North to ancient lands and where it all changed..

With Rocky still laid up at the dealership waiting for a new cylinder head, Volkswagen had agreed to upgrade our rental car to one with a tow bar.  We swapped the Kluger for a Pajero, and started getting ready to hit the road again.  The only problem was that the new car didn't have electric trailer brakes fitted, so the solution was to fit a brake controller to the trailer.  It took a couple of hours to fit, the extra time being due to the fact I wanted to make sure we could unplug it quickly when we get Rocky back.

Installing brake controller

The following morning, we hitched up the Pajero and started making tracks north.  It was a great feeling to be on our way again, but we missed the comfort of Rocky, and our extra creature comforts that having a massive storage area also brings.  The Pajero towed Matilda easily - but the rear door was difficult to open with the trailer hitched on - and despite our best efforts, the rear of the car soon became a jumble of camping gear and food.

Woo Hoo - outta here 

Tourists in Cairns - well sort of...

With Rocky broken down and there being absolutely nothing I could do about it, I felt as if a great weight had been lifted and slept soundly for the first time in ages.  Keeping the show on the road, trying to stay a day or three ahead was obviously more stressful than I realised.  It was time to take a holiday from our holiday!

We treated ourselves to dinner at the Bamaga Resort - and were pleasantly surprised with a delicious meal and great service.  The following day we caught up on some school-work and kicked around the pool before taking an evening flight to Cairns.  We had been hoping to catch the full moon from the some outback camping area, but as it was we saw a magnificent sunset and moon rise from 21 000 feet!  As glorious as it was, even the iPhone couldn't capture an image through the pexi-glass windows!

Not quite our planned form of transportation

We had planned on taking two weeks to rattle our way back to Cairns.  It felt like we were cheating a bit by taking a two hour flight - but there really wasn't anything we could do about it - and so we sat back and relaxed.

Volkswagen continued to look after us with a hire car waiting for us at the airport.  The rows of dazzling cars in the car park reminded us we have been 'out bush' for a long time indeed.  In no time at all we dumped our bags at he hotel and headed to the Night Markets for a leg stretch and bit of supper.  The city was busy - which was great to see - and seems to be shaking off its downturn of the last few years.

The following morning we found ourselves in the unusual position of having nothing planned - so we walked around town like real tourists.  Both Jo and I have lived in Cairns previously, and it was wonderful to introduce our boys to some of our fond memories of the city.  

Cairns Waterfront, delightful, when the tide is in!

Cape York - The Tip

From our camp at  Sams Crossing we intended heading north on the Bamaga Bypass Road, over the Jardine Ferry and on to Punsand Bay.  Total distance was only 113km, but again our navigation app was suggesting over 9 hours travelling.  In the end we made it by lunch time - including breaks!

The rough plan - It took us three hours, not nine!

The Jardine Ferry cost $145 for the return journey - but includes all permits for the lands on 'The Tip'.  It is a short crossing - and the river is reportedly full of crocodiles, but we didn't see any.

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.

Millstream Chichester National Park.

After getting away from Exmouth a few hours earlier than expected, we found ourselves with the tantlising opportunity of being able to get to Millstream Chichester National Park by dark.  Our route was based on a recommendation from Andy, the camp host at Kennedy Range National Park.  He suggested heading north on the highway to Robe River, and then turning east to Pannawanica.  

The road to Pannawanica

The road to Pannawanica was simply beautiful.  Unexpectedly beautiful.  We found ourselves getting excited about what was ahead of us as the landscape changed with every bend.  If the Flinders Ranges is the bones of the Australia poking out of the ground, the Pilbara is what the bones look like after they have decayed into rubble.

This is what we like to see!