ORMISTON GORGE – 25th June

We chose to get to Alice Springs via the Mereenie Loop, which is a section \of road that joins up with the Namatjira Highway. It is aboriginal owned and a permit must be bought before travelling it. The first 35 kms or so are extremely corrugated but from then on the road isn’t too bad. We stopped overnight at a lookout on the Loop which allows 24 hour overnight camping and then headed off to Ormiston Gorge.

Just before Glen Helen there is a lookout which overlooks the Finke River and looks out towards a mountain range and the views are glorious. The Finke river is 650kms long and finally peters out in the Simpson desert and is reputedly the oldest river bed in the world.

The drive into Ormiston Gorge is lovely, running alongside the Finke river complete with ghost gums and soft sand.

The camp ground is rather congested with not many sites or room but set in a bush setting. One shower for ladies one for men closed between 10am and 4pm, a little water available provided you are prepared to cart it. $6.60per adult.

The whole area is attractive with several walks the shortest being to the waterhole which is very restful with lots of birdlife and again shaded with fairly old ghost gums. The ghost gum walk is fairly easy with concreted steps in a large part of the way but if you want to do the loop you have to be prepared to swim through very cold water to get back otherwise you turn around once you get to the lookout, which overlooks the waterhole.

From there we drove the Jeep to the Ochre Pits which were quite interesting and back to Glen Helen which unfortunately proved to be rather a disappointment because you could only walk a short way into the gorge before the waterhole prevented you going any further so the organ pipes etc which were further into the gorge could only be viewed via the helicopter ride.

 

We also drove into a couple of camping areas which were unsuitable for pulling in the van but found another wayside stop overlooking hills and valleys, where we can stay for a short while and intend to stay there after we leave Ormiston Gorge and head towards Alice.

KINGS CANYON – 22ND June

We have just completed the 5.5km walk around the top of Kings Canyon and even though the day was overcast we managed to get some lovely photos. We stopped for lunch at “The Garden of Eden” which is a lovely waterhole complete with ferns buried deep in the gorge. The various layers forming the rocks are quite intriguing and the colours and shapes fascinating. Some of the rock forms are like large beehives built up with sandwiched layers.

The walk commences with a moderate climb which is the most difficult of the whole walk and then meanders in and out of rocks forms and then back to the canyon rim with a fairly easy walk back to base.

ULURU – 19TH June

What a sight it was to see the climbers going up the side of Uluru, we decided that we could do it and set off.
 
There is a short section where you have to go it alone and then there is a metal chain which you can hang on to for awhile and then back to being on your own again. It was quite a challenge physically and Ian pushed and hauled me at times and we finally reached the top cairn, which is a marker showing the points of the compass and the distances to various geographically features.

The views are breathtaking and there were lots of little rock pools up there.

We we took lots of photos for our memory times when we get really old,ha ha.

I confess to wondering whether I would get there and I can tell you I was very glad to get back down again, I felt like doing a ‘pope’ and kissing the ground.

We got a few cheers from watchers who hadn’t gone up and one man took our photo to put in his album (probably because he couldn’t believe that two such oldies could have done it).

From there we went on a 1km walk to a water hole which was really fascinating, we passed rock drawings as we went.


From there to a sunset viewing of Uluru and the Olgas.

Then home for a well earned hot soothing shower and a rest.

HEADING OFF FOR ULURU -16th June

 
Having spent the night at a wayside stop with several other campers we headed off. The scenery for the rest of SA was fairly repetitive with large flat acres and acres of small bushes but as soon as we hit the NT border we had large rocky outcrops and hills. We fuelled up at Erldunda which is very to the exact centre of Australia and then headed down the Lasseter Hwy towards Uluru. We are now camped at a camp spot 137 kms out of Uluru. The sun is shining and not too many flies so we have enjoyed the balance of the afternoon sitting reading.
THE OLGAS- 18^th June
We pulled into the Ayers Rock Resort today, sounds fancy and some of it is but we are in the campground. After setting up we headed to the Olgas.
AMAZING is the best description I could give for the Olgas. They are a 110 km round trip from Uluru. We did the 10km “Valley of the Winds” walk through and around the Olgas.
It was quite difficult and steep, both going up and coming down, in places but well worth it. Towering steep sided domes on all sides, interspersed with small crystal clear creeks. I would say that this is one of those “must do before you die” activities. We were overawed and absolutely loved the place. We stayed for the sunset viewing and overall took heaps of photos and then headed home for a long hot shower to ease the aches and pains and get us prepared for the clim of Uluru tomorrow.

COOBER PEDY – 9th June

 
We got into Coober Pedy late afternoon, totally covered in mud and since we had quite a bit of bore water on board which we didn’t want to keep due its saltiness, we decided we would stop at the area just before the dog fence, which is the longest fence in the world, and wash off the mud. We got a few strange stares as it was cold and windy but it did the job except for the salt streaks all over the car.
Coober Pedy has a 24 hour water dispenser, where you can pull in and fill up your tanks, you put 20cents in the dispenser (it’s like a petrol pump) and works on a timer so depending how fast your rig can take in the water you get up to 30 litres. (Reported to be the 5^th best water in Australia, it’s desalinated) So we pulled in there first to fill up and then since we were late in we parked under the Big Truck for the night and met a couple of girl campers who had done a bit of noodling (rummaging around the waste heaps for bits of opal) and they gave us our first bit of opal which I was very excited about.

We were quite glad to get back to phone and internet, Tv (for news of course) etc.
The next day we headed off to the info bureau and somewhere to stay. We found the Clothes Barn Op Shop site. It is basically a fenced in block of vacant ground where you can camp very cheaply, $5 without power and $8 with a bit more if you have a large rig and there is water available. Can totally recommend it, the guy looking after it is really helpful and very nice.
Coober Pedy is a fascinating town, very very different from anywhere we have been, what with the dug outs with small pipes stuck up everywhere to allow for ventilation and gravel back streets, dust , and lots and lots of opal shops, and thousands of tailings stacks absolutely everywhere. There are warning signs up all over the place to alert visitors to the dangers of open pits. Plus one cannot forget the amount of dogs roaming loose everywhere.
We loved the public toilet in the main street, totally automatic, just press the button on the outside to get in, you are serenaded with music after being warned that you only get ten minutes after which the door will open again. After using the loo there is an auto dispenser for soap, then you move along to the water bit at which time the loo flushes automatically and finally to the hand dryer-loved it.

OLD TIMERS MINE
Visited the Old Timers mine today, For $10 you get a demo on how opal is extracted and then a self guided tour into a disused opal mine complete with leftover opal, demo living quarters and a museum, very interesting.

 












BREAKAWAYS
These are a small section of hills just outside of Coober Pedy that are full of colour which varies depending on the time of day you visit. Very cold and windy but also very enjoyable.

Update on the loo, Ian had to go, but the toilet malfunctioned and set off an alarm (very similar to a car alarm)with a disembodied voice proclaiming illegal entry and that the police were being sent for LOL.

Visited Boot Hill –the local cemetery today where Crocodile Harry is buried, he claimed to be the first crocodile hunter before Steve Irwin and the original Crocodile Dundee. With the other photo of the keg on the tombstone, the guy asked for it.

 
Check out the photo of the local golf course – very funny.

Off to Ularoo, so we possibly will be offlinefor awhile.

PAINTED DESERT– Tuesday 7th June

As we left Oodnadatta it was drizzling slightly so instead of dust we had mud splattered over the car and van.

We will turn off the Coober Pedy road and head for Arkaringa Homestead, we pass the Arckaringa Hills on the way. We took lots of photos of the Painted Desert even though it was spitting slightly.

Camped at Aarckaringa Homestead looking out at the hills in the distance, hopefully it will clear up enough to get some sunny shots tomorrow. Amusing ourselves watching and taking photos of the local wildlife.

6ml of rain overnight but you would think they had hd inches, there is mud everywhere you walk and you gain several inches in height in just a few meteres.

We are basically rained in and will have to wait for it to dry out before we can move on and we have been told if there is any more rain the road will be closed off. However we have had a lovely treat an eagle came and landed nearby and we managed to get a few shots before the crows chased him away.

Here at Arckaringa they run 1 cow for every 1 ½ sq kms and they have 2100 head, thye own other properties and run a total of 18000 head, although I must say if we see a cow it is a majpr event.

We went for a walk and took a few phototos of a hawk in a tree but couldn’t convince him to fly off so we could have some pictures of him in flight.

It is finally starting to clear and hopefulullyu in the morning we wil have a sunrise we can see.

Got up in time to see the sun risde over the Arckaringa Hills and took the 1km walk into the hills and took lots and lots and lots of photos.

Decided it was dry enough to attempt getting out.

Phew! We have finally got back on to the Coober Pedy road, which I might add is still gravel,  Getting out wasn’t too bad, there were quite a few awkward spots once when coming over a cattle grid and no choice of where to go but through the mud and water we had filthy water thrown up over the windscreen so we couldn’t see in front of us at all, and there was water over the road in a lot of places, but Ian being the brilliant driver he is got us out safe and sound.

So here we are heading for Coober Pedy and civilization again, hopefully with non salty water to bathe in. The car and the caravan are absolutely covered in mud and gravel and will take some cleaning down, whilst the inside cupboards and coated with dust. But what an adventure Hey?

OODNADAATTA –Monday 6th June

The road through to Oodnadatta from William Creek wasn’t as good as the run from Marree, lots of corrugation and not so much of interest, though our first water crossing at Wariners Creek was exciting and Peake River and Ghan railway bridge were well worth a stop. Even though Peake River had lots of water in it it was still very salty.

Not far out from Oodnadatta we met an oncoming vehicle going at a great rate of knots, normally an oncoming vehicle will slow down out of courtesy and give a friendly wave, not these two they just kept ploughing on.

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Oodnadatta is something you have to experience to be able to appreciate - certainly different, a very sprawling untidy place, population of about 200 mainly made up of aboriginals. The owners arrived in the 1970’s on camelback and never left.

We stayed overnight at the camping ground at the back of the Pink roadhouse and enjoyed a campfire with a few other campers.

Oodnadatta

Just after we pulled in another camper arrived who had picked a young man who, along with his mate, had rolled their car writing it off, scattering their belongings everywhere and who were fortunately only slightly hurt – yes they were the pair we described earlier and crashed just shortly after passing us. The  Pink Roadhouse organized the recovery and put them up.

WILLIAM CREEK- Sunday 5th June

Strangeways

Stopped overnight at Strangeways wayside stop meaning to look at the ruins in the morning (camping at the ruins was not permitted as it was on Anna Creek station but dark menacing clouds sent us off to William Creek fairly quickly, just in case of rain, fortunately although it remained overcast there was no rain.

However, Ian did manage to fix the water tank problem we had before we headed off. A line had been threaded through at an odd angle and had kinked so all is well now.



William Creek Hotel

Booked into William Creek camping ground unhooked the caravan  intending to have a quick shower then head off to Lake Eyre.

William Creek

The showers were something to behold I found it difficult to stop laughing as I was getting clean. First of all they were filthy and derelict but when I turned the water on the shower rose was all rusted out and a spout of water poured out like a hose. It is bore water and the soap just could not compete so no bubbles to speak of but still felt quite refreshed at the end of it.

Lake Eyre

After packing a quick lunch we bought a parks pass, and set out to view Lake Eyre down the most atrocious road we have been down in a very very long time. The corrugations nearly shook our teeth loose and big holes suddenly appeared seemingly out of nowhere added to lots of sand and washouts, but hey it was an adventure.  We were very disappointed when we arrived at ABC Bay as the water was so far in the distance to be hardly seen so we bravely soldiered on to Halligans which was another bone rattling 10km further on and the worse section of the road so far, but at the end we were rewarded with Lake Eyre in all its glory. Water as far as the eye could see and possibly a once in a lifetime experience.

Headed back to William Creek in plenty of time before we lost the light as we wouldn’t have dreamt of driving it in the dark.

MOUND SPRINGS – Sat 4thJune

 
We got up early this morning to be able to take pictures of sunrise over Lake Eyre, got a few nice ones.
Last night Ian had to get up at three in the morning to take down the annexe as the wind was getting up. Speaking of the weather we have had perfect weather since hitting the track, just right.

The Bubbler

I had a little encounter with a mouse. I had put a wet tea towel up high on the awning thinking it would be safe, but when we went out to look at the stars I felt to see if it was dry and a mouse dropped down on my arm and then ran off. I , of course , did lots of squealing.

We are just leaving Mound Springs there are two springs Blanche Cup and The Bubbler just before Coward Springs on the Marree side. Good track in, a few corrugations and one difficult section where we had to go really slow as the road was washed away, but not too bad.


The area is very well set up with board walks and well worth the look, just 4-5km off the main Oodna track. Ian piggy backed me across one of the little creeks and we nearly fell in but had a good laugh over it.
 
 
 
 

Coward Springs water heater

We called in at Coward Springs where for $1 you can soak in the same hot spa that people soaked in approx125 years ago when the old Ghan railway started running.
You can camp overnight there for $10 per person but if you want a hot shower you have to light a boiler yourself and wait 20mins for it to heat.

Coward Springs

Beresford Dam

Beresford Dam was a surprise and would make a very nice overnight spot alongside the dam.

LAKE EYRE SOUTH- 2ND jUNE

We stayed for the night, along with several others, in the viewing area for Lake Eyre South and arrived in time to see the most glorious sunset lighting up the lake with glowing colours. Popped on the Baby Q for a BBQ. There is a story in itself of Ian hinting, sooking, whinging etc until he got his Q. But I must confess it does a lovely meal, I might just sit back and never cook again.

A fellow camper warned us to be aware of the mice around and sure enough a couple of little blighters decided that our chairs were nice and comfy until we gave them the heave ho and packed everything away and promptly shut the fly screen but only after gazing at the thousands of stars which can be seen.

3^rd June

We are still at Lake Eyre for another evening and we have had several tourist vehicles in with hordes of tourists embarking heading for the water.

Speaking of which we took ourselves off with a towel and paddled in the Lake, which was very muddy but a great experience. The water is incredibly salty.

Just below where we are camped what is left of the old Ghan railway track can still be walked. All of the rails were pulled up but lots of the sleepers are still here and I souvenired a sleeper spike.

So far two of the caravanners have had awater fitting broken by the stones and one had a back window broken.

Ah well after a wonderful day we are ready for another sunset and tonight for dinner Pork Spare ribs with Plum sauce.

OODNADATTA TRACK

OODNADATTA TRACK.


We then headed off with great excitement down the Oodnadatta track. Words can’t describe the feeling, such variety in scenery with the remains of the old Ghan railway running alongside with the ruins of a fettler quarters just off the track. It gave you a feeling of just how vast our country is.

Fetlers cottage

Old Ghan Railway