walks to gaze at the rock from as many different angles as possible. It really was amazing, in places the surface looks to be poured into massive folds, it must look even more sensational during a big rain event. 

We decided we could not leave Harvey for too long so agreed to take it in turns to return on the following days. I went first and set off in a balmy 2°C to make sure I arrived in time for the 10am free guided walk, which I loved. The guide was fantastic and took us to see ancient meeting places, water holes and ceremony areas around the rock. He was full of information and stories and I would recommend the walk to everyone. I tried to hire a bike for $80 to ride around the rock but they were all booked out so I walked around some of it then set off in the car to look at the rock again from the sunset viewing point then the sunrise viewing point and it was stunning from every angle. Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) were glowing with a mauve tinge in the distance but I decided not to drive the 30 mins to them although Ian did on his day and really enjoyed them.

Spinifex Pigeon

  I dropped in to Yulara as I left for some fuel and found there was  a market on with music acts and entertainment for NAIDOC  Week (National Aboriginal and Islanders Day Observance  Committee) which was fun but Yulara is a strange place. It is a  sort of resort town with hotels and shops which felt all a bit  Disneyfied to me, shops run by white folk selling fake aboriginal  design stubby holders and thongs in an area of huge cultural  significance to the indigenous population did not sit right with me, far  better to buy souvenirs from the cultural centre where the shops  have to be owned by locals selling local goods. 

Kings Canyon

 Curtin Springs was a great place to stay, the toilets were a bit rustic but perfectly adequate and our bug tent was the envy of all the other campers. We waved goodbye reluctantly as we had enjoyed being in one place for a few days but we were headed for Kings Canyon only two hours away and we were going to be there for a while too. The route was really quite green with huge tree covered hills running alongside the road for miles before we arrived at the huge Kings Canyon Resort. It was $80 a night unpowered but it was the only game in town if you wanted to visit the canyon and there was a bar and restaurant so we were able to recharge our batteries a bit, although the food and drinks were eyewateringly expensive. Only guests were permitted to buy drinks at the bar so everyone was given a pass on arrival. The views were fabulous and there was a light installation which punters paid $30 each to see at night, fortunately it was set up on the area adjacent to our pitch so we saw it for free every night. 

  Although pet friendly, the resort was not the kind of place where we could leave Harvey unattended in the van and the canyon was a national park. The caravan pitches were close together and the people behind us had not stopped vacuuming since they arrived so I imagined they might be the type who would complain if he let out a woof. With this in mind we chose to walk the canyon on different days with Ian going first. It was fortunate we chose to do it that way because the full Canyon Walk started with a sheer climb which would have been too much for my fear of heights so, when Ian reported back, I was able to choose the South Wall Walk which began with an incline which was punishing but not terrifying. 

 We do a bit of walking but this was tough, all on rock and climbing all the way for a couple of hours ever onward and upward. The scenery was breathtaking (literally) and it was astonishing to see flowering plants thriving on the solid rock. The birds were plentiful too and the sight of the canyon at the end was well worth the effort. The descent was tricky in parts because some sections had been climbed on all fours and were more difficult to negotiate going down, I was glad I took a walking pole. I was following the markers on the descent when I came to an arrow that just pointed over the edge of a cliff, surely not I thought. Being too scared to look right over the edge, I hung around for a bit pretending to take pictures until some other people appeared. They too saw the arrow and looked at one another in horror until the bravest of them looked right over the edge of the cliff and spotted the tiny steps cut out of the rock across the sheer face and down they went. I reasoned that my only choices were to follow them or be airlifted out so I went for it. We must have come up that way but I obviously had not paid attention but with the drop ahead of me I could not look away. It was terrifying but mercifully short  and it was a great relief when the car park came in to view. 

 Kings Canyon was a wonderful visit and apart from the Canyon Walk there was also a Creek Walk which was full of birds and flowers and only an hour return. It was the most expensive place to stay on our whole trip but worth every cent.

 

                          

 

Clare Valley, Port Augusta, Woomera, Coober Pedy

 The predicted Big Storm was forecast to engulf a large part of South Australia so we decided that, although we could not avoid it completely, we should skip our next planned stop and drive as far as possible out of the worst of it. 

 We headed for the Clare Valley, stopping to look at the painted silos in Coonalpyn. We have seen some beautiful silo art on our travels and some not so great but the bright colours attract the attention of passers by and generally encourage them to stop and maybe part with some tourist dollars in the town. The Coonalpyn silos were decorated with black and white pictures of some local schoolchildren. The artwork was exquisitely executed but did not catch the eye at all, in fact the pictures were a bit difficult to make out even after we had read the sign and knew what we were looking at, so they did not really do their bit for the town in my opinion. 

Next quick visit was Murray Bridge for supplies from Coles, Aldi, Liquorland etc. We discovered that no Aldi stores in SA sell liquor and the quantity we were permitted to buy anywhere was restricted so we bought all we were allowed and headed off through the pinky landscape to the Clare Valley. Even the alpacas and sheep look a bit pink in SA and we climbed up through hills scattered with rocks (also pink) in to the Barossa Valley. After dithering around for a while we settled on the Auburn Community Caravan Park , which is a showground, as a suitable place to stop $35 powered, $25 unpowered and walking distance to several wineries on the Reisling Trail.

 Auburn was a very pretty town with stone buildings made of Auburn Bluestone and Mintaro Flint. Unfortunately, being a Monday, most shops and cellar doors were closed but we did manage to get a coffee at the only one of the High Street wineries to be open. The riverside walk was very pleasant and we got chatting to some locals who suggested we visit Mintaro a few kms away which turned out to be gorgeous. There was also a cellar door open so we went and did a bit of tasting and came out with a bottle of prize winning reisling. The sommelier recommended a drive out to Martindale Hall, used in the filming of Picnic at Hanging Rock, so off we went. 

Martindale Hall was a fabulous stately home on an, equally fabulous, estate and well worth the $20 entry fee. As we looked out of the huge windows over the rolling grounds it became clear the wind was really getting up and it was probably time to start heading back. We drove through Clare on the way back to our caravan, it was a big, fairly ordinary town but useful for food and fuel shopping. 

 It rained overnight, we felt bad being grumpy about it as SA is dry at the best of times and they had been in drought for some time. It was really wet around the van as we packed up but the countryside soon became much drier as we headed towards Port Augusta. Apart from a few hills, the part of SA we were travelling through was pretty flat and well cultivated. Pink still with huge water pipes crossing the landscape. It appeared to be quite a windy state and there were plenty of wind and solar farms which was not a surprise because SA relies on renewables for most of its energy and is self sufficient for much of the time. There were also EV chargers everywhere, even at the remote roadhouses. There were loads of oversized vehicles carrying huge bits of machinery as we passed by Gladstone and Port Pirie and finally arrived in Port Augusta. 

The Augusta Caravan Park was about 7kms outside of town and we managed to get a powered site for $30. The sites were all large and gravel surrounded by well tended flower beds and the amenities block was old but clean. It was a great little place to stop, not our usual choice of park but we needed to do some washing and shopping and generally prepare for the next leg of our trip which would be heading into the outback with no real certainty of where we could buy supplies next.

 Port Augusta itself was a big industrial hub but served the purpose we were there for except we were shocked to discover that the bottle shops only sold tiny wine casks, we were required to show our drivers licences and were only allowed one each, we should have stocked up in the Clare Valley. The Wadlata Outback Centre furnished us with maps and the cafe served Quandong Cake, a quandong is a bit like peach crossed with rhubarb and was a specialty around those parts. We took a walk along the waterfront where there was a nice little memorial to members of the ocean swimming club lost in the two world wars. We dropped Harvey back at the van and visited Port Augusta Arid Botanic Gardens which were gorgeous. There were all kinds of plants from tiny little corners of Australia, heaps of birds, a nice cafe and visitor centre and the Matthew Flinders Red Cliff Lookout. 

Spud's Roadhouse was the first stop as we finally headed off into the scrub. It was 2 hours up the Stuart Highway and just a dirt parking area but had decent toilets, $2 for a shower and picnic tables all for a donation. We had read that the roadhouse was very expensive but it was only $16 for a burger which is pretty reasonable in the middle of nowhere, I don't know what people expect. The road trains were starting to get bigger, 3 trailers or petrol tankers on the back of each and Harvey was turning an interesting shade of pink in the dust. There were not many vans when we arrived but the place was absolutely packed overnight then they all disappeared as quickly as they had arrived the following morning. We were really bucking the trend by staying for two nights (nobody does this) because we wanted to go and look at Woomera, just up the road. 

 Woomera is a missile testing area, chosen for its remote location and lack of vegetation. At one time 7000 people lived there but now the number is 142. It had a bit of a ghost town feel about it and the museum was closed because of a shortage of volunteers but the visitor centre housed two amazing historical displays, one about the village and another about the missiles. There were also a large number of aircraft and rockets on permanent display in the town square. Back to Spud's Roadhouse to watch the campground filling up again and a very cold night - 6°C. 

It was too far to drive all the way to Coober Pedy the next day so we needed to find a roadside stop, there was nothing else. This was a bit tricky because there was no phone coverage and the distances between stops were huge. We had a quick look at Lake Hart, a huge pink salt flat where camping was allowed but it was not far enough to take a chunk out of our journey so we kept going to Bon Bon Rest Area where we parked up for the night. Next morning we continued ever north on the Stuart Highway with the same flat landscape and occasional mine site until we approached Coober Pedy and the opal mines began to be evident. 

 We pulled in to the Old Timers Mine, a dusty flat area with one toilet where camping is permitted for up to 72 hours for a donation and walking distance to everything. In the morning we walked up to the Big Winch Cafe and Restaurant which had an outside seating area with an amazing view over the whole town. Coober Pedy was a bit more touristy than I expected but still quite fascinating, a bit of a Mad Max vibe with homes built into the hillside and old rusting vehicles and inventions dotted everywhere. We decided to go on the Old Timers Mine Tour, a self guided tour which was absolutely brilliant and took us through the mine itself the into the underground home of the family who had owned the claim. It was astonishing, only $12.50 each and really informative. 

 The next fun visit was the golf course, all dusty dirt without a blade of grass for miles around.. Coober Pedy Golf Club is the only club in the world where membership automatically makes one a member of St.Andrews too. After visits to the delightful Catacomb Church and the Umoona Opal Museum where we learned that opal can come in singles, doublets and triplets. Doublets are slim pieces of opal with a resin or glass cover while triplets are just slivers of opal with larger resin or glass additions. We had dinner at the Big Winch and watched the sun go down. Booking was essential as it was crowded but the view was incredible and the food pretty good too. 

The Big Adventure Begins

New Holland Honeyeater

 After weeks of continuous rain, Lemon Tree Passage was enjoying a rare day of glorious sunshine as we set off on our biggest trip so far. Port Stephens can usually be relied upon for beautiful weather but not over the past few months. At one point our only access road washed away in a couple of places, trapping me at home and Ian in Berowra visiting a sick friend, so leaving for the winter seemed like a good idea.  

  Our first scheduled destination was the South Coast of Victoria. A strange choice, you would be forgiven for thinking, when we were planning to beat the cold and see the sights in the Northern half of Australia. The reason for the detour was a good one, our third grandchild was due and Zoȅ's home is in Inverloch so we set off a week before the expected arrival and sauntered slowly down South.

 

A trip to Victoria would not be the same without our regular stopover in Gunning. It grew progressively colder as we headed along the Hume Highway and was a chilly 7° by the time we arrived at the showground which now has excellent new showers and toilets instead of the old creepy, graffitied amenities block. As usual, we needed to bring both summer and winter clothes because the journey was going to get a great deal colder than home before we eventually reached warmer climes and Gunning did not disappoint, the temperature plummeted overnight and it rained steadily all night long. Fortunately we had not unhooked the van so we just pulled down the pop top then ran to the car and set off, stopping only for a coffee in the Merino Cafe. 

Three hours of driving through solid rain later we stopped at Walla Walla Showground in the hope of trying somewhere new. The ground was pooled with water and it looked so miserable we took off again for Culcairn Caravan Park and took one of the $30 powered spots because we desperately wanted to be able to run our little fan heater. We usually camp below in the beautiful unpowered area by the river and laugh at the people who take the grim little powered sites by the road but it was still bucketing down and freezing so...needs must. 

Misty, wet, cold and jolly unpleasant when we woke up but it had pretty much stopped raining and we had been as snug as bugs overnight so, with renewed enthusiasm, we headed off sharpish for Alexandra. We had opted for Alexandra because it is a town we really like, just three hours from Zoȅ and we knew we could amuse ourselves there for a few days but still get to Inverloch in a hurry if we needed to. By the time we arrived it was sunny but still cold.so we set up in the very empty showground, $35 with power. We were surprised it was so quiet as there have been times we have arrived there to find the showground fully booked, maybe everyone else had realised Victoria was not ideal for a winter holiday.

 We wandered in to town and Ian bought a couple of coats in the op shop as he had forgotten to bring one, then we had a great coffee at The Grant Street Grocer cafe. Alexandra has several decent shops, a selection of cafes and a Foodworks although the pub is a bit of a mystery. It is supposed to sell award winning chips but we have yet to find a day when it is open to sample said chips. The town is very pretty and many of the houses have fabulous gardens which makes the walk to and from the caravan park most pleasant. It is also on the Victorian Rail Trail walking route so a great destination for walkers, cyclists and bird watchers. 

The next day was sunny but still incredibly cold and we made the mistake of having a coffee in the worst of the six cafes. We wandered along to the Railway Museum, which was not open but we were able to walk around the outside bits. When it is open there are train rides etc and the gardens are maintained immaculately by the volunteers. After another cold night we woke to a message from Shaun saying they were at the hospital, so we high tailed it down to Inverloch in time to look after the boys. A beautiful, healthy little girl arrived in the evening and we set about helping out and getting to know Hayley.

 After a few days of playing with the boys and enjoying having a granddaughter we waved goodbye and embarked on our trip proper. Unusually for us, we had made a bit of a plan for the start of the trip and Ararat, 3.5hours away in the Victorian Goldfields was our first destination. The journey took us right through Melbourne and over the West Gate Bridge so an interesting journey but no places to stop and change driver and by the time we reached Ararat it had begun to rain. The area had been in drought for some time and the locals were celebrating saying it was the first decent rain they had seen for many months - lucky us! We had chosen Acacia Caravan Park when we were planning at home and it was great. There was a railway line running nearby but the park was small and friendly with oldish but clean amenities with a huge pile of fluffy bathmats by the showers, guests just took one off the pile then popped it in the laundry basket when finished. I know I sound unreasonably excited about this initiative but, when it is cold and wet outside, a fluffy bath mat can make all the difference to the showering experience. Other delights at the caravan park were a great camp kitchen with coffee machines, a book swap and DVDs to borrow all for $35 a night for power, which we needed because the area around Ararat gets very cold in winter. 

Splendid Fairy Wren

Ararat turned out to be a city and bigger than we expected. It was the only town in Australia to be founded by Chinese settlers and there were still plenty of Chinese grocers and restaurants. There was a big Woolworths but the other shops were an odd mix of cafes and massage parlours with grape vines running over the canopy along the whole main street. The town had a very modern visitor centre and the cafe attached called Foragers, a most unfortunate name as the state was right in the middle of the very high profile court case of the Mushroom Lady. We took Harvey to the excellent fenced dog park then went to the art gallery and museum which was the usual collection of donated old stuff, the highlight being a 1927 farm vehicle adapted by a local which had taken part in various parades including the Moomba Festival.

 We really liked Ararat and were a bit sorry to leave after a couple of nights but were spurred on by thoughts of warmer weather to come. The next drive was very straightforward and took us to Nhill, our last stop in Victoria. On the way we stopped for a terrible coffee at the cafe attached to the Big Koala in Dadswells Bridge, widely recognised as one of Australia's worst Big Things. It was pretty bad. Ian spotted Loch Eil Pink Lake so we hopped out for a look. There are a number of pink lakes, especially over  the border in South Australia, the pink is caused by an algae which forms pink salt and the surrounding plants had taken on the pink tinge too. 

In Nhill we were staying at the Nhill Heritage Aviation Centre which was fantastic, a huge flat area where we parked with a view of the runway. The museum was closed but the toilets remain open for campers and there was a brilliant history trail around the grounds with information boards showing where all the buildings were when Nhill was a camp in WWII housing 800 airforce personell. There were accommodation blocks, training centres, ablutions blocks, canteens, a post office, tennis courts and much more. There was a flurry of activity in the late afternoon when some people turned up and got a small plane out of the hanger and took off for a short flight landing again later, no end of entertainment and all for a suggested donation of $10 a night.

Nhill was not much of a town so we grabbed a coffee and got some supplies from the IGA Supermarket. We had to throw away our fruit and veg as we were due to cross into South Australia later and the fines can be quite steep if you get caught with an avocado or banana in the caravan as a friend of mine did a couple of years ago. We got across the border with no mishaps and passed through Bordertown where there is a colony of white kangaroos, then on to Keith Showground to top up our water tanks. The showground was a bit ordinary and did not get good reviews so we kept going to Tintinara and our planned destination of Lake Indawarra. The town itself was a bit like a strip mall, situated along the side of the highway and no town centre as such, just a supermarket, closed pub and cafe but Lake Indawarra was very pretty. It was a manmade lake and the planting around it was relatively new but it had already become a haven for birds and made for an extremely peaceful, pleasant walk. The trucks and trains were a little noisy overnight but we woke to warm sunshine and decided to stay for a few days to recharge after quite a bit of driving of late. There was a toilet by the lake and we paid our $10 a night at the Heart of Parks Visitor Centre.

 The Coorong was not far from Tintinara so we drove there to see where Storm Boy was filmed. The Coorong is a massive coastal lagoon and they certainly made the most of the film connection and there were countless pelican statues all named Mr.Percival. It was a very beautiful spot and we were tempted to transfer to the Albert Caravan Park on the waterfront but there were warnings of a Big Storm on its way so we thought better of it. The storm did arrive after we left and did a fair bit of damage destroying an historic jetty. 

Back at Lake Indawarra we went for a walk and noticed a huge brazier alight behind the Action Shed on the banks of the lake. Later crowds began to gather for what, we found out later, was a monthly community gathering. How nice we thought, even though the music was pretty loud. Unfortunately it was not so great when Dolly Parton was still belting out Jolene at 3.30am, it would have been nice to have been given a heads up from the visitor centre when we paid but we  will know next time not to stay there on a Saturday night.