West MacDonnell Ranges

Friday 30th May

Driving the 18km out from Palm Valley to the bitumen was no less enjoyable than the drive in, especially in the soft morning light.  This must surely be one of the most beautiful little patches in central Australia.  Heading east towards Alice Springs, we followed the West MacDonnell Ranges which I've loved from the first time I visited Alice.  There are some gorgeous places to visit within them and the first one we checked out was Simpsons Gap (after calling in to Alice to get a new oil filter)

Simpsons Gap

Apparently this gap is a favourite haunt of yellow-footed rock wallabies but we didn't see any. However we spent a fair bit of time exploring the rock walls and caves around the waterhole.  Our next stop was Serpentine Gorge, where the light was really interesting and the reflections fantastic at 5 pm.

Serpentine Gorge in the late afternoon

There's no camping at Serpentine Gorge but a lovely bush camping area nearby where we spent the night.  No dingoes!

Palm Valley

Thursday 29th May

When we turned off the bitumen yesterday and saw this sign, we were prepared for anything yet found the track not too difficult and the 18km only took an hour.  This morning we tackled the 4km from the campground into Palm Valley and that short distance took nearly an hour!  It was rugged!

 The troopy handled it with ease due to the great ground clearance and 4WD capabilities but we had to take our time climbing rocks, the wheels negotiating each one inch by inch.  It was fun!

From the carpark we took the 5km walk up to the rim of the valley where we saw so many different flowers and shrubs, then down into the valley itself to follow the creekbed right through to where the ancient palms grow thickly.  What a beautiful walk!

Looking down into the wider part of the valley

Palm Valley's within the Finke Gorge National Park which operates the camping area.  Below is the view from our bedroom ... kitchen ... dining room window this morning.

After the tranquility of the first night we had a pretty disturbed night's sleep last night to the tune of howling dingoes.  We knew they were around the camp but they gathered in a pack just metres away and serenaded us 3 or 4 times throughout the night.  We heard other campers get up to try and disperse them.  We'd left a spare oil filter outside the troopy overnight and in the morning found it halfway up the road - a metal oil filter taken by a dingo!  The filter 'sock' was missing, never to be seen again.  

On the road

Wednesday 28th May

Bush camped about 25km out from Kings Canyon last night, a lovely free camping area set up on a ridge with great views over the ranges.  We love bush camping, it's usually very quiet and there are some really nice areas.  This morning we continued along the dirt road known as the "Red Centre Way" and one of the first things we came across was ...

... a wild camel on the road

Then ...

about 6km of road grading


and later ...

...  a drive down a riverbed to get to Palm Valley

The Palm Valley campground was a beautiful spot, very tranquil, well laid out and with toilets and hot showers (very unusual for a national park).  We had a couple of very relaxing hours here this afternoon.

Kings Canyon

Tuesday 27th May

We bush camped within view of the George Gill Range of which Kings Canyon is a part, enjoying a fabulous sunset on the cliff walls.  This morning we got an early start for the walk up and around the rim of the canyon.  Although the first part was all uphill, it wasn't too hard as we were zigzagging up rock steps as opposed to using a staircase.  It was a beautiful, sunny, clear day and we were rewarded with great views and colours.

It's a 6.6km walk around the rim but we spent about 5 hours up here. There's so much to explore. I enjoyed the 'rock-hopping' - with all the different movements it seems to be easier on my lower back than flat walking.  I was thrilled to be able to manage this so well.  We went down into the 'garden of Eden' in the bottom of the canyon, which was a cool and lush area.  Climbing out of there takes you onto the north wall, with fantastic views across to the south wall as well as down into the canyon.

This was a spectacular walk, one we won't forget in a hurry.  Later in the afternoon we did the walk along the creekbed which runs through the bottom of the canyon.  It was an easy walk and really pretty.  There was water flowing through and the ranger we met along the way said that's a fairly rare sight - it had rained the day before and the water had just begun to flow this morning.

Heading north

Sunday 25^th May

About half hour north of Coober Pedy are the Breakaways, a colourful group of hills and rock formations which have been used as the backdrop in quite a few movies.  This was a beautiful spot.

 The Breakaways

The rest of the day was spent on the bitumen of the Stuart Highway, which at least was reddish in colour for a lot of the way.  The current Ghan railway line pretty much follows the highway. 

We made the obligatory stop at the SA/NT border, which is a nice, landscaped wayside stop which offers free overnight camping. 

However it was still early enough for us to go a little further so we continued to the hotel/roadhouse at Kulgera and found a nice area to camp out on the Finke road.  Red dirt, green trees, sunset and solitude … who could ask for more?

Coober Pedy

23rd May

This morning the film crew was dispersing – they were to film in this area today, stay tonight then on to Coober Pedy tomorrow.  The movie’s called “ Last Cab From Darwin” and apparently Jacqui Weaver joins the cast in Darwin, where they film for 2 weeks.  We were headed for Coober Pedy via a lovely red dirt road.  It’s not just flat and monotonous out here, that’s for sure!  Hills, rocks, undulating road, lots of greenery due to the recent rains – it keeps the drive interesting.

  It's not every day you get to see a couple of taxis being towed around the outback - at Marree, at the mound springs, on the Oodnadatta Track and at William Creek.  Quite a sight!

Not quite the standard of the Ovens-Eurobin truck 
he's used to, but Phil's impressed nonetheless.

The approach to Coober Pedy from the east was marked by mounds of dirt as far as the eye could see, along with plenty of trucks and machinery scattered around.  Houses were dug into the sides of hills and the whole scene was quite surreal.  I’ve been here before, but it was 30 years ago when the roads were still all dirt and the memory has faded.  We had a decent look around, went into a few underground buildings, drove around the backblocks, had a look at the golf course (which can’t boast a single blade of grass) and generally found this an interesting town.  We spent 2 nights here at a really good little caravan park, secure and with good facilities. 

They may not have grass, or greens,
 but at least they have a sense of humour

There are obviously big social problems in Coober Pedy, with aboriginal people aimlessly roaming the streets in groups and begging for money from tourists.  There are alcohol restrictions throughout town and a heavy police presence.  I’m sure that wouldn’t be an easy job!

How cute is this little fella?  A bearded dragon.

Oodnadatta Track

Thursday 22 May

This morning we headed off up the Oodnadatta Track from Marree.  It's a wide track, well graded so not too challenging although it would be after rain.  It's actually a pretty interesting drive - we made a lot of stops to look at things.  We walked on parts of the old Ghan railway line, looked at a few ruins, admired some sculptures made from metal junk, had a look at some mound springs, walked on salt, climbed sand dunes and even had a shower of rain.

The old Ghan railway line

Further along was a 4WD track leading across to the edge of Lake Eyre South.  This looked for all the world like a lake containing water, with the sun glistening on it.  However, of course, it’s purely salt.  We walked across the clay pan to the salt lake and marvelled at the size – and Lake Eyre itself is at least 4 times the size of this!  It was a fascinating landscape.

The sun shining through a rain cloud ahead of us on the Oodnadatta Track

Sand dunes along the Oodnadatta Track

We followed the Oodnadatta Track as far as William Creek where we spent a night.  It’s literally just the hotel, a restaurant and campground, a very outback experience.  We actually caught the place at a busy time as the film crew that was in Marree yesterday arrived just ahead of us.  The campground was full of their vans, trucks etc and the hotel full of people!