Royce and I woke very early this morning (before sun up) and discovered that because we had left the fridge running on 12 volt our caravan batteries had run right down. Luckily we had enough gas left to heat the water to make a cup of tea. We sat outside with our cups of tea and watched the sun come up. Our young German backpackers woke once the sun was up so we made them a cup of tea and chatted for a bit longer. We found out they are really living on starvation rations. They don’t have a fridge so cannot travel with anything that needs refrigeration. They did have an esky but didn’t use it because it ‘kept spilling water out from the lid’ (we suspect they had way too much ice in it). They had a portable gas burner but said it wouldn’t boil a kettle. They were very happy to have a hot cup of tea. Hazel then made up a goodie basket for them with tins of tuna, packets of biscuits, tins of soft drinks etc. The look on their faces when they were given the package was priceless. They said the meal they had the previous night was the best they had eaten since coming to Australia and they said that receiving the package this morning was “like my birthday”.
They were a really lovely couple and we wished them well when they headed off to Kings Canyon.
We had brekkie, packed up and headed off to Alice Springs arriving shortly before lunch. We decided to book into the G’Day Mate Caravan Park (where they actually park your caravan for you!) for 2 nights. It is a nice caravan park with lots of trees, birds and friendly people. Once we set up we headed into Alice Springs (the Caravan Park is approximately 3 to 4 km from the town centre), had a bit of lunch, did some shopping at Target, found a camera shop and bought a battery charger for my camera, and did some grocery shopping at Woolworths (all in all a fairly expensive afternoon!).
We all decided this afternoon that we would stay in the caravan park for a week and will do day trips out to the West and East Macdonnell Ranges and do some tourist stuff in Alice Springs itself.
This should now bring my Blog entries up to date other than photographs and I hope to get photos on in the next day or two.
Just a side note - something I just remembered. On the way to Finke River from Kings Canyon the large mirror on the wall above our bed fell off! Luckily the two bedlights stopped it falling down fully and smashing on our bed (and the TV which was on the bed!). A job for Royce now to put the mirror back up.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
6/9/10 FINKE RIVER
We packed up (reluctantly) and left Kings Creek Station this morning. After a pretty uneventful drive (with a couple of stops on the way) we set up camp at Finke River. Whilst there was some water in the river (and quite a lot of small fish) the campsite itself was pretty disappointing. It was quite small and didn’t overlook the river. It was quite close to the road as well.
We were able to sit for a while, went for a bit of a walk along the river (where we saw an ‘apartment’ tree housing a large amount of wild budgies and cockatiels), then set up the BBQ for tea. We had an entree of barbecued prawns then a main meal of salads, sausages, patties and bacon. We also put some pineapple slices on the barbie. It was a very nice meal.
Raymond had noticed a car parked near our caravans with a young couple in it who appeared to be having Jatz biscuits for tea so after we had finished our tea he invited them over and stoked up the barbie and cooked up a feast for them! They are two young German backpackers travelling around on the cheap, sleeping in their car and living off very quick simple meals. The look on their faces when they were given a plate each piled high with salads, sausages, bacon, chicken and patties was precious. They were then offered a drink and he had a beer while she had a soft drink. Unfortunately I cannot remember their names but they were a very nice young couple who really appreciated the hot meal. They sat with us and chatted for quite a while.
While sitting outside watching the most beautiful night sky imaginable I saw 3 shooting stars and 3 satellites.
We didn’t have any power and our gas was running low so we retired early to bed.
We were able to sit for a while, went for a bit of a walk along the river (where we saw an ‘apartment’ tree housing a large amount of wild budgies and cockatiels), then set up the BBQ for tea. We had an entree of barbecued prawns then a main meal of salads, sausages, patties and bacon. We also put some pineapple slices on the barbie. It was a very nice meal.
Raymond had noticed a car parked near our caravans with a young couple in it who appeared to be having Jatz biscuits for tea so after we had finished our tea he invited them over and stoked up the barbie and cooked up a feast for them! They are two young German backpackers travelling around on the cheap, sleeping in their car and living off very quick simple meals. The look on their faces when they were given a plate each piled high with salads, sausages, bacon, chicken and patties was precious. They were then offered a drink and he had a beer while she had a soft drink. Unfortunately I cannot remember their names but they were a very nice young couple who really appreciated the hot meal. They sat with us and chatted for quite a while.
While sitting outside watching the most beautiful night sky imaginable I saw 3 shooting stars and 3 satellites.
We didn’t have any power and our gas was running low so we retired early to bed.
5/9/10 KINGS CANYON
HAPPY FATHER’S DAY TO ALL THE DADS READING THIS.
We bought steak sandwiches for tea last night. A bit on the dear side but they were very good steak sandwiches with real steak! We forgot to tell them they would be ‘take away’ so they were served up to us on plates and nicely presented. Because we wanted the meal back at the caravan they gave us a tray and we promised to return the plates and tray in the morning.
This morning we all woke feeling reasonably refreshed although Raymond and I were feeling pretty worn out from the efforts yesterday. Hazel and Royce seemed to be in better condition! My legs were a bit stiff and sore but loosened up slightly after my shower. We did a load of washing, took the plates and tray back, had a cappuccino and investigated the souvenir shop. Whilst I was in the shop Raymond and Hazel decided to do a camel ride which was leaving almost immediately so Royce and I went out to watch them depart and take a couple of photos for them. The cameleer invited us to come along with them (walking) so we headed off on foot with the camel train (only 3 camels). I hadn’t planned to do much walking today because I was a bit sore and still tired from the very strenuous day yesterday. As it turned out I became an assistant cameleer! I was given the ‘handbrake release’ to keep the second camel moving because she has a tendency to stop quite frequently. The ‘handbrake release’ was a fairly long stick with a blue rag on the end. You don’t need to hit the camel with it, you just need to convince the camel you are serious, so I ended up on several occasions giving Doctor Heather (the camel) a bit of a growl and told her to keep moving so she did. I thought I did pretty well! It was a 30 minute walk and although the camels only look like they are ambling along when you are on foot trying to keep up it is a reasonable pace! On the way back one of the new camels (Missy) decided to charge towards us so I had to tell her off and she stopped, gave a bit of a growl at me, then walked away! All very exciting. I think I could be a Cameleer!
We spent the rest of the day doing very little. Royce played on the computer this afternoon while I read for a while and had a catnap. We walked down to have another look at the camels and take a couple of photos, had another cappuccino then came back to the caravan and we both played on the computer for a while before setting up the BBQ for tea. I chopped up some veggies to cook on the BBQ and as I am typing this up Royce and Raymond are cooking tea.
I have been writing up my Blog each day as a word document just trying to make sure I don’t forget too much and once I have an internet connection I will copy each entry into my Blog.
We bought steak sandwiches for tea last night. A bit on the dear side but they were very good steak sandwiches with real steak! We forgot to tell them they would be ‘take away’ so they were served up to us on plates and nicely presented. Because we wanted the meal back at the caravan they gave us a tray and we promised to return the plates and tray in the morning.
This morning we all woke feeling reasonably refreshed although Raymond and I were feeling pretty worn out from the efforts yesterday. Hazel and Royce seemed to be in better condition! My legs were a bit stiff and sore but loosened up slightly after my shower. We did a load of washing, took the plates and tray back, had a cappuccino and investigated the souvenir shop. Whilst I was in the shop Raymond and Hazel decided to do a camel ride which was leaving almost immediately so Royce and I went out to watch them depart and take a couple of photos for them. The cameleer invited us to come along with them (walking) so we headed off on foot with the camel train (only 3 camels). I hadn’t planned to do much walking today because I was a bit sore and still tired from the very strenuous day yesterday. As it turned out I became an assistant cameleer! I was given the ‘handbrake release’ to keep the second camel moving because she has a tendency to stop quite frequently. The ‘handbrake release’ was a fairly long stick with a blue rag on the end. You don’t need to hit the camel with it, you just need to convince the camel you are serious, so I ended up on several occasions giving Doctor Heather (the camel) a bit of a growl and told her to keep moving so she did. I thought I did pretty well! It was a 30 minute walk and although the camels only look like they are ambling along when you are on foot trying to keep up it is a reasonable pace! On the way back one of the new camels (Missy) decided to charge towards us so I had to tell her off and she stopped, gave a bit of a growl at me, then walked away! All very exciting. I think I could be a Cameleer!
We spent the rest of the day doing very little. Royce played on the computer this afternoon while I read for a while and had a catnap. We walked down to have another look at the camels and take a couple of photos, had another cappuccino then came back to the caravan and we both played on the computer for a while before setting up the BBQ for tea. I chopped up some veggies to cook on the BBQ and as I am typing this up Royce and Raymond are cooking tea.
I have been writing up my Blog each day as a word document just trying to make sure I don’t forget too much and once I have an internet connection I will copy each entry into my Blog.
4/9/10 KINGS CANYON
We woke to a fairly cool morning but reasonably clear skies. We decided to do the Kings Canyon Rim Walk which is a 3.5 to 4 hr walk with part of it at the beginning stated to be ‘steep’ but the rest of the walk was supposed to be ‘moderate’. It is approximately 6km.
Royce and I headed into the Resort so I could get on the internet to check what was happening with an eBay transaction and to give Rory a call. We then met up with Raymond and Hazel at Kings Canyon and the 4 of us headed off.
The first part of the walk is certainly STEEP! It is almost a vertical climb for 500 metres. It felt a lot more than 500m but a ranger had advised Royce (when he was getting fuel in the Resort this morning) to ensure we took it slowly and plenty of rests on the way, which is what we did.
Once that first climb is out of the way the rest is over very rocky terrain and you have to watch where you put your feet all the time. We continued to climb for quite a long time but the climb was more gradual and relatively easy (particularly in comparison with the first 500m).
The scenery was spectacular and I wouldn’t have missed it for the world – even though I did get very close to a panic attack on the first part of the climb (because of the steepness and the narrow track right on the edge of the cliff face).
We did the walk in about 4.45 hrs but that included a detour to the Garden of Eden so all up our time was pretty good. We didn’t see too many other ‘oldies’ doing the walk. Most of the people doing this walk were at least half our age. We all felt very tired at the end and my legs were getting a bit wobbly near the end, but we did it!
The Ranger Royce spoke to while getting fuel this morning told him there was a waterfall at the Garden of Eden (which is part of Kings Canyon) and we would be very fortunate to see it – apparently only about 500 people have ever seen the waterfall in Kings Canyon. Unfortunately it appears to have dried up by the time we got there so we missed out on that, but that is only a very small disappointment in that the whole Kings Canyon is magnificent – even without a waterfall.
Royce and I headed into the Resort so I could get on the internet to check what was happening with an eBay transaction and to give Rory a call. We then met up with Raymond and Hazel at Kings Canyon and the 4 of us headed off.
The first part of the walk is certainly STEEP! It is almost a vertical climb for 500 metres. It felt a lot more than 500m but a ranger had advised Royce (when he was getting fuel in the Resort this morning) to ensure we took it slowly and plenty of rests on the way, which is what we did.
Once that first climb is out of the way the rest is over very rocky terrain and you have to watch where you put your feet all the time. We continued to climb for quite a long time but the climb was more gradual and relatively easy (particularly in comparison with the first 500m).
The scenery was spectacular and I wouldn’t have missed it for the world – even though I did get very close to a panic attack on the first part of the climb (because of the steepness and the narrow track right on the edge of the cliff face).
We did the walk in about 4.45 hrs but that included a detour to the Garden of Eden so all up our time was pretty good. We didn’t see too many other ‘oldies’ doing the walk. Most of the people doing this walk were at least half our age. We all felt very tired at the end and my legs were getting a bit wobbly near the end, but we did it!
The Ranger Royce spoke to while getting fuel this morning told him there was a waterfall at the Garden of Eden (which is part of Kings Canyon) and we would be very fortunate to see it – apparently only about 500 people have ever seen the waterfall in Kings Canyon. Unfortunately it appears to have dried up by the time we got there so we missed out on that, but that is only a very small disappointment in that the whole Kings Canyon is magnificent – even without a waterfall.
3/9/10 KINGS CANYON
We woke pretty early this morning to the sound of a few drops of water hitting the caravan. Last night was quite warm but that soon changed this morning. From about 6am we had
THUNDER
LIGHTNING
RAIN, RAIN, MORE RAIN
Trying to pack up everything in the rain was a bit of a challenge and it seemed to be getting colder as the morning wore on. We finally got it all sorted and headed off on the road again – this time to Kings Canyon.
We have booked into the Kings Creek Station for 3 nights and once set up went for a drive to Kings Canyon Resort which is about 38km from here. We had expected something like the Ayers Rock Resort but there was no comparison. We couldn’t find anywhere to buy a battery charger so I will have to keep using the iPhone until we might be able to buy a charger in Alice Springs.
We had a bit of a look around the entrance to the Kings Canyon Walk and we are psyching ourselves to do the Rim Walk tomorrow – 3.5 to 4 hours! The information states that the first part is pretty steep and our friendly backpackers from yesterday told us that as well. There is a much shorter, gentler walk but we have been told the Rim Walk is absolutely worth the effort.
What a spectacular looking place it is – and that is just at the entrance.
We went to a show put on by the Kings Creek Station tonight. The owner of the station addressed the audience (about 35 people) and told us about the history of Kings Creek Station, the plight of the Aborigine, the Conway Kids program (where the Conways – the owners of the Station – raise money and invest a lot of their own money in providing bush Aborigine children with the opportunity to be educated in Adelaide), camels, bush brumbies and cattle mustering. It was all really interesting but the bench seats were pretty uncomfortable and it was getting very cold. The show finished with freshly made damper, syrup and real honest-to-goodness homemade cream washed down with billy tea. All good stuff. Apparently this is the best rain this area has had in 150 years and this is also the reason why we haven’t seen much by way of wildlife. Because of the really good rainfall there is ample feed across the country and the wildlife doesn’t need to come near ‘civilisation’ (including the roads).
Kings Creek Station has a contract to catch and supply 12,000 camels and so far they have only caught 70 so they are still a long way behind. The good rains means the camels are more scattered across the country and this makes it much harder to find them and muster them. The contract is worth $200 per camel so they are desperate to fulfil it!
The rain appears to have eased and the sky is clear (probably why it is now so cold and we have had to turn the heater on for a while).
THUNDER
LIGHTNING
RAIN, RAIN, MORE RAIN
Trying to pack up everything in the rain was a bit of a challenge and it seemed to be getting colder as the morning wore on. We finally got it all sorted and headed off on the road again – this time to Kings Canyon.
We have booked into the Kings Creek Station for 3 nights and once set up went for a drive to Kings Canyon Resort which is about 38km from here. We had expected something like the Ayers Rock Resort but there was no comparison. We couldn’t find anywhere to buy a battery charger so I will have to keep using the iPhone until we might be able to buy a charger in Alice Springs.
We had a bit of a look around the entrance to the Kings Canyon Walk and we are psyching ourselves to do the Rim Walk tomorrow – 3.5 to 4 hours! The information states that the first part is pretty steep and our friendly backpackers from yesterday told us that as well. There is a much shorter, gentler walk but we have been told the Rim Walk is absolutely worth the effort.
What a spectacular looking place it is – and that is just at the entrance.
We went to a show put on by the Kings Creek Station tonight. The owner of the station addressed the audience (about 35 people) and told us about the history of Kings Creek Station, the plight of the Aborigine, the Conway Kids program (where the Conways – the owners of the Station – raise money and invest a lot of their own money in providing bush Aborigine children with the opportunity to be educated in Adelaide), camels, bush brumbies and cattle mustering. It was all really interesting but the bench seats were pretty uncomfortable and it was getting very cold. The show finished with freshly made damper, syrup and real honest-to-goodness homemade cream washed down with billy tea. All good stuff. Apparently this is the best rain this area has had in 150 years and this is also the reason why we haven’t seen much by way of wildlife. Because of the really good rainfall there is ample feed across the country and the wildlife doesn’t need to come near ‘civilisation’ (including the roads).
Kings Creek Station has a contract to catch and supply 12,000 camels and so far they have only caught 70 so they are still a long way behind. The good rains means the camels are more scattered across the country and this makes it much harder to find them and muster them. The contract is worth $200 per camel so they are desperate to fulfil it!
The rain appears to have eased and the sky is clear (probably why it is now so cold and we have had to turn the heater on for a while).
2/9/10 THE OLGAS (KATA TJUTA) AND AYERS ROCK (ULURU)
We decided to leave the caravans and drive to Kata Tjuta and Uluru for the day. It was a beautiful sunny day with blue skies and a great day for travelling. Uluru is approximately 100km from Curtin Springs with Kata Tjuta about another 50km on (although only 32km west of Uluru).
On the way we spotted two camels on the side of the road but didn’t get an opportunity to take any photographs.
Kata Tjuta is absolutely spectacular! We took a large number of photos and the battery in my camera died. I wasn’t too concerned because I had a spare battery with me but I then discovered it was dead as well! I then remembered I hadn’t brought the battery charger with me (as in – I had left it home at Salisbury North). Needless to say I was pretty devastated and very annoyed with myself. Luckily my iPhone takes a reasonable photo (although nothing like the quality of the camera) so I was still able to take some half decent photos.
We did the Kata Tjuta Dune Viewing Walk and then the Walpa Gorge Walk. It was pretty hot in the sun but once inside the Walpa Gorge it was quite pleasant. Kata Tjuta consists of 36 steep-sided domes and they are awe inspiring. We were lucky enough to spot a kangaroo in the gorge, but wildlife so far this trip has been few and far between. At the far end of the Gorge we were having a drink and some nibbles when we spotted two birds appearing to swoop the wall of the Gorge. On looking more closely they were apparently trying to chase off a lizard. We watched this extremely agile lizard climbing the wall (which was almost vertical) until it disappeared into a crack in the wall.
After the walk we drove to Uluru and had lunch at the Cultural Centre which is nestled at the foot of Uluru. We explored the cultural centre and the gift/souvenir shop (spending some money as we went) and debated whether we wanted to climb Uluru or not. The latter won and instead of climbing Uluru we bought a sticker for the caravan which says “I did not climb Uluru”.
We then went to the Sunset Viewing area and got ourselves set up, taking several photos over the approximate 1.5 to 2 hours we had to wait for sunset. Unfortunately about 10 minutes before the sun was due to set a bank of clouds moved in and obscured the sun and we didn’t get the full effect of the sunset at Uluru. Nonetheless Uluru itself is pretty amazing. It is one very large rock!
We met two girls who are backpacking – one from Australia and one from Germany and we chatted with them for quite some time. They were lovely girls having an absolute ball travelling around the northern parts of Australia. They had climbed Ayers Rock and were showing us photographs. I am very glad I decided not to climb the Rock – it looked very very steep in several places and I doubt very much I would have had the courage to get up there!
We left Uluru once it got fully dark (you have to be out of the National Park within 40 minutes of sunset) and we went to the Ayers Rock Resort, mainly to check fuel prices. We didn’t find a service station (and by now it was about 7.30pm and quite dark so finding your way around was difficult). We did find a supermarket and a newsagents that were both open. Luckily we also found some public toilets! We did some shopping in the supermarket and newsagents and then headed back to Curtin Springs. We arrived back here about 9pm, unloaded the car, had a bite to eat and a cup of tea and tried all sorts of things to see if we could charge up the camera batteries – all to no avail!
The photos taken on the iPhone are reasonable and at least I will be able to take photos until we can buy either another camera battery or – better still – another battery charger!
On the way we spotted two camels on the side of the road but didn’t get an opportunity to take any photographs.
Kata Tjuta is absolutely spectacular! We took a large number of photos and the battery in my camera died. I wasn’t too concerned because I had a spare battery with me but I then discovered it was dead as well! I then remembered I hadn’t brought the battery charger with me (as in – I had left it home at Salisbury North). Needless to say I was pretty devastated and very annoyed with myself. Luckily my iPhone takes a reasonable photo (although nothing like the quality of the camera) so I was still able to take some half decent photos.
We did the Kata Tjuta Dune Viewing Walk and then the Walpa Gorge Walk. It was pretty hot in the sun but once inside the Walpa Gorge it was quite pleasant. Kata Tjuta consists of 36 steep-sided domes and they are awe inspiring. We were lucky enough to spot a kangaroo in the gorge, but wildlife so far this trip has been few and far between. At the far end of the Gorge we were having a drink and some nibbles when we spotted two birds appearing to swoop the wall of the Gorge. On looking more closely they were apparently trying to chase off a lizard. We watched this extremely agile lizard climbing the wall (which was almost vertical) until it disappeared into a crack in the wall.
After the walk we drove to Uluru and had lunch at the Cultural Centre which is nestled at the foot of Uluru. We explored the cultural centre and the gift/souvenir shop (spending some money as we went) and debated whether we wanted to climb Uluru or not. The latter won and instead of climbing Uluru we bought a sticker for the caravan which says “I did not climb Uluru”.
We then went to the Sunset Viewing area and got ourselves set up, taking several photos over the approximate 1.5 to 2 hours we had to wait for sunset. Unfortunately about 10 minutes before the sun was due to set a bank of clouds moved in and obscured the sun and we didn’t get the full effect of the sunset at Uluru. Nonetheless Uluru itself is pretty amazing. It is one very large rock!
We met two girls who are backpacking – one from Australia and one from Germany and we chatted with them for quite some time. They were lovely girls having an absolute ball travelling around the northern parts of Australia. They had climbed Ayers Rock and were showing us photographs. I am very glad I decided not to climb the Rock – it looked very very steep in several places and I doubt very much I would have had the courage to get up there!
We left Uluru once it got fully dark (you have to be out of the National Park within 40 minutes of sunset) and we went to the Ayers Rock Resort, mainly to check fuel prices. We didn’t find a service station (and by now it was about 7.30pm and quite dark so finding your way around was difficult). We did find a supermarket and a newsagents that were both open. Luckily we also found some public toilets! We did some shopping in the supermarket and newsagents and then headed back to Curtin Springs. We arrived back here about 9pm, unloaded the car, had a bite to eat and a cup of tea and tried all sorts of things to see if we could charge up the camera batteries – all to no avail!
The photos taken on the iPhone are reasonable and at least I will be able to take photos until we can buy either another camera battery or – better still – another battery charger!
CURTIN SPRINGS (1/9/10)
I keep forgetting little bits and pieces when doing my blog and only remember them later. When we arrived at Curtin Springs we were greeted by a wandering, curious emu! This emu was making it very clear to us that it wanted some food so Raymond & Hazel got out some bread and became its friend for life! It followed Raymond around for quite a while after the bread was gone. I also forgot to mention that while driving to Curtin Springs Royce and I saw a wedge-tail eagle on the side of the road. It was just sitting there looking around but unfortunately I wasn’t quick enough to take a picture.
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