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.