Alice

We loved Alice Springs, such a vibrant place, stuff happening all the time, festivals and very friendly people. I am really impressed that people in this country english can be their fourth, fifth or even sixth language, and I am inspired to hear young children speaking language fluently. I can see why Liam loved being out here and why he was back for a short visit.

Kaiden, Jamala and Nicole paid a visit to the desert park while I did administrative type things in town.

After a couple of days rest in Alice we ventured into West Macdonald Ranges visiting gorges and doing walks. First camp out of Alice nearly saw us seriously bogged again ! We camped at a spot called 2-mile a 3km 4WD camping area on the Finke River. It was wonder-fully quiet and by some water some other campers ventured in and camped a long way off where we could make out their camp light in the distance - perfect ! the next morning we did a walk at Ormison gorge (and were happy about where we camped the night before - the camp ground here resembled something closer to a caravan park). The walking in West Macdonald Ranges is spectacular. It must be truly a great experience to walk the Larapinta Trail. Next a short visit to Glen Helen - can't believe they fry their food with lard...vege oil is very low, too low for me to bother putting the remainder in the tank. :-( .. travelling on dinosaur fuel it is (dino-deisel).

Our next destination was Finke Gorge National Park - this went beyond all expectations, really stunning and kind of reminded me of Moab Utah or something. Our second walk for the day through Palm Valley was superb ! We loved this place and figured we could spend a lot of time here. Still we are pushed with the seasons of the Kimberly’s.

The next morning we headed toward Kings Canyon and came by some local people with a broken down car. We stopped to assist, and in our communications I was kind of dazzled at the mix of traditional communication going on like sign language (people were spread out a bit) and drawing in the sand, and us giving a lend of our satellite phone so they could call people in their community for help. Their peaceful nature and cheer-fullness had me wanting to hang out under the roadside trees with them while they waited. ahhh, so yes Liam one does need to carry enough water for self and people you meet on the road !

Kings Canyon - wow another stunning place, though by the time we got here I started noticing signs of a real tourist circus going on, well if we are to head to Uluru - Kata Tjuta we are going to be part of it.

Later that evening while the sun was setting on Uluru we set up camp. The next morning Kaiden and I woke up at 5:15am and headed into the Park to watch the sunrise on Uluru. we lined up at the gate in the dark to buy our tickets and arrived at a sunrise viewing area, there were traffic controllers, tour buses of all shapes and sizes, and people spilled out onto the side of the road readying themselves for the event. It was stunning to see the different shades and changes in the rock.

In the morning we went on a guided tour, and learnt even more about why so many flock to this place, and can understand a certain attractor, particularly the terrapsychology of Uluru. I am also inspired to hear our guide notice less and less people are coming to climb and more people are coming to learn about Tjukurpa (~spiritual heritage and traditional law) and spiritual nature of the place. I hope that people can also be inspired to learn about the stories of their place, the land where they live. Certainly the dominant culture needs some new stories, new myths to live by.

Nicole and I were both overwhelmed by the amount of fascinating information and learning here Uluru - Kata Tjuta. A ticket gives you 3 days yet this can only give the smallest of glimpses of what there is to inspire and relish in.

Another side of Uluru is that where there are hoards of tourists eating fried foods there is an abundance of vegetable oil !! .... me happy !! When diesel is about $1.60/L I do wonder why local people are not using waste vegetable oil ?

Yesterday we found some desert grevillea’s in flower and enjoyed licking them, I placed a few flowers in my drink bottle to make a honey flavoured cordial, nice and refreshing during a walk at Kata Tjuta.

Sunset at Kata Tjuta was like many sights here – stunning.

Today we plan to do some more walking at Uluru then make our way through Alice and onwards through the Tanami Desert.

We had an extra night in Maree waiting for the roads to open, the springs had to wait.

The trak from Maree to Williams Creek was interesting, lots of mud holes and sticky sections. The mound springs and coward springs was a welcomed break from the short amount of driving. Jamala and Kaiden loved the spring 'spa' in the desert. It was refreshing and at just the right temperature.

Onwards William Creek and Oodnadatta we past much variation in landscape and vegetation, oh and water laying on the gibber plains. I am begining to think I had taken a wrong turn somewhere and that we are now in a vast wetland area of Australia more than arid !

At Oodnadatta we wondered if we would go through the Painted Desert or head into Witijira National Park. We headed south and discovered the Painted Desert road was closed (more rain). Turning off the main trak and onto the four wheel drive trail into Witijira was a marked difference in road conditions, however the scenery and ever changing landscape was spectacular. A long this stretch we knew from travellers in Oodnadatta that they got bogged twice and needing to winch themselves out. So I was being cautious with gear selection as we crossed the many muddy water crossings. Our car and trailer before long was coated in yet more mud, towards the end of the trail Nicole had lost all vision out of her window that provided some welcomed shade.

Along the trail we were pleased to find Sturt's Desert Pea, something we wanted to see for a long while. Everything was so green and lots in flower. There was also a great diversity in reptiles and more flocks of budgies.

We looked forward to a swim at Dalhousie Springs to help soak in some more water. This spring was far from refreshing at 37-40 degrees, more like a hot bath in the baking sun ! None-the-less we went for a swim, all except Jamala. It was not long before I was feeling lathagic and could easily drift around in the spring until, well I guess I amy slip into a coma or something?

Feeling more tired than before I dragged my weary self up to the camp site to do some fun jobs like changing the brakes on the car and other maintenance work. Laying under the car in the mud, and heat after a swim in 37+ degree water, just wasn't giving me that refresh I was craving.... then I remembered I put a coopers beer in the freezer ! Yep that did it prefectly. Meanwhile, Nicole discovered cold showers at the camp ground.

Later that evening, a storm started to brew, Nicole witnessed the most spectacular lighting stike she had ever seen. Before long we sat around eating our dinner in the tent as the storm and rain passed over. We then had just enough time to cook some oranges filled with chocolate cake in the fire before the next storm cell came, it brang more rain than the last and the fire was over. We were all tired at 9:30pm anyway. HHHmmmmmmm rain at Lake Eyre and now more on the edge of the Simpson Desert, I am wondering about our late start to the Kimberlies, I know it is going to be hot, but wondering about how much rain might be up there in October?

Next is a tale of winching and a long day .... we are in Alice now

Flinders and outback SA

After another hard drive into strong headwinds we arrived at Wilpena Pound – WOW !! This place is stunning, the rock climbing looks superb, the rock resembling something between Grampians sandstone and Arapiles Quartzite, this place is a feast for the eyes. A walk to the lookout revealed a great diversity of reptiles, every bend on the walk presented us with a new little beasty to say hello to and marvel at.

On the oil front, I missed it by five minutes….. yes, it was cleared from the bistro 5 mins before asking ….

North Flinders was also spectacular wonderful camping and amazing scenic driving through valleys and gorges.

We loved camping at Farina not far from the ghost town. It had very welcomed fire warmed showers. I also manged to fix the leaking oil filtering system ... hooray !!

Lake Eyre

Camping at Mulroonia Station (near Lake Eyre) was fantastic by a waterhole full of birdlife. The drive to the lake was easy going although the wind was up and the visibility was low because of the dust. As we wondered out into the basin, I noticed how seductive this wildscape was, it felt as if I could just keep on walking into the vast interior, not unlike the draw of a deep rainforest gully or paddling along a river. I just felt like going forever. The dust in the air added to the ambience of the place and took the edge off the sun.

Back to camp we heard about a serve weather warning, seeming it was on dusk we figure there was not much we could do about that. I mean, where would we go? There was no place to hide from a storm out here. It was due at 8pm, and that is when the storm hit …. The predicted 90km/hr winds and rain seemed spot on !!

It began with a dust storm that saw Kaiden take cover under the bedsheets as it blew through our tent. Then the rain came – wow… I never expected to have rain at Lake Eyre of all places in Australia ! The storm continued through to sometime past midnight after I had fallen asleep.

I am now enjoying the birdlife around the waterhole and waiting for the roads to re-open. The roads are wet and sticky….. We are longing Coward Springs to soak the dirt and dust off, and perhaps rehydrate through osmosis.

SPOKE TOO SOON, the roads are closed today .... we were lucky to make it back to Maree they are very sticky and wet !!

Oh and to those who have been trying to contact us on our sat phone. The car antenna is operational. Also as a habit we are going to start to switch the phone on by the camp fire once we set up. One thing to remember with satellite phones is that we need open sky to communicate with satellites, unlike a standard mobile phone which will work inside or under tree cover. There are also a few satellites that are out of service creating gaps in signals, I will post a link to a site that predicts the best time to ring for our location

Tues 8 Sept, BARRIER HWY somewhere between Cobar and Wilcannia … brewing a coffee enjoying the setting moon and first light of the day, a 64 year old sailor towing a 6 berth yacht pulled into the rest stop to share a coffee. I was inspired to hear his stories of travel when his children were as young as Kaiden and Jamala, traveling around Australia and sailing. Relishing in freedom and family seemed to be this man’s life more than working, suddenly 64 and not much has changed.

Hooraayyy, we made it to Sunny’s place in outback Menindee. We had a great time meeting Sunny’s family, Phil and Brighton. Kaiden enjoyed his time there, especially with so many of Brighton’s toys to play with and Sunny’s book reading time. Jamala giggled away at the cat that has kind of made itself home there. What an amazing little town. The children in the town were so friendly and curious, a delight to meet.

We got to see the lakes and even a little bit of water, with Pelicans and gulls in sight.

Thankfully we were all at Sunny’s as Kaiden, Jamala and I suffered a relapse of Gastro, and appreciated having a domestic toilet nearby a comfortable bed. A big thanks to Sunny, Phil and Brighton for having us, showing around and looking after us in sickness ….see you guys in Nimbin next!!

Silverton was an interesting and familiar town …. Familiar I guess that many films have been shot here like “mad max” along with an enormous number of advertisements.

We are now in Broken Hill after a very slow drive into strong winds. Vege oil hunting has been great in this town, 600 litres plus of very clean oil!! …. Way more than we can carry, and so have enough vege oil to get us beyond Flinders Ranges. So after a bit of filtering we’ll head into SA !!

While we have been having all this fun, the contract on our house has gone out and exchange should happen on Monday…. Probably would have happened earlier if our solicitor was able to contact us early in the week.

After a rough and hectic start, we are on our way. Rough, I mean, while doing the last of the cleaning and packing Nicole was vomiting, then when we got up onto the tablelands near midnight I (Brett) needed to pull over on the side of the road and found myself rolling around on the damp grass on the side of the road vomiting and wondering if I was going to be able to get back up again.. Does it get any better than this, the Australian dream holiday ? ?

The next day we arrived in Dubbo with a few things to sort out. First my new ‘on the road’ vege oil filtering system has several leaks – and not a pretty sight !! Also our new satellite phone has not turned up at the Dubbo post office as expected and now need to wait until Monday. This is all good. It gives us time to re-organise the packing, fix the leaking filtering system, and to collect a little vege oil to top back up again.

DUBBO ZOO !! …. When we arrived at Dubbo Zoo we were overwhelmed with the size of the place, luckily a ticket buys two days to explore it. On a 6km road circuit there are many pedestrian/bike circuits. Wild African and Asian animals set among the Australian bush which is kind of strange to see. Like Gibbons swinging from Eucs, Maned Wolves in Cypress Pine forest, and Zebras grazing among an open Mugga Ironbark/Cypress forest (Penny: we may have needed to do some extra veg plots in the Zoo for the Dapper nomination when we were out here !!).

Kaiden absolutely loved the place and turned his desire for “I want to go home” to “I love holidays”. The animal enclosures are well thought out, and the experience is an open one, many enclosures have either a deep ditch or mote around them giving an illusion that the animals are accessible right in front of you. Though I suspect that a 5 metre gap between us and the Cheetah is a different kind of illusion. Considering a Cheetah can reach speeds of 110km/h, surely then a 5 metre leap would be not much of a challenge for this beasty?

The Galapagos Tortoises captivated us all, one tortoise was around 100 years old leaving her with about another 50 years of life ahead. Kaiden loved giving them a scratch and a pat. They reflected for me the whole idea of slowness and presence, and reminded me of human movements like slow food, and our own idea of slow travel.

Day 2 at the zoo…. Kaiden and Nicole handfeed the Giraffes which was pretty exciting for the both of them. Jamala was mesmerized by the Giraffes as they too seemed to stare back at her, perhaps curious about her unstoppable giggles. Kaiden was sad to leave the zoo with the understanding that our ticket was for only 2 days. His spirits lifted again as soon as he went on a vege oil hunt with Daddy ! It seems oil is plentiful in Dubbo just laying around in the open out the back of restaurants.