Up the guts part 2, to All-ice Springs

 

We are now two weeks into our trip.  Yesterday we landed in Alice to restock, have stitches out, shower, wash clothes, replenish provisions, buy what alcohol we can, fix headlamps and do a few other chores before we head on north to finally warmer weather.  

The days have been bright and sunny - we haven’t seen a single cloud in over a week.  They’ve also been reasonably warm out of the wind (shorts and t-shirts in the afternoons).  Nights however have been cold the whole trip, but the last week has been something else.  We had our first proper icy frost (ice on tent) at Uluru last week and since then it’s got steadily colder as our altitude increased through Kings Canyon, the West McDonnell ranges and now in Alice.  The other night our saucepan of water on the stove froze solid overnight.  We’ve been going to bed progressively later and only rising after the sun has warmed things up a bit.  I’ve been sleeping in the same t-shirt, long sleeve polo shirt, thin cotton jumper and two woollen jumpers since Kings Canyon.  It’s pretty snug under the doona but the night time wee can become a bit tricky with so many layers to get through.  The kids have been amazing and haven’t complained of the cold.  They don’t seem to notice it as much as we do.  

Our trip to Uluṟu  Kata-Tjuta finished with a couple of walks through the Olgas; the Valley of the Winds (aptly named) and then Waḻpa Gorge, which had a lovely waterhole at the end.

Kata-Tjuta from the sunset viewing area

Walpa Gorge, particularly cold once in the shade.  Wind directly in our faces both going in to the gorge and also unfairly on the way back out

Jem hopping in for a morning snuggle

On Sunday we left mobile coverage behind and headed on to Kings Canyon.  The kids were sad to say goodbye to some friends they had made in Uluṟu but the good thing about the loop we have been on is you keep bumping in to the same people at later stops.   Kings Canyon resort was much more developed than when we last visited.  The only room for us, despite pre-booking, was next to a shower block - not the most picturesque of camping spots, but that wasn’t the main event here.  Our phones showed we had 4G coverage, but it only seemed to work sporadically early in the morning while we were asleep - our phones would have numerous notifications which we could then not open when we woke up. Bliss really.

The distances are pretty big out here

After enjoying sunset drinks overlooking Carmichael’s Crag we headed back to our tent with a new friend Natalie who James and Jemma played cards with until quite late.  We got up early the next morning to do the Kings Canyon Rim Walk - an approximately 4 hour walk around the sandstone domes of Kings Canyon.  The walk is rated as moderate, other than the first stage where you clamber up from the entrance of the Canyon to the plateau above.  This walk, along with the Mitchell Falls walks, is probably my favourite in Australia.  If sandstone domes against brilliant blue skies, hidden gardens of eden and 400 year old cycads are your thing then you really should come here.

The scenery and whole walk is just breathtaking, you just don’t want it to stop.  Elated after our walk we headed back to the resort and Ness and James booked in for a helicopter ride, which no doubt Ness will write about. 

The scramble up to the top of Kings Canyon is a lot steeper than it looks in any photo I took …

… but once you’re up, the walk meanders through sandstone domes, over fossilised sand dunes, past waterholes and gum trees and cycads that somehow manage to cling on.

A day as good as this was too good to see out sitting in a cold campground, so we headed to the bar for dinner, a couple of bottles of red followed by lots of dancing. Safe to say this has been one of the best days of the trip (so far).

The next day we packed up our gear, slower than usual due to being slightly hungover.  We filled up with diesel ($3.02/litre) and headed up the corrugated and remote Mereenie Loop Road to the West McDonnells.  You need a permit to use the road as it goes through protected Aboriginal Land.  We had the road pretty much to ourselves given our slow getaway. Stops are not permitted other than in a couple of spots.  It was a good lesson for the kids in how bouncy the car can be with its air suspension.  The road was in very poor condition in parts, especially the frequent floodplains and (dry) creek crossings, but because it was fairly random you had to stay on your toes the whole time when driving.  It also made for slow progress and we kept it under 80km/h.  The driving was however great fun and a good taste of some of the roads we have ahead of us after Kakadu. Amazingly the eggs survived, but the Guinness was still very fizzy hours later.

The Mereenie Loop Road

One of the few spots you are allowed to stop is the Thorala / Gosse Bluff Meteorite site.  You drive in on a rough 6kms 4WD track through the crater rim, which is tempting to drive past as the main road had just switched back to bitumen.  Thorala is a significant site - one of the largest meteorite craters in Australia.  The rim was originally 22km in diameter (the meteorite was 1kms in diameter).  Over the subsequent 140million years the crater has slowly eroded but again its a very impressive stop if you get the chance. 

Our camping destination was Redbanks Woodland campground, our first true national park bush camp since Mambray Creek.  And what a little ripper of a camp spot she is.  Just inside the national park border means there is ready access to firewood in the creek beds only 5kms away, and we were able to have our first camp fires since Mambray Creek.  The spot was well appointed with a table and fire-pit, and trees well spaced to put the hammocks up for the kids.

We used Redbanks as a base to explore some of the many gorges along the West McDonnell range, starting with Redbanks itself and over the next two days we went out to Ellery Creek Big Hole, Ormiston Gorge (where we bumped in to Megan Christiansen a former work colleague of mine from Oil Search who had been walking the Larapinta Trail), the Ochre Pits and Glen Helen.   The gorges are stunning, all had some water at the end, but sadly we were here at the time in the cycle where the fish die naturally from the cold.

Each day we made sure we got back to camp in time to collect wood and have relaxing time to read and for the kids to play.  Life on the road gets busy so you need to build in some quiet time.

Ellery Creek Big Hole

Ormiston Gorge

Having a fire meant we, or rather Ness could have a crack at her famous damper.  First night made with beer and the second night made with milk. Both were exceptional but the kids preferred the milk one.

On the way out to Alice (only yesterday, but seems longer) we stopped at Standley Chasm, operated by local indigenous Arrernte.  It’s an easy walk to a stunning chasm which we hit just as the midday sun was shining through on the perpendicular (we got there earlier in the day all those years ago).  Standley Chasm had 4G reception and we caught up on 5 days worth of news, including the satisfying headlines that Boris had finally gone.  I’d heard a snippet when trying to find radio coverage that Dishy Rishi had resigned but a few days before but had literally had radio silence ever since.  We downloaded a newscast to get the details on the rest of the way to Alice.

We pulled in to The Gap Hotel Campsite around 2pm to find a line of cars waiting for the drive through bottle shop to open.  The police were on hand to manage the chaos and check IDs.  Fairly confronting.  The campsite itself was tired and didn’t look especially safe so we made a quick decision to forfeit the fees paid months ago and find a better option - which we did for $70 per night at the Discovery Park   The unpowered site offered was on a gravel hill so we upgraded to powered even though we didn’t need it.  The grassy pitch was deceiving - and the pegs went in about 2cm each.  Ah well, we were in town to do some choring.

Each move of camp has a certain amount of grief associated with it.  The move from here won’t have much for me, but we’ve certainly achieved what we needed to.  We also got to the Desert Park which is exceptional.  James shares Nessa’s love of all things wild and in particular birds and was enthralled for three hours.  Ness will no doubt tell you about her stitches coming out while me and kids were off getting the headlight fixed, but let’s just say she burst into tears when we picked her up.  Her left hand is out of action for a few more days.

Campsite fashion and plenty of campsite fun including the jumping pillow while I got some time to write this.  There was a fairly significant frost overnight, not as cold as Redbanks but much more moisture in the air so the windscreen was thick with ice this morning and the car, now named Nissy P, put up a bit of fight to start.  The pan of water had also frozen again.  

One more night of cold and a cabin in Tennant Creek before we get to Edith Falls near Katherine for some hot weather.  We will be heading almost 1,100 kms due north over the next two days before six days of bush camping, three at Edith and three at Sandy Creek in Litchfield (a 4WD site which will involve our first water over the bonnet crossing of the trip (and, potentially, crocodiles).  We are heading to the Alice Springs Brewery for dinner tonight and I’ll be doing all I can to stay in the warmth there as long as possible .,.,.

What’s a spider’s favourite camera?  A web cam.  Boom Boom.