On the road north - Stuart Highway Alice Springs to Pine Creek

We pulled out of Kings Canyon early in the afternoon, with the intention of staying at the Henbury Meteorite Craters, a couple of hours down the road on the 100km long unsealed Earnest Giles link road.  This road is the shortest route back to the Stuart Highway from Kings Canyon, but is recommended for 4WD only.

We were now about to return north - and head to the Top End.  Our minds were looking forward to warmer weather and water holes we could swim in.

We pulled into the dry and dusty camping area at the Henbury Meteorite Craters around 4.15pm - a good time to be pulling up for the night.  However the wind was whistling though the campground creating a most unappealing proposition for the evening.  

We decided to check out the craters, before making up our minds for the night.  The Little Helper indicated his preferences by sitting down in the car park before we even set off... he was over it before we even started.  

Jo and the Little Fisherman at the Henbury meteorite craters

The craters were formed when a meteorite broke apart just before impacting the ground.  There is a series of craters of various sizes, that apparently were studied by NASA before sending astronauts to the Moon.  Unfortunately after our visit to Wolf Creek Crater, these were a poor second, and we regrouped a short time later at the car park with the decision made to press on.

A few kilometres later we pulled back on the Stuart Highway, the major north-south highway.  A few kilometres north and we stopped at the Finke River Rest Area.  Several other people were set up for the night, and we found a spot to park.  The first priority was to cook dinner - however as Jo was cooking the meal about 5 road trains rolled though shattering the peace.  I decided this was the last place I wanted to stay for the night, so with dinner cooked, we put it in the Thermal Cooker and pushed another half hour north to the Redbank Waterhole at Owen Springs Reserve.

And what a great spot we found.  About 6km off the highway, we found ourselves a fantastic camp near the waterhole on the Hugh River.  It was blissfully quiet, and we soon had a nice litte fire going whilst we ate our dinner.  

The following morning we decided to take it nice and slowly - and I enjoyed my morning cuppa before the family got up.  There is nothing like a freshly brewed cup of coffee whilst camping to set everything in order for the day that follows.

The Jolly Swagman never had it this good.

The unforgettable Kings Canyon Rim Walk

We made good time out of Yalara and soon pulled off the road at a free camp, just south of Kings Creek Station, nestled at the foot of the George Gills Range.  It was a fantastic spot to set up for the night, sheltered, well off the road, and plenty of firewood to keep the chill out of the night air.

Ripper free camp

It didn't take long for the boomerangs to come out and practice to commence.  It didn't take much longer to figure out why the Aboriginals didn't use returning boomerangs in areas with lots of trees - as ours were soon stuck and almost lost in the branches of the Mulga.

Boomerang Practice

Uluru, Kata Tjuta and so much more

As you drive towards Uluru, you find yourself peering off to the left, hopeful for a glimpse of the iconic rock.  Your first sightiung of Uluru as you drive towards it is exciting.  There is something captivating and enchanting about this place.

We had met people the previous night who had been here thirty years ago.  They were disenchanted by what they found on their return visit - they felt the site was over priced and over managed.  It was hard to know what to expect on our visit.

We checked in for a couple of nights at the Yalara Caravan Park.  After dropping off the camper, it was time to get up close and personal with Uluru

Our first up close look at Uluru

West MacDonnell Ranges and Kings Canyon

With Kylie and Jim's friends still in Darwin with car trouble, we elected to camp on the Hugh River - a short drive from town, but well located to explore the West MacDonnel Ranges.  We found ourselves criss-crossing the river bed as we wound our way into the foothills of the range.  We found a great camp not far from the main road close to a waterhole.  A good selection of seasoned timber nearby meant we were soon warding off the chill air.

Camping just the way I like it

We decided around the campfire that we would continue to travel together for the next few days while continuing on to Uluru, and hope that Kylie and Jim's friends could meet us there.  The boy's were thrilled that George would be travelling with us for a a few more days.

The next morning Kylie and Jim headed into town to supplement their food and fuel supplies (as they had only planned to be out for a couple of days).  As there is very limited phone reception out of Alice Springs, we planned to meet on the road at a designated time - with back up meeting points, and actions if we didn't make it to camp that night, just like we used to do in the days before mobile phones made us lazy.  We took a bit more time to get going in the morning, but with three little boys in the back seat, everyone was looking forward to a day together.  Just as we pulled out of camp we came across a magnificent Dingo sitting in the sun, quite happy to pose for photographs.  No doubt he intended checking out our camp after we left.

Palm Valley and Hermannsberg

It was well after 5pm, darkness was fast approaching and it was raining.  The kids were hungry, I was getting grumpy and looking forward to getting to camp when we turned off the blacktop onto the road to Palm Valley. This sign greeted us. Jo and I exchanged looks, you know the one, the one that normally precedes damage to our gear - or occasionally glory. It was time to check out other options.

The road into Palm Valley... the way we like it - normally

A quick check of the map and wiki-camps revealled nothing promising nearby.  In short there was no plan B.  A quick discussion with Jim and Kylie and we agreed to push on.  After all, how bad could it really get?

We let some air out of the tyres before we commenced heading down the track.  The track followed the Finke River - meaning it was mostly on a firm base of river gravel.  We made good progress, all the while expecting horrendous conditions around the next corner, and found none.  In fact it took us about half an hour to get to the campsite - a relatively easy drive.  

East MacDonnell Ranges, Camel Races and Trucks...

Alice Springs lies nestled in the MacDonnell Ranges, which provide a rugged backdrop to the town.  We had needed a break from the gorges of the Kimberley (yes, we had gorged ourselves), so the week poking about town was as good for us as it was for Rocky and Matilda.  We opted to spend a day checking out the East MacDonnell Ranges, and found we could have spent much more time exploring its delights. 

Emily Gap, with the story of the caterpillars painted on the rock walls behind us

Our first stop was Emily Gap.  This gap was named by the surveyor William Mills after his assistant's wife (not sure what was going on there), but it had a much stronger meaning for the local Arrernte people.  It was here that Intwailuka, an ancestral hero is said to have stopped and eaten caterpillars on his dream time journey.  The artwork on the gap walls reflects the story of the caterpillars.  It was beautiful, but really cold and The Little Fisherman regretted his choice of wearing shorts against all advice.

A town like Alice

After limping into Alice Springs, we checked in at the northernmost caravan park we could find and, as no powered sites were available, we checked into a cabin.  I was relieved we made it to Alice Springs under our own steam, however we had a lot of work to do to get Matilda back on the road again.

Early Saturday morning I hit the shops with the intention of getting our tyres repaired, and checking out the local Thule distributor to see if I could organise a replacement key and bolt for the roof rack.  The tyres were soon sorted, and it just so happened the Thule distributor was also the ARB shop.  I resisted the temptation to spend lots of money at the ARB shop, but did come away with a new bolt for the roof rack.  The key needed to be ordered direct from Thule, so I took that in hand myself.

I then had my first stroke of luck - Red Centre Trailer Parts and Hire was open, and I decided to duck in and see what they had on offer and took my place in a queue of fellow travellers with busted trailers.  It seemed the shop had all the parts I thought I would need in stock - so I asked if we could please bring our trailer in on Monday for repair.  "Er, sorry - fully booked next week, perhaps the week after."

We had planned on spending a few days in Alice Springs, not a few weeks.  

Then the owner said, 'let me make a few phone calls.'  A couple of calls later, Dan from Hawkeye Engineering said he could fit us in on Monday.  I was extremely pleased with that arrangement and returned to the family very happy that Matilda would be in good hands first thing Monday.  

It was time to enjoy the weekend and check out Alice Springs. 

Our first stop was the ANZAC Hill, overlooking the town.  After the flat topography of the majority of the Tanami Desert, it was fantastic to have hills around us again.  Alice Springs lies nestled in the MacDonnell Ranges which provide a dramatic backdrop to the town.

Alice Springs from ANZAC Hill

The settlement here was originally built to support a Telegraph Repeater Station that was part of the northern line from Port Augusta to Darwin and thence on to London.  When opened in the 1870s, it represented the latest in communication technology and allowed mesages to be passed to London in a matter of hours instead of weeks.    We had followed part of the Telegraph line on the Oodnadatta Track back in February, including a stop at the Strangeway Springs Repeater Station, now in ruins.  The Telegraph Line and later Ghan Railway followed a line of mound springs and permanent waterholes across the otherwise arid interior.

Tanami - Or when we nearly lost it all

Our trip down the Tanami Desert started near Halls Creek.  Before we set off on one of the worlds longest shortcuts,we checked out some of the sights near Old Halls Creek, the site of the first gold rush in Western Australia.  Our first stop was China Wall, a vertical intrusion of quartz that has since resisted weathering more than the surrounding sandstone and now stands in places up to six metres tall.  We had seen many examples of this on our drive down from Purnululu, but the example just on the edge of town was the most impressive.  

China Wall

It was only when we got close up to the wall of rock that we really appreciated how large it is.

A little monkey on China Wall

Purnululu National Park and the captivating Bungle Bungles Range

We made our way back to Kununurra and replenished the food and fuel supplies (having filled up with as much water as we could at Lake Argyle).  We caught up with some friends at the wonderful library, before dragging the kids back into the car and rolling out of town.  It was well after lunch by the time we got away, and we camped near the Bow River, far enough off the road to feel like we were alone in the world.  I feared being on the main highway we would be kept up all night with road trains rolling on through, but only one truck was to disturb our peace.

Bow River campsite 

Having made such a great run down the road the previous day, we took a while to get going in the morning.  Making the most of unexpected phone signal, we even managed to connect via Skype to North America.  The joys of modern technology - you have to try really hard now to get away from it all!  

We let some air out of the tyres at the turn off to our campsite.  It was some 50km off the main road along a corrugated and rough track to the entrance of the Purnululu National Park.  The drive in was incredibly picturesque as we approached the Osmand Ranges, but the real highlight was coming through a small pass and seeing the Bungle Bungle Range open up before us. 

An ancient riverbed, the Bungle Bungle Range is some 360 million years old.  The river system that deposited the huge conglomerates and sandstone beds up to a kilometre thick in places eroded an absolutely massive mountain range.  The bones of the Osmand Ranges is all that is left of the older mountains, but in the last 20 million years or so, erosion has finally exposed the old river bed that is the Bungle Bungles and carved it into its captivating shapes.  

The walk to Homestead Valley