Wednesday 17^th July, 2024

On Tuesday morning we walked to the waterhole after breakfast. We thought it was a bit more than the official 2kms there, and we had to cross little creeks a couple of times. The warterhole was definitely worth the walk, very peaceful, with a bench to sit on, and some birdlife, including a bird of prey which we haven’t yet identified.

Stephen said that he saw many gannets on the little cliff overlooking the water, but he had to go to some rocks which allowed him a better view than ground level where I took the photo.

One of the staff came out in the little quad bike and spoke with Stephen. He said he wanted to chop down a tree and there was a van parked all by itself, he wondered if it was ours. Stephen didn’t think it was, and told him ours had Sherwood written on it. The man did the round trip again to tell us that it was indeed our van. So, I got to ride back to the caravan park in the quad bike, which I secretly wanted anyway.

I shifted the Sherwood to another area, as directed by the manager, and then went to watch the tree being chopped down. I tried to video it on my phone, but managed to miss the vital moment when it fell. The tree looked interesting, but was actually dead, and possibly dangerous if blown over when the area was full of vans.

I was offered a lift back to the waterhole, but decided to do one last load of washing instead, this time our towels, face flannels and bath mats. I then made a cup of tea and Stephen arrived as it was ready. He checked that we could go back to our original parking space. That’s when it became exciting. We tried a couple of places, but the Sherwood still wasn’t level. As I was driving back across the lawn I managed to drive straight over a reticulation post, with a rather nasty sound.

I had to finish the run, with the awful sound still happening. Fortunately the reticulation was undamaged, it was just the plastic post surrounding it that was toast. I didn’t think to take a photo as I was feeling a bit shattered. Later, the plastic was replaced and all was well.

We settled on a different spot in the park with better sunlight and had a peaceful afternoon and evening.

The reason Stephen came back a bit earlier than I expected was that staff drove the quad bike back to the water hole to pick up the rubbish from the bin and offered him a lift. He went about half way, past the water crossings, and then walked back.

Each day in our section of the park we had different neighbours in different rigs. I noticed that there were a few women travelling on their own, in campers mostly, though there was one younger woman travelling in a car and camping in a swag. She had two dogs with her.

This morning we were packed up and ready just before 10.00 a.m. All of the other campers in our section had left at least half an hour before. It was a good feeling to be on the road again.

We stopped a couple of times at roadhouses: for toilets the first time at Renner Springs, then fuel and a bit of shopping in Eliot. We are camped about 20kms north of Eliot in an unofficial campsite 3kms south of the official 24hr camping place. We’ve read that the official site gets very packed out. This is better, we have a few vans around, but plenty of space to spread out. We have a view of a muddy dam from our back window.

The days have been windy and almost completely cloud free for the past few days. Overnights are very cool and the wind can be make us feel quite chilly. But, by afternoon it’s usually a bit warmer and the wind can drop, though it hasn’t so far.

Some photos from Newcastle Waters Rest Area (South)

Monday 15th July, 2024

I actually booked at Banka Banka in advance. We wanted somewhere to rest for a couple of nights and wash our bedding. We are having cool overnights, and clear, sunny, and windy days, perfect for putting washing on the line. This is our second night here and we’ve booked a third night so that we can do one more load of washing and walk to the local waterhole.

We are not sure if this is a working station or just a tourist park. It is Indigenous run and although it doesn’t look fancy and modern the facilities are very good. We are in an unpowered section, close to toilets, showers, washing machine, dump point and main reception, very handy if you have problems with the washing machine, as we did. It’s a new one and the computer is causing problems.

On Wikicamps there was a complaint about lack of toilet paper, but we haven’t had any problems, perhaps they read the complaint and decided to pick things up.

There is a lookout, which we went to last night, and they have a nightly bar from 5.00 to 7.00 p.m. We did the walk up the hill last night at sunset, but haven’t been to the bar.

Our progress on this journey is still slow, with enjoyable stops like this on the way. We are paying $25.00 per night and there are drinking water taps available though we don’t have a tap of our own. The powered sites are $40 per night. Some of the roadhouses are expensive as well, so this is very good value. In a dry country having access to good water is very important.

Sunday 14th July, 2024

After the Tropic of Capricorn Rest Area we stayed at McDowell Stuart Rest Area and are now at Bonney Well Rest Area. Each rest area has it’s pros and cons. Last night was mostly peaceful, with about five of us staying overnight.

By mostly peaceful, as I was bringing the Starlink in for the night a car drove into the rest area and parked near to us. I heard voices, then a woman spoke to me, saying something like ‘excuse me’. Well, you’ve never seen a person scramble into their van that quickly. The Starlink was already inside, but I was bringing in the airer and hi vis jacket we were using to show people where it was on the ground. As protection. The airer usually goes in the front of the car, but it spent the night tucked in the dinette. Even though the people drove away I didn’t feel safe about going outside again in the dark.

Bonney Well Rest Area has lots of bins, all full and overflowing, which detracts a bit from it’s features, a nearby creek with some water in it, a windmill, views all around and the main railway line where we saw the Ghan passing a bit earlier. We have a fairly level spot and good privacy. There are lots of vans here, with some going back away from the paved area towards the railway line, so there is good separation for those who want it.

We’ve seen quirky roadhouses, including one that was abandoned a couple of years ago, camels in a paddock, and stopped to visit the Devil’s Marbels. We camped there in the Winnie and because you now have to pay decided to move on to this free camp.

I’ve booked us into Banka Banka Tourist Park for a couple of nights after passing through Tennant Creek. It had very good reviews when I looked at Wikicamps, then someone posted a critical review a few hours later. But, it seems good value at $25 per night, has all facilities including drinking water, and it will be good to take a pause.

We are only driving about 200kms per day, but it takes us ages. We are now sharing the driving, which is very helpful and reminds me that one of the reasons I like the Sherwood is that the passenger seat is comfortable for me as a short person. Van passenger seats are set too high for me.

Perhaps the journey is not exciting, but we really enjoy it, living in the moment and finding interesting things on the way.

Thursday 11th July, 2024

Yesterday morning we had breakfast at the Standley Chasm café before taking the walk out to the gorge. As I remembered from five years ago, it is a fairly easy walk. There were tour groups going through as well, but fortunately we got to share about 15 minutes of quiet with one other couple and we took photos for each other. There is a still pool at the end which allowed for reflection of the cliff behind which was lit by the sun.

I had a bad moment when I realised that I hadn’t put the SD card back in my camera and had been firing blanks on the walk. The good thing was that I had the card in the backpack, so all was well and I took some photos of the walk on the way back.

Stephen had done the walk the day before, and wanted to try out another trail. He managed to catch up in time for photos at the end of the walk.

When we returned we had a hot drink at the café  before doing our final packing up. I felt very sad as we left, pretty much the way I felt when we left in the Winnie years ago. I’m glad we were able to go back there.

In Alice Springs we went to Coles which is in the centre of town. As theft is a problem there Stephen remained in the car whilst I went to the supermarket. I took so long that Stephen had had lunch by the time I returned. He then took the bags and went to do the rest of the shopping, mainly fresh fruit and veggies.

Part of the reason I was away such a long time was because the layout of the supermarket was very confusing, with yogurt and cheese in the same aisle as the toilet paper, etc. It was a real puzzle to find. But the other reason is that there was a fight outside the store between rival families, with weapons such as spears being brough to the fray. The security staff called the police and closed the shutters at the front of the store. They made sure it was safe before letting us leave. This was reported in the news as part of the reason for the curfew, but in fact happened in the middle of the afternoon. I wasn’t scared and actually didn’t see much before the shutters came down, but I could see that the police had arrived and were trying to arrest someone.

I’m amazed that after hearing so much about Alice Springs being unsafe we were there when something happened. I don’t think anyone was actually hurt, thank goodness. The problem seems to be that families have come to town for Territory Day and stayed for a while, causing problems for the local families.

We checked into a caravan park and had a very busy time. Stephen connected us to water and power, then sorted the shopping. As we have stocked up a bit that was a big task. He had bought himself some new socks, so I organised the washing. The caravan park had a small laundry near to us, but the washing machine didn’t seem to be very good. On the other side of the park they have an excellent laundry with about seven washing machines and four large commercial dryers. There was a change machine which actually worked and they also have washing lines throughout the park. Still, there was a lot of tooing and froing on my part.

In the evening we were able to relax knowing everything was done.

This morning, after packing up, we headed to the Olive Pink Botanical Garden. There is a very nice café and the park is very beautiful, with trees and plants from different regions. We had lunch at the café before heading into town.

I wanted to buy a French Press and by researching online had found a place that might have what I wanted. It turned out to be a very interesting store with lots of different goods, even baby clothes. Of course the baby didn’t want to try the garment on! The woman who owns it has been there for 40 years.

She had quite a variety of bodums some much cheaper than others. I had an Aeropress, but unfortunately when I was cleaning it a few days ago I seem to have thrown away a vital part. So the French Press is to use instead.

The store was in the part of Alice where we lived as children. I enjoyed walking around.. All was quiet and it felt very safe.

By the time we left it was mid afternoon and our destination was here at the Tropic of Capricorn marker, only about 30 kms from town. Having only a short distance to drive meant that we could enjoy being in Alice for a few hours. Again, we felt the tugging of wanting to stay longer. The mild, dry weather is lovely. It was a bit warmer overnight than we have experienced so far. For once there was no dew and the clothes I had left on the airer were pretty much dry by the time we left.

We chatted with our neighbours for a while before leaving the caravan park. They are going to places where we have just been and asked about camping possibilities on the Great Central Road. In turn, they were able to give us some pointers on navigating the booking website for NT national parks. It’s a buggy website with definite quirks.

Tuesday 9^th July, 2024

Yesterday morning we woke to a thick mist. I had hoped to photograph the effects of sunrise on the surrounding hills/mountains and river, but instead have some photos and video of the mist. Still, it was very beautiful and the mist had cleared by the time we were ready to leave.

We went first to Ormiston Gorge for a walk out to the waterhole, then a delicious lunch of vegetarian focaccia sandwiches and hot drinks. This is a particularly popular spot and there were groups of older school children on the walk as well as families taking picnic hampers down to the waterhole. Someone kindly took a photo of Stephen and I together, using my camera, rather than one of our phones.

Our next stop was a hillside free camp with beautiful views. We wanted to get rid of our rubbish before going to Standley Chasm but the bins were full and the area quite messy. We moved on. The next stop was at Ellery Creek Big Hole Campground where we parked in some shade and had a cuppa.

Our final stop on the journey was at Point Howard Lookout, which had besides beautiful views some good camping areas. It is a designated 24hr Rest Area, with tank water (needs boiling) and many bins so we could finally get rid of our rubbish. It was tempting to stay, but being low on drinking water meant that going to a proper camping area seemed a good idea.

We stayed here at Standley Chasm about five years ago in the Winnebago, in one of the powered sites. There is drinking water, toilets, a couple of showers and campers kitchen, as well as a very lovely café. When we were here last time they offered evening meals, but now it closes at about 5.00 p.m.

They also have an overflow area where we stayed overnight. It was fairly good for the Starlink and the Sherwood was the only obstruction recorded. Today we’ve driven back into the main area and found a spot in the car park where we can stay overnight tonight. We had more of a choice this morning than last night when we arrived.

We have internet via 4 bars of 4G, but very slow. I checked the obstructions to see if the Starlink could do better, but the car park has too many obstructions. Still, life is not always just about internet, of course.

This is also a popular tourist spot and gets extremely busy during the day. Fortunately it quietens down at night. Did I mention that it’s school holidays here in the Territory, so kids of all ages are here. We like isolation (no one else came into the overflow area last night, but occasional bustle of serious walkers with large backpacks, walking sticks and large hats as well as families and occasional older persons is nice for a change.

We are still experiencing desert chill, with cold nights and mostly mild temperatures during the day. We are getting very tired from moving each day, and having a two night stay here in Standley Chasm is just what we need. Even though our travel distances are short we fit in little side trips and sight seeing, and often arrive at our destination in the late afternoon.

I would say that the Western MacDonnell Ranges is one of the most beautiful areas I’ve ever seen. I’m very grateful that we have the opportunity to be here, especially as we are getting older. It’s quite something that neither of us have serious health issues that impact our ability to do this, even doing the little two step climb up into our loft bed in the Sherwood.

Monday 8th July, 2024

Tylers Lookout: it got very busy with lots of caravans of people, so we only spent about 20 minutes walking around and taking in the views all around.

Sonder Lookout near Glen Helen Gorge: again very busy with tourists. The Finke River down below is where we are now camping. If you took a photo, not advised as there has been a heavy mist here this morning, you would see us as well. At 8.15 a.m. the mist is lifting somewhat, but we still can’t see distant views.

Finke River Camping: yesterday evening we almost missed the sunset, but managed to get some photos with evening colours. Notice that photo 2 and photo 5 look superficially similar, but 5 shows the last of the pink on the distant hills.

We had an incredible night sky with bright stars right down to the horizon. Unfortunately, there is always one caravanner who has to leave lights on all night, which affected how much we could see. Earlier we watched the moonrise, it is a few days old, and through the binoculars we could see the whole outline of the moon. not visible without them.

Looking at the videos from when we were driving it becomes clear that it is impossible to really convey just incredible the scenary has been on the road. Even photos do not do it justice as you cannot see all of the surroundings which add to the magic.

With the galleries you will need to click on the first photo to enlarge it and then click the arrows to go through.

Sunday 7^th July, 2024

 The Mereenie Loop was not a ‘doddle’ as I predicted. It was pretty rough. We camped overnight at Gravel Pit near Gosse Bluff just a few kilometres back on bitumen. We noticed that the signs into the Bluff said it was a 4WD road, and this was off putting after the hard driving. This morning we decided to continue on to Ormiston Gorge. On the way we went up to the Tylers Pass Lookout and stopped for lunch at Redbank Gorge Campground (Ridgetop).

Glen Helen campground is closed at the moment. From Mt Sonder Lookout we noticed campers near the river below, and it looked lovely. However, we wanted to get to Ormiston Gorge as we needed drinking water.

At Ormiston Gorge the campground was full. We enjoyed hot drinks at the lovely café, run by Indidgenous folk. There were two possibilities, to go back to the Finke River camping, which is on a 4WD track, or go further along the Ranges to another lookout which has a free camp. As we wanted to explore Ormiston Gorge tomorrow we headed back to the Fink River and took the track. We were worried by the 4WD label, but it was a fairly easy track and having high clearance was about all that was needed.

So, here we are, after two tiring days, settled in by the river.

This whole area, the Mereenie Loop and now on the Namatjira Road is incredibly beautiful with so many different types of landscapes. No matter how difficult the driving on the gravel road section, and then looking for a place to stay, we are rewarded everywhere with incredible views.

When we woke up this morning at Gravel Pit it was cloudy and misty, but the rest of the day has been sunny, getting quite warm in the afternoon.

We have taken some video and lots and lots of photos. Here are just a few from my phone. I need to download others from my cameras, and check with Stephen who has also taken lots of photos.

Saturday 6th July, 2024

We packed up and went into the Canyon at about 4.00 p.m. It gave us a chance to see the layout of the walks and test out the flushing toilets, very clean. It’s unusual to have septic tanks in national parks, but very much appreciated. There are also some drinking water taps.

The highlight was seeing a brown falcon. I saw another photographer with a big lens taking photos of it and after our short walk the falcon was still just sitting on the branch waiting for me to have a go (not). Anyway, I have at least one photo that stands up to being cropped.

The nights are still very chilly, but last night at Ginty’s it was slightly warmer, a welcome change.

Yesterday we packed up everything, again, dumped our toilet, filled up with water and fuel, and did some shopping. Phew! I bought some freshly baked rolls and when we arrived at the Canyon Stephen made us cheese and tomato rolls to take on our walk. We were leaving at 12.00, so this was a good idea indeed.

We did the River Walk, only about 3kms return, but very much worth doing. There are lots of little birds that are very hard to photograph, even when they are enjoying a puddle and flying in and out constantly. At the end of the walk there is a platform and seating with a view up the cliffs. This was a great place for our picnic lunch.

On the way back we walked separately, as we usually do, so that we can stop where we like and not hold up the other person. I was using the DJI Osmo pocket to try to capture bird sounds, but they are pretty faint when I play them back. I also checked out the first few steps of the Rim Walk. Although in photos they are appear to be not clearly defined, in reality, the steps are fine, you would just need a good sense of balance. We did the walk 30 years ago when Stephen was doing his around Australia Greyhound trip and I flew to Alice Springs to do a tour of Uluru and Kings Canyon with him. It will have to do.

Our fuel guage and reported range on the car dash were not showing the correct amounts, so we topped up a little, just to be sure. We may be able to get fuel at Glen Helen, and it’s only about 390 to Alice, but we need fuel for the diesel heater and it won’t work if we get down under half a tank. The fuel guage adjusted after a few kms, but the range indicator still didn’t report correctly.

We are doing the Mereenie Loop, a mostly gravel road that will take us to the West MacDonnell Ranges. The gravel road is rough, but is only 155kms long. People who’ve done the Great Central Road will consider it a doddle.

There is a short section of bitumen to get to Ginty’s, fortunately as the road became very steep. It is a popular stop over with at least 15 other campers here last night. Some sections are very stoney so we had to work out how to get to a camping spot without going over rocks.

Thursday 4^th July, 2024

This is another day for torturing dogs with fireworks. At least it doesn’t happen here!

This is just a quick note to bring us up to the present.

Yesterday we drove from the Peterman Rest Area to the Kings Canyon Resort. The drive was mostly beautiful, but with some boring bits. We took photos of the entrance to the Red Centre Way, actually Larapinta Drive, which leads to the Canyon, but then goes further to the West Macdonnell Ranges and eventually to Alice Springs.

On the way here we stopped at Kings Creek Station for lunch. They have an excellent café, sell fuel, and have a caravan park. Although it looks very attractive we decided not to stay, but to continue to the resort. It is a little closer to Kings Canyon and appeared to be the same price. That turned out to be not true, but it is the school holidays. We booked in for two nights as we had washing to do.

The washing happened this morning and was quite a bit job. We settled down for a coffee afterwards and are getting on with some desk work.

The plan is: maybe go there this afternoon, but could also go tomorrow for the day, then on to a free camp less than 30kms from here. We have quite a lot to pack up if we want to go out there today as we are connected to water and power and had to use the levellers to prop up our rear.

To get the levellers out we had to open our rear box. Dust had penetrated it, but surprisingly things in bags were OK. Nevertheless, I’ve decided to keep my good shoes inside from now on. Our chairs took the worst of the dust so we washed them off and left them out in the sun to dry. They are very cheap chairs and we don’t care if they get dirty, just need to be clean to sit in them.

Our camp site is right next to a toilet/shower block with it’s own laundry, camp kitchen and BBQ area. When no one is behind us we have a good view over towards the bluff. It feels luxurious and I can easily slip over to have a bedtime shower in my oodie. It’s also very handy for doing washing as I don’t have a long trek to see how things are going.

We had no difficulty getting a site even though we hadn’t booked. We could see why later on as although a lot of caravans and motorhomes arrived there were still spaces free. It cost $81 per night, and that was with our member discount.