22/9/2018
Saturday R & R slept well enough and woke at 6:30am to a very still morning
with dry canvas and about 15*C. It was
7:45am when they had packed everything up and down and were on the road. RL headed south towards Alice Springs about
145km in distance. The Stuart Highway
ran flat at about 650 with Mt Boothby at 886m near Aileron. A few kilometres further south R & R
stopped at Ryan’s Well and the Glen Maggie Homestead which was at one time used
as a telegraph station. Hanns Range with
Mt Ewart at 803m could be seen to the east and much further to the south east
Harts Range could be seen on the horizon.
For the most part the entire distance was flat and straight with the
exception of three curves, the first of which was long enough, about 2kms, with
a sign warned that no overtaking should be done for that distance. RL bypassed the turnoff to the Plenty Highway
as he was not tempted to go to the Gemtree garnet field. A little further, near
Burt Creek, R & R stopped at a memorial to Peter Egerton-Warburton which
read Left The Known For The Unknown.
Seems he and about six others left that point and took about eight
months to cross the Great Sandy Desert to get to Roebourne in the years 1873-74. Unbelievable! The scrub was mostly mulga with grasses, and
use, switched from cattle station country, to indigenous land to nature
reserve. About 40kms north of Alice
Springs the phone went “ting”. The rest area for the Tropic of Capricorn marker
came up in a timely fashion about 5kms further, so R & R stopped for a cup
and rang their son, S, as they had not spoken to him on Friday. It was 10:00am. While they were there about 20 motorcycles
sped by heading north. About 20kms north
of Alice Springs, R & R stopped again to look at a marker nominating the
highest point on the Stuart Highway. The
sign did not actually state it in metres above sea level, but RA figured it was
about 720m. “Nice way to go – all the way!”
was RL’s commented as he drove past Mt Everard at 949m at the turnoff for the
Tanamai Road which ends up at Halls Creek in the Kimberley in Western
Australia. The last few kilometres into Alice Springs became undulating, then
hilly as it moved into the MacDonnell Ranges.
It was 10:30am when R & R parked in the caravan parking area along
the Todd River. They knew they were in
for a walk so they were putting their joggers on when an aboriginal man invited
RL to come and look at the painting he wanted to sell. RL was hoping he would, as he regretted not
doing so the last time they were in Alice.
For ages, R & R watch two dark women ply their craft, seated on the
ground sharing a mat, brushes and paint; each with a totally different design and
style, their hands so skilful and steady with each patient, steady brush
stroke. Only the man was not
patient. He was hurrying one of them to
finish the work so that R & R would buy it.
No sooner had R & R paid for the two they had been working on and a
third, on hand, they were all packing up and heading downtown! R & R went to the tourist information
centre and walked downtown into a couple of op shops. It was noon when they returned to the Ute and
they thought it best to find a spot in a caravan park before going shopping for
food. RA was paying up in reception when
a familiar voice called her name.
Believe it or not! The voice
belonged to D, the lady with whom RA had worked in the library at home and who
lived up R & R’s street. She and her
husband D, were travelling through Alice Springs and planning to stay at the
park for a few days. R & R set up
the camper, had lunch, rang G and left a message for S (RL’s brothers) and
chatted with their daughter, H. About
1:30pm R & R put a wash in and had a chat with D & D. It was great to see them and catch up on all
their news. After hanging the washing R
& R went down town about 3:30pm.
They were back within the hour to put it away and fetch the washing in
before heading to 6:00pm Mass. As they
were preparing their late dinner, S, their daughter rang so they chatted for
ages. RL tried his brother, S again to
no avail, so both R & R read … too tired to do anything else.
23/9/2018 Sunday It was 9*C when R & R woke at 6:30am and it promised to get to nearly thirty. R & R had breakfast and showered and packed down to give them time to chat again with D & D before the exit code self-destructed by the designated 10:00am exit deadline. By 9:45am they were driving out of Alice Springs along Larapinta Drive towards the West MacDonnell Ranges, having filled up with fuel. First stop, immediately out of town was the John Flynn Memorial. R & R planned to drive the ranges loop in two days and fit in as many of the attractions as they could. The road was flat at about 650m with the hills up to about 750m. Many of them had that crusted topped appearance and RA noted that most of them became barer of trees towards the top. About 10kms out, RL turned north to Simpson’s Gap about 8kms. The road was sealed with a 60kms speed limit but R & R did wonder how many people would actually observe that. It was a pretty drive arriving at a sandy creek so it made RA smile when she saw a sign saying no swimming. R & R followed the path and enjoyed being so close to the rock and hills and its vegetation. The path led closer and closer to the gap and there was actually a pool of water near the end, not that anyone would go swimming in it anyway. RL headed back to the highway and about 20kms further, he turned north again, on a sealed road, to Standley Chasm. The last couple of kilometres was very pretty with tall white trunked river gums. R & R noticed that the sign for a bendy road had been exchanged for one that had a bendy snake on it. The sign at Standley Chasm says “Werte” which means “Welcome”. Standley Chasm is of special significance to Aboriginal women and their culture. Geographically, it is special because at its furthest point, the floor of the chasm towers on both sides in sheer rock face to 1152m. Because it is so high there are only 90 minutes/day of sunlight on the chasm floor in the middle of the day. In its creek line there is a permanent supply of fresh water. For the opportunity to walk to the chasm, a fee applies but R & R did not want to miss it. The car park had a lovely shaded picnic table so R & R joined other tourist and enjoyed lunch about 1pm. By 1:30pm R & R were back on Larapinta Drive and were heading for Hermansburg, 68kms west on the lower part of the loop drive. The road continued to swap between national park, farming land and indigenous lands and communities. It was a long drive with no signs of livestock, domestic or wild, live or dead, even though R & R had seen signs to beware of horses. Hermansburg was originally established as a Lutheran Missionary community in 1877 and boasts many buildings that remain from that period. It is also the birth place of Albert Mamatjira, one of Australia’s most famous aboriginal artists. Now, for the most part, it is an indigenous community. At the historic precinct and its art shop R & R enquired about the best place to camp for the night and the condition of the road out to Palm Valley as well as buying a post pack to keep the paintings, they had bought the day before, safe in. Shortly after 3:00pm, RL engaged 4WD and let down the tyres on the camper to soften the ride as they headed south about 20kms on a track signed 4WD. There they did see several wild horses including a mare and foal. The road was very sandy and very rocky in sections, though not steep or rutted and followed mostly alongside or over or in the dry bed of the Finke River. About half way, they entered the Finke Gorge National Park before eventually driving past the ranger station and to the designated camping area. R & R filled in most of the details on the camping permit, selected a sight number, added that to the permit and put the fee in the envelop before setting up. By 5:00pm R & R had set up and were having coffee and contemplating plans for the next day. Fortunately, the camping area had solar powered hot water showers in the toilet block, so R & R had one before preparing dinner. RL sent a SPOT message as there was no reception. After dinner RA caught up on the diary from the evening before and did the one for the day while RL read. It was right on 9:30pm, the witching hour, when RA finished and RL came to the end of a chapter … so it was time for bed.
24/9/2018
Monday R & R slept well as it was so quiet.
They did not even hear if a dingo was howling during the night. They breakfasted and were ready having tidied
everything up to drive into Palm Valley itself.
The 18km track in is okay for campers and caravans but the last 4kms is
strictly 4WD only and even then, it is quite a challenge and needs to be driven
with care. RL let the Ute tyres down and
engaged 4WD and for most of the journey, after the first rock climb, drove in
4L. The surface changed rapidly and
frequently between deep sand, rocky climbs and descents and rocky pebbled
sections. It took RL about 45 minutes
but he was not alone in that. Everyone,
and there were many coming and going, was picking their way as steadily as The
Hum. Needless to say, RA was pleased
when they arrived. R & R opted for
the longer walk as it incorporated the valley with its palms and rock holes as
well as a climb up the back of the mountains along the ridge at the top with
its dry woodlands and a climb back down the face of the cliff to the car park
below. It really was quite spectacular with
the unique Central Australian Red Cabbage Palm, which if all the known pockets
of it were put together, would only equal about one square kilometre. The walk took about an hour and a half so
when R & R got back about 10:20am, they were well and truly ready for a cup
of coffee. They were well and truly
ready for another when the Ute got back to the camper about an hour later after
bumping their way along the track and having to wait a couple of times for
other vehicles to pass. R & R set
the camper down and had a quick shower before hitching up and heading back
18kms to Larapinta Drive about noon. On
the way out, they saw a group of about six horses grazing. It was 1:00pm when R & R returned to the
main road and stopped in the shade of the first tree they came to, to make
lunch and allow the tyres to cool down before RL could pump them up for highway
travel. Shortly before 2:00pm, they were
on their way on a beautiful sealed section of road that was only completed in
2017, driving through indigenous community and station country. RL drove past the home of Albert
Manatjira. R & R were fascinated
that they saw on the red soil the tall thin sheoak that has a peculiar dropping
habit and is specific from that section right through to Ayres Rock/Ullaru. The road ran at about 620m with sand ridges
to 650m and the hills were further to the north and south at a distance. After
40kms, RL turned right at the intersection onto a road called Namatjira Drive
which travels north a way before heading east back to Alice Springs, rather
than continue along Larapinta which ends up at Kings Canyon. The road became
winding and undulating with many floodways and ran through the hills and in and
out of the West MacDonnell Ranges National Park which has the weirdest
shape. RL took the short drive up to
Tylers Lookout as did about 10-15 other vehicles with caravans or camper. The 360* view was well worth the stop. R & R noticed that some of the hills in
that area were covered in pebbles only.
There was no sand and no vegetation on them. The red soil seen on the lower part of the
loop was no longer seen; rather the soil was orange in colour. RL took the 5km unsealed road north to
Redbank Gorge (with Mt Sonder at 1380m, the highest peak in the range) and
halted at the second camping spot as the hill to the day use area was so steep
that it was doubtful that the Ute would comfortably take the camper
further. R & R did not want to camp
there and were not inclined to waste time unhitching and going the last bit
without the camper. Instead they turned,
and continued on to Orminston Gorge at 1028m.
There the road was hillier, though not steep, and winding as it was
running on the ridge of the ranges. R
& R noticed that there was absolutely no road kill in the national park or
the loop tourist drive. Throughout the
day they saw several birds, each with their own habit or appearance: the
spinifex pigeon with its orange tuft and red eyes bobbing as they scurried on
the ground, crows pecking at the canvas of roof top tents looking for food, the
brilliant coloured rainbow bee eater in full flight, the local ring necked
parrot which is much smaller than the ones in WA, and, zebra finches which dart
and flit in groups from bush to bush. It
was 4:00pm when R & R drove through the valley as the road followed the
creek line with magnificent river gums to the kiosk, picnic and camping
grounds. They walked to the swimming
hole and took lots more photos. RL was
keen to keep moving and RA had suggested that Ellery Creek camp area a little
further east might be suitable for sleeping for the night. When R & R got there, it looked like
there were no spaces left, so they went quickly down to its gorge and swimming
hole with the intention of moving on even though it was getting pretty late. They were driving out when they spotted a bay
and stopped to park the camper. The spot
was not level and it took ages to find the best fit and lift the front enough
to make it level. It was well after
6:00pm when R & R finally sat for a cup of coffee. RL sent a SPOT message and RA prepared dinner. After dinner they studied maps for a while
before RL read and RA wrote the diary.
It had been a really big day and RA was glad that they did not have to
go further. R & R had been just
under 400kms in the last two days and seen a half dozen gorges … and they were
just about gorged out.
25/9/2018
Tuesday R & R slept well and woke about 6:30am as the sun was rising. They had breakfast and set about getting
going as they knew there were lots of jobs to do in Alice Springs before they
headed south to the SA border. Shortly
after 8:15am, RL drove the 2kms unsealed track to Namatjira Drive and turned
east towards Alice Springs 90kms away.
About half that distance was to get back to re-join Larapinta Drive
which they had come out on the day before.
The road was undulating and hilly running along and through the ridges
and ranges, with the bigger hills both left and right of the road to
1000m. RA could not help but think that
the chunks and slices of rock that jutted up and out of the hills were like the
spines or frills of some prehistoric animal.
R & R saw the pale yellow of a wattle in bloom and in the low-lying
areas, flood ways and creeks or river, larger trees and the lovely river
gums. Some of the hills were treed to
the top, others, almost bare and yet others, dotted with spinifex and nothing
else. RL noticed that some of the signs
which warned about the possibility of seeing horses on the road were decorated;
some had a person riding, another had the horse’s mane flying, another had
roller skates on its hooves, and yet another, had an akrubra with corks hanging
off it. It was 9:30am when R & R
arrived in Alice Springs and found a spot to park the Ute and camper near Coles
to do a little grocery shopping. They
drove to a couple of IGA stores to get their favourite coffee but without
success. The Navigator helped them
locate the Salvos op shop where they were able to buy half a dozen items for a
few dollars. Before leaving the CBD, R
& R filled the Ute up and the three jerry cans which came to $200. Again, the Navigator helped them find the
dump point but there was no potable water there, which was grossly
disappointing. When they rang the
information centre, they said that there wasn’t any and usually the servos will
let vanners fill up with water when they buy fuel. “Too late for that now!” thought RA. At 12:30am R & R were parked in the shade
outside the Transport Museum or Trucking Hall of Fame. RL was determined to give to the museum, a
set of Weetbix Cards and its poster sheet about trucks, dating from the 60s. He fetched it out from the depths of the Ute,
still in mint condition, and proudly handed it over to the ladies at the
counter. They seemed quite happy to have
received it. R & R walked around the
garden of the Ghan Railway museum and had lunch while talking to their
daughter, H. They sent an email to their
daughter, S, because her phone was not responding. It was a warm 27*C with a 13km/hr breeze from
the east. Just before 2:00pm, R & R
were heading south on Stuart Highway for the SA border. The road ran at about 550m, rising to 660m,
with the West MacDonnell Ranges to the western horizon. It was scrubby with some grasses on orange
soil. Later near Mt Polhill, about 70kms
south, the road and the West MacDonnell Ranges and National Park came together
for the next 20kms or so to Stuarts Well.
The soil was redder and the level above sea dropped down to 500m. R & R stopped for about half an hour at
Stuarts Well just to take a break and were away again about 3:20pm. “Anyway, the pickings are sparse.” RL
commented after he had seen the first cattle in a few days, shortly after
getting on the highway again. Soon after,
the scenery changed dramatically to deeper red soil, in sand dunes with the
desert oak and the level falling again to 450m.
It was 3:45pm when R & R pulled into the Finke River (the same river
that runs through Palm Valley) rest area with a view to setting up for the
night. It was a lovely rest area and
quite popular despite the fact that the river bed was dry. Apparently, it is Central Australia’s longest
watercourse and it used to flow constantly about 30-40 million years ago. R & R had a cup, looked around and
chatted with a couple who had a Palomino camper. During the drive there must have been well
over 50 army vehicles in convoy heading north and there were still a couple following
as R & R were setting up. It was
5:00pm when R & R were sitting with a cup and maps and the ipad adding the
expenses for the day. RL sent a SPOT
message to the kids while RA sorted the shopping. RL helped RA prepare dinner and after, they
read and wrote. Outside the full moon
shone brightly down on the ‘homes’ … of all the campers in the rest area.
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