Litchfield

At last - another post!

Today we finally got the chance to do some proper exploring and headed off down to Litchfield National Park.

We came in via Batchelor and the drive into the park was through fairly dry, flat scrub with an abundance of Pandanus Palms (we were both surprised to see how green the photos turned out because it definitely seemed much drier at the time). The main road through the park is tarred and has every point of interest well-signposted along the way - we decided to see how many we could cram into the day.

Our first stop was at the magnetic termite mounds - a large field of mounds all aligned in a roughly north-south direction. There was a short board-walk there which took us out to the edge of the field (where there was a line-up of other sight-seers all having their pictures taken in front of one particularly large mound) and then back to the carpark. Was a short stop but interesting nonetheless.

From there, the main road then climbs a jump-up and the scenery starts to get slightly more rugged. Our next stop was Buley Rockhole. The carpark here was chockers and the pools themselves were choked with people. It was actually a really nice spot (crowds aside) - a series of cascades and pools of beautifully clear water, all over colourful red and yellow-brown rocks.

We walked from Buley down to Florence Falls. The track followed the course of the creek, but far enough away from the shaded water to be pretty hot and sandy (and at 34 degrees today it was just a little uncomfortable)(have to keep reminding ourselves its the middle of winter).

The closer we got to Florence Falls, the greener the bush became, until we descended into a pocket of monsoonal rainforest (complete with butterflies flitting through the trees and even a small python spotted by the side of the track). Florence Falls is a double cascade plunging down into a huge pool - also full of swimmers. Ryan could no longer resist the urge to get wet and had a paddle there (with foot-long fish darting below his toes)(and who knows what else lurking in the shadows beneath). It was another beautiful spot - we both wonder what it would be like in the wet...

We took a detour from the main road down a 4WD-only track to check out the Lost City (another Lost City). This track was 10km of bone-jarring, truck-rattling corrugations - and also narrow and windy enough that it was hard to get up enough speed to cruise over the bumps (good fun!)(well, I thought so at least). The Lost City was a whole bunch of sandstone formations that had been left standing like a maze of ruined buildings as the softer ground eroded away. There was a short track that wound through the pillars and boulders, with lots of little detours to explore the crevices in the bigger stones. Turned out to be a good track to explore (and just as rattly on the way out)(poor BT).

Our last stop was Tolmer Falls. Again we decided to take the walking track from the carpark, along the creek leading to the top of the falls. Right at this point, the water bubbled away down into a huge stone cauldron before shooting out lower down and over the main falls (from downstream we could see this hole was made by a huge stone arch capping the highest point of the falls). The walk leads out to an excellent lookout which gives an expansive view of the falls plunging into a deep green pool at their base, and the steep-sided gorge opening out into the valley lower down (the landscape all of a sudden having become much more rugged). The creek and valley at the base of the falls are not accessible, but the view from the top was plenty good enough.

By this time the afternoon was wearing down, and we decided to leave the remaining sights for another day - but decided to drive back via the gravel to Cox Peninsula Road. This dirt looked reasonable - wide, flat, not many ruts - but turned out to be very corrugated the whole way (the nasty type that don't smooth out much, even with speed). We had to try it once :)

So we've left a bit more Litchfield exploring to do (plus having to go back later in the year to see all those cascades turned to raging torrents)(at least then there should be a few less swimmers...)

Darwin (at last)

This time we did manage to have an early start (getting packed up and leaving the station by 7.45)(that's a record for us). We had about 900km in front of us...

Again, we only really stopped once along the way (just wanting to get to Darwin as soon as we could) - this was at Mataranka thermal springs. These were a short detour from the highway but were worth the stop (and also our first taste of the tropics with a huge grove of palm trees)(and the sticky weather to go with them). There were dozens of people swimming there (obviously a popular stopping spot for travelers).

We finally made it to Darwin Hospital by about 5.30pm and got directed to our accommodation. This was (um) maybe not quite what we had been expecting (small, sparsely furnished and showing signs of age), but we'll see what we can do with it once the rest of our stuff arrives. Tomorrow will be for shopping, exploring and probably giving the poor BT the biggest wash of its life...

Banka Banka Station

After spending nearly two weeks sleeping on camping mats in our tent, it seemed that neither of us could get comfortable enough in a proper bed to get a good night's sleep...

We left Alice reasonably early (actually, not that early) and cruised up the highway. Our only real stop along the way was to take a look at the Devil's Marbles. These were slightly less spectacular than I was expecting (Ryan had seen them before), but were still pretty interesting once we had a wander through the maze of tracks between them.

We made it about 600km, deciding to camp for the night at Banka Banka station. This was chockers full of caravans (in fact - we have never passed so many caravans anywhere ever as on the Stuart Highway). It was a reasonably nice spot, but turned out to have a really interesting outdoor slideshow that evening about the history of the station (worth stopping just for that).

So we tucked in for what we were hoping should be our last night in a tent for a while...

Palm Valley Three

We walked down to the road first thing to scope out the river – much narrower and lower but still looking relatively dangerous (fast-flowing). The latest update from the ranger was that it might be passable by the afternoon, and that the other ranger was going to try and get in from Hermannsburg later in the day.

Some of the other campers decided that they might try and give it a go themselves, so took off in a couple of forbies to see how far they could go up the valley. They came back a few hours later having managed to get all the way to Hermannsburg (after wading every crossing before driving them and using their GPS to figure out where the road was under the water). The river was still pretty high and fast-flowing, but they reckoned we could get out. We were a bit dubious, but eventually decided to join the convoy with the intention of turning back if it looked too dangerous.

We obviously made it (since you are reading this now) – but it was through some pretty hairy conditions. The water was probably about level with the body of the BT at it’s deepest, but every crossing was wide and very fast-flowing. Once or twice it felt like the backend was slipping, but we did manage to make it out without any mishap (along with vehicles towing camper trailers and, surprisingly, one Rav 4). Ryan says that when my Dad reads this, he’s going to be horrified (I secretly think that he would have loved every minute of it had he been there himself). The BT seems OK (now with a high-tide mark in the generous coating of mud).

So we scrapped our planned exploration of the West Macdonnell Ranges and hightailed it straight to Alice Springs (being told that pretty much every dirt road out there was still closed). We are now holed up in a motel and will start our last dash up to Darwin tomorrow.

I guess if you had to be stranded somewhere for three days, Palm Valley is not too bad a place to be (had toilets, showers, gas BBQs and stoves and amazingly beautiful surroundings)(all of which were very well explored by the end – with everyone ranging further and further into the hills the longer we were stuck). We were, however, quite happy to finally get out of there.

Palm Valley Two

We had a (very thankfully) dry night. The update from the ranger in the morning started with the words “Don’t shoot the messenger…” – bad news as expected. Although our creek had gone down substantially, the Finke river was now flowing into the valley and the crossings were impassable from both ends (there were about 6 crossings between us and the main road – all of which were now well and truly under water). Since we weren’t going anywhere fast, we decided to see if we could walk into Palm Valley (4km from the campsite).

This road also crossed over the creek multiple times – every crossing being undrivable. We managed to skirt around the first few by clambering high on a ledge over rocks on the sidewall of the gorge, but eventually we got to a point where we couldn’t bush bash any further, and had to wade instead. We ended up wading two crossings – both around thigh-height and flowing fast (knee height on Ryan).

Palm Valley itself was well and truly under water. We think the whole gorge would have been full 24hrs earlier – by the time we got there it had reduced to a torrent down the centre where all the palms were. We did the longer walk which took us up on top of the gorge wall, giving incredible views of the flooded valley. It then climbed back down further up and we walked back through the gorge itself. Other campers had told us that there had been one point where the track was underwater before all the rain – this ended up being the only point on the valley walk where we needed to get wet. What had been a wade a few days ago was now ten feet wide, had a waterfall cascading down into it and was up to my chest in depth – by the time we figured that out, we were already pretty wet, so we simply pushed on and eventually made it back to the “parking lot” (difficult to distinguish under the dozens of puddles). Altogether it was a very unique way to see Palm Valley and we loved it (laughing at all the informative signs about how the trees survive in such an arid environment). Our legs were a bit tired by the time we got back though (altogether 13km).

The ranger came back around the same time we did with the news that we should make ourselves comfortable and that it might be days before the road out was reopened. There was even talk of organizing a food drop should we be stranded much longer. By this time, we were all getting to know each other pretty well, and gathered around a communal fire swapping stories until the cold eventually drove us to bed.

Palm Valley

Overnight, it POURED. We had been saying to ourselves that it was probably time to replace our tent (being something like 10yrs old) – when we started feeling misty rain on our faces during the night as it bucketed down outside, the “probably” was upgraded to a “when we get to Alice Springs”.

When we finally emerged in the morning (damp, but not actually too wet)(not too bad given the amount of rain), it was to find that the pleasant little creek was now a roaring torrent. Unfortunately, both the road to Palm Valley itself, as well as the road back out both involved crossing the creek. So we ended up stranded (along with around 50 other campers). The ranger (whose house was on our side of the crossing) estimated that the first crossing out was running at about the height of a landcruiser, and advised that we all make ourselves comfortable…

We did some exploring – two of the walks which hadn’t been cut off (both actually very nice – especially since there were waterfalls streaming off all the rocky hills), then spent most of the day (like everyone else) trying to dry our gear and making trips back and forth to the creek to see if it was rising or falling (actually continued to rise until about midday, before it finally started the recede a few inches at a time).

There was also one camper who seemed to be developing pneumonia, who I was asked to come and check out once someone figured out I was a doctor (Ryan joked that we were the most unlikely-looking couple in the campground to offer assistance with out mud-splattered BT and me having chosen to wear my superman T-shirt that day). He was sick but not too sick, so they shifted him to the Ranger’s House in the hope that we would all make it out the next day. He ended up being choppered out not long afterwards (everybody thinking it was probably better to have him out of there).

So now we are currently sitting next to our tent (which has been shifted to higher ground), next to our pleasant little creek (which is about 10m wide and has the occasional tree branch floating down it) wondering how many days we might be stranded here (and all without actually seeing Palm Valley).

King's Canyon

Managed to pack up the tent and jump into the BT just minutes before it started pouring rain (well – Ryan almost made it back into the BT before the rain hit)(at least we kept the tent dry). So we drove the 35km into King’s Canyon in a deluge (should have taken it as an omen for what was to come…). Luckily it was all starting to clear by the time we got walking.

King’s Canyon was another awe-inspiring place. The drive there deposits you right at the point where the canyon opens out into the surrounding desert (is it desert?), and from there the rusty-red walls rise on either side.

We started with the short walk along the creek through the bottom of the gorge, which (not unsurprisingly) had quite a bit of water in it. It was all cool and green and wet with the red walls above us to each side. Then we tackled the rim walk, which headed straight up (literally straight up) the side wall of the gorge. Ryan had been there before, but I was very surprised to find that once you get up the top, you are surrounded by pillars and mounds of stone marching from the canyon rim into the distance. Most of the walk actually winds between these formations – called the “Lost City” (I wonder how many places in Australia have that same name?). There were quite a few good vantage points where the walk came close to the edge for views (and more photos) across the canyon – seeing the sheer drop beneath them from the other side had us wondering if we would have ventured so close to the edge if we had have known. There was plenty of water – the pool in the Garden of Eden was brimming, and there was a reasonably substantial waterfall at the end of the canyon. Overall, it was an excellent walk in another amazing place.

We headed out of there by about 1230pm, after attempting to buy a Mereenie Loop pass and being told that they were all sold out (but to proceed anyway). The Mereenie Loop road was in a word – MUDDY. Progress ranged from 40-60km/hr, with many huge puddles to negotiate and plenty of soft, muddy slush to plow through (sometimes sideways). I may have gotten the BT just a little bit dirty…

We finally made it to Hermannsburg – where we were planning to buy a road pass and refuel before camping in Palm Valley for the night. The bridge just out of town was crowded with Aboriginal kids all playing in the creek, and as we approached, they all crowded onto the road and around the truck – jumping on the rear step and running alongside. After negotiating the bridge, Ryan had to jump out and fend them off so we could drive away without running over anyone. This was all repeated on the return trip. Unfortunately, when we next stopped to check over the BT we found that they had scratched lines and pictures into the mud coating the tailgate – most of which had scratched right through the paint. Sigh :(

We found our way into the Palm Valley campground via 6 or so water crossings (plenty of water here too) and set ourselves up for the night in very pleasant surrounds – next to the creek and rimmed in by rocky walls which glowed fiery red in the sunset. What a life!

Kata Tjuta

We managed to drag ourselves out of bed before sunrise (who am I kidding – Ryan managed to coax me out of bed after himself being fully awake and ready to get up for at least 45min) to watch the sun rise from our dune. In contrast to the previous day (overcast and threatening rain), the sun rose into perfectly blue skies and both Uluru and Kata Tjuta glowed red in the morning light (pretty cool).

We then spent the day exploring Kata Tjuta – which I think is now my favourite place. We started with the Valley of the Winds Walk (just managing to beat the hordes – the carpark was overflowing by the time we returned). This walk was amazing – it looped between two of the largest domes then climbed through a gap between them – standing on top of a huge mound of accumulated rock and dirt at the narrowest point of the gorge gave views back into the glowing red walls in one direction, then opened out into the remaining domes in the other (hard to adequately describe – but an awe-inspiring place to be)(lots and lots of photos). The walk form there was then through rolling terrain with more domes crowding in the distance. It was very, very cool.

We also did the gorge walk which was quite different – just a short walk into a narrow gorge between two of the domes. This was filled with greenery and had running water (and also much fewer people), and with the red walls rising up on each side was also a place that had the camera running hot.

Overall, Kata Tjuta was definitely a highlight of the trip. Most of it was that the scenery was completely amazing, but part of it also was that it was much less fenced and sign-posted than Uluru, and the walks actually gave the opportunity to immerse ourselves in the terrain. Loved it (if you couldn’t already tell)(will be hard to pick just 4 photos to put at the end of the post).

We finished the day by driving up towards King’s Canyon – making it as far as King’s Creek Station from where I am currently sitting in our tent typing this. Tomorrow we’ll see if King’s Canyon can top Kata Tjuta…

Uluru

Hmmmmm…Uluru. Ryan had been here before, but I have to say that I was not really looking forward to it that much – expecting it to be overcome by tourists. This turned out to be true, but once I got my first proper look at both Uluru and Kata Tjuta rising out of the desert, I was sold. Incidentally – Mount Connor, which was closer back to Curtin springs, was also quite an amazing site (never even heard of it before).

We had been debating whether or not to climb Uluru – in the end our decision was made for us with the climb being closed due to forecast rain. We were both hoping it would actually rain – expecting it to be quite a unique way to see the Rock (never happened though). So we ended up doing the base walk and then spending some time in the cultural centre. The base walk was pretty interesting – lost of big boulders and caves (some with paintings) and a few gorges containing pools of water. The crowds thinned out once we got a bit of distance between us and the parking lot, although we were never alone. There were plenty of fences and signs (marking sacred sites and requesting visitors not to take photographs), and a large part of the walk was a long way out from the base of the rock (Ryan says parts of it were further out than when he did it 4yrs ago), but overall it was still a worthwhile effort. We also managed to see a herd of camels in the distance (we were wondering what all the cars were stopping and gawking at).

We had lunch in the cultural centre and a pitstop in Yulara (the resort town – which had internet reception so we could finally put some more posts online), then headed back out of the park to camp for the night.

We ended up nestled amongst the dunes behind a roadside rest area (along with a dozen other people). Climbing the nearest dune gave us our own personal view of both Uluru and Kata Tjuta, where we watched the sunset (probably wasn’t quite as spectacular as the tourist spot, but pretty special anyway). The desert night also gave us the most impressive starshow we had seen so far on our trip, which we enjoyed for ages after the fire had burned down to coals (this is my favourite part of camping).

Curtin Springs

Our last day on the Oodnadatta track was probably also the least interesting. We had heard that this would be the worst section of road, but lucky for us a big section had just been graded (in fact we passed the grader along the way). The Ghan railway had diverged from the track at Oodnadatta, so there was no more interesting railway history to discover, and having already driven half this section before camping for the night, this day was really just a push to get to Marla. We also only passed about 5 vehicles in this section of track (compared to the veritable hordes further south), so we think that maybe more people tend to drive the southern section then leave the track at Oodnadatta to head towards Coober Pedy or Dalhousie Springs and the Simpson Desert. I think if we did it again, we would probably do the same.

Anyway, we made it back to the blacktop – very dusty and slightly more rattly, but still in one piece. Driving on the tar was not-unsurprisingly kinda mind-numbing. We did see one wedge-tailed eagle feasting on roadkill (a sight which had been promised to me as common in the Centre), otherwise the Stuart Highway was pretty uninspiring. (Ryan just pointed out that we also saw a rhinoceros on a pole)(we don’t know why it was there either).

We decided to get as close to Uluru as we could manage before fatigue set in – which turned out to be Curtin Springs. At this point we also gave in and stayed indoors (the lure of a shower was too much). The lure of a camel steak for dinner was also more than we could refuse – although these turned out to be a bit disappointing. Overall, it was quite a nice place to stay, although our “budget” accommodation consisted of a partitioned section inside what appeared to be a shipping container, which contained a bed and not much else (was all fine by us). There was also heaps of free camping which we were glad we had bypassed once the rain started coming down that night. All of a sudden it was quite snug and nice inside our shipping container…