On the road again we called in to view more of the flood damage around Durack. The Ord River seems to have a mind of its own ,when in flood, uprooting trees, taking out bridges or destroying approaches making crossings impossible.
This next pic is looking toward Lake Argyle Mine and some of the rubble from the road to the bridge.
We ended up staying at Leicesters Rest, a camp on the river bank. As it was another hot day we went paddling in the river to cool off and take photos of the closed Ord River crossing.
A nice stopover and have fun with the camera.
The next day we arrived in Halls Creek, not the type of town that you leave your vehicles or caravans unattended. However we did some shopping, then Drove out to see the original town site. They are trying to preserve some of the old mud buildings, under shelters. I was amazed at the fire places and the fancy stone work around them.
Also at the old town site is a memorial to the Royal Flying Doctor as well as the old Cemetery.
Not far from town is the China Wall. An unusual rock crop that runs down some of the hills
There are also some other rocks around the parking area, that seem to be out of character for these hills. More like the ones from the Bungle Bungle range. They are all different coloured stripes.. Maybe a man made added feature to the site ?
Starting to see more bush flowers now
Our next camp spot was at Mary Pool, on the Mary River. Another peaceful spot on the river bank. The crossing approaches also have been washed away, the cows roam freely, and are very quiet.
Some even spend the day at the beach ,haha
The cattle don’t seem to know anything about personal space , or eavesdropping when I’m on the phone. All part of the adventure. Plus, Chris has learnt how to cook a good steak.
The next morning we moved on westward, enjoying the change in scenery.
We arrived in Fitzroy crossing, via the newly completed bridge over the Fitzroy River. Its amazing to see just how much damage the floods did through these little communities up North.
We are camped at Allendale Station on the lake. It’s so good of the owners to allow free camping here. We have stayed here before and enjoy the birds and very friendly cattle.
Had to laugh at this cow, she layed down and listened to Allan Jackson. When Chris turned it off some time later she got up and walked away.
A third night here won’t hurt, or will it be 4 , before we move on to Derby
Three days in Kununurra gave us time to enjoy the area and see the flooded Plains and waterways.
Not far out of town is Maggie’s Valley which we passed through on our way to Wyndham for the day.
We went up to the lookout, which we had been to before, but have never seen so much greenery around the flats.
We spent quite some time up there, then met up with friends from Ballina for Lunch
The Croc Cafe, is well known for its pies, they were huge and very tasty. It was nice spending some time with Marty and Deb, before we travelled back to Kununurra via the back gravel road.
We called into Marlgu Billabong and what a spectacular sight it is at the moment. So much bird life and water lilies, just a picture perfect time to be there.
I had to zoom right in for this next pic. Can you see him?? No doubt he was watching us across the other side on the board walk. Obviously the birds new he was there, and giving him a wide birth.
Just so peaceful there I could sit in the bird watch hut for hours.
We took the 80 klm of dirt road, crossing many flooded causeways, and some we had to detour around as you don’t want to walk into water around here if you can’t see the bottom.
It was getting late in the afternoon when we went into Black Rock Falls, and this was one crossing we didn’t venture into
It was nearly dark by the time we got back to the van. It had been a big day out.
Guy and Annie, Chris and I drove out to Ivanhoe crossing for a look. It has been closed since the floods. The amount of water that is flowing over the crossing is amazing. Don’t think it will be opened anytime soon.
Such a shame to see all this water going to waste.
So thats it for now as we head out again . Annie cooked a lovely BBQ, as a parting dinner, they have more time in Kununurra as we keep going West.
Our next stop, was to view the mighty Ord River Diversion Dam ,on our way out of Kununurra, so much water!!
Then onto Molly spring, and a very rocky road in . We drove 2 thirds of the way in ,then walked the rest of the way as it was not the best road for the van.
It was worth the effort as it was beautiful in there, the water looked so inviting, but I just had to be contented with paddling in the shallows and watching little fish swimming around my feet.
I guess there was phone service in there,! But we won’t talk about that.. I’ll just enjoy the natural beauty of the place.
By mid afternoon we pulled into a nice little spot near the Dunham River. Hills in the background and flowering wattle all around.
We never know what tomorrow brings, so till then keep safe our family and friends.
Well we ended up staying at the Rapids, farm stay for 8 days, a bit of a forced stop ,due to my back. But that’s OK as it gave Annie and Guy time to catch us up for a night, before we went our separate ways again.
We were the longest staying guests so far this season, apparently. The Care Takers were great and made us feel very welcome, being given fresh out of the oven slices of sour dough bread, most days.
Sunday nights is camp oven stew and damper, night, then the owner entertains with his poems and songs. around the camp fire.
As Annie and Guy were there we went for a drive over the 600 odd acres, mainly bush tracks along the river banks. Rough but I survived!.
This photo of the boys, amuses me , Chris says he is not worried about Crocks, the pic tells a different story.
I am terrified of the Crocks in NT waterways , however I did get out to take some photos. Sure is a beautiful property.
we ended our stay the next morning and went back into Katherine to do some shopping. Also took some time to have an hour or so in the hot springs there.
This area has changed so much ,since we were here . It used to be a bush track down to the springs, now it’s all paved and prettied up.
We made a big effort after our relaxing swim and drove about 20 minutes till we pulled up for the rest of the day. First into the camp and last of about 10 others to leave the next morning.
The drive between Gregory and Timber Creek is lovely. The highway follows the Victorian river, and after the recent floods the river is still flowing and quite picturesque against the red cliffs in the background.
We drove down onto the rocky river bed and parked, while we went down to the river edge, no I didn’t get too close.!
From there we drove up to a lookout with views over the river, but for me the bush flowers were starting to shine through.
The kapok trees are looking great against the blue ,cloudless sky and red rocky cliffs
Because of the light it was hard to get a photo of the palms growing in the rocks, quite interesting when you see them in natural colour. This is the best I could do to show them up.
The view of the Bradshaw bridge over the Victoria River from the lookout ,with flowering NT Eucalyptus in the foreground
We had a quick stop for a cuppa at Timber Creek.
We drove down to have a closer look at the bridge and maybe drive over it but were stopped, and had to back off as it is a government reserve on the other side.
From the bank where I took some photos, you could see how high the river was during the floods, and the bridge was well under water.
Some of the many Boab trees, as we neared our last stop in NT for the night.
We pulled up just after the East Baines crossing . Again first in and last to leave this morning. There were probably about 15 other campers there last night.
Our drive this morning was nice as we headed towards Kununurra.
We gained an extra hour and a half, timewise as we crossed the Territory border into WA .
We are now staying at the Showground in Kununurra, we have a good spot, and who should be next to us but Annie and Guy. We will stay here for 3 nights. Had cute little zebra Doves picking around the van as we ate dinner and watched footy on the field. And a full moon as well .
A town with so much history. Now that we are north of Three ways, we have been to most of the points of interest, but it’s still nice to make a stop and see what’s changed. And Newcastle Waters didn’t disapoint. They have had so much rain and floods around these Northern parts, the landscape is lush and has plenty of bird life.
The old store and pub have had a bit of a tidy up, whilst still maintaining their historic features. Newcastle Waters was a stopover town for the Drovers taking their cattle up the Centre. When the droving days stopped, the town became deserted.
The memorial park has had a couple of new signs and a statue of a Drover added
We walked around town, then down to where the river runs through town. A few days earlier the town had been cut off. We met the school Teacher with his class of 8 pupils. that day, (7 were away attending a funeral ) they had been down to empty their yabby trap. They were so happy with their catch, that was to be cooked for dinner that night.
We were offered some of their catch. I said no thanks, as I would have to cook them, One little girl of about 7, then decided to give me a cooking lesson, and vinegar, must put vinegar on them, cause it makes them taste better.
Whilst they were down the river, a couple of the boys found an (almost dead) bird, they had it wrapped up in one of their hoodies and told the teacher they were going to make it better. With my cooking lesson over and the yabbies left in the care of the teacher, the kids, off down the road, making a detour into the old church. We and the teacher amused that it would take more than divine intervention, for the bird to survive. We didn’t find out what the church stop was for, but next they went into the school grounds next door.
We stayed talking to the teacher about life and kids in these outback places, and of course the lesson that afternoon would be looking up what kind of bird they had found. I presume the next days lesson would be organising a funeral 😪 what an interesting morning. And Education these kids get.
We drove further North to a roadside stop and stayed the night. Moving on, early next morning, our next stop was the Historical town of Daly Waters. We lined up and were given a good spot in the camping area ,then booked our Beef “N” Barra dinner for that evening.
The donkeys and horses roam free around the park and streets, getting treats from the the owner of the Pub as well as the visitors. The whole area is one big happy family atmosphere..
As well as the animals there is other interesting bits of junk to look at
Some pretty birds , some rather ugly birds.
Some nasty critters, with unusual signs on their cage.
Other signs worth reading, and others to give you a laugh.
Inside the pub ,the walls are covered with all sorts of clothing and stickers. We couldn’t find the Jodies Inspiration sticker we left there some years ago.
The Donkeys and horses also lined up at the bar, till the girl behind the bar told them to get out. Bit unfair as it was a hot day.
Our Beef “N” Barra, that night was very yummy, we sat out under the stars, ate our dinner and listened to a great country music show. Most pubs have entertainment at least 4 nights a week in the top end. It provides an income for the travelling musicians as well as more income for the pubs. The travellers like nothing more than a good feed , cold drink and a sing-along at the end of a hot day. A lot of the retires live this lifestyle between 3 to 6 months of the year.
On the move again ,the next day, we drove out to the Daly Waters Aerodrome and had a look around the WW11 hanger. The airstrip is still being used for small planes.
Further North is Larrimah, a town made popular by the disappearance of a local bloke, back in 2017. Believed to have been murdered and last seen at the Larrimah Hotel.
We had some lunch there and took some photos. The pub is now known as the Pink Pub, and lots of pink paint used to brighten the place up.
There is another one of those interesting critters in a cage out the back. It wouldn’t be hard to get rid of a body around these parts.
That night we stopped in to the Territory Manor. A big park with plenty of spots available. We ended up staying for 4 days . Mataranka is a handy stop as it is not far from some of the popular thermal springs, and where the Author of ” we of the never never ” was written in a tribute to the women, who did it so tough in the early 1900s.
I am still in a lot of pain with my back, I think the massage I had in Alice Springs did more harm than good ,and by the time we travelled to here, the mussels in the lower back were going into spasms and I could hardly move. So the next three days I floated around in the thermal pools, on a noodle ,it seemed to help.
While trying not to do too many rough roads, we still got to see some of the points of interest around the area. Crossing over an old bridge, there was more evidence of the recent floods through the area .
We visited the old town of Elsey, and the historical cemetery there. The gravesites tell the story of the early settlement and the people of “we of the never never.”
The Cemetery is well presented and maintained so a nice place to wander through.
We were enjoying our stay at Mataranka, with its water, birds wandering around the camping areas and nightly country music show.
We decided to stay another day and go to the markets in the park, last Sunday
The next day we moved on to Katherine. Chris insisted I go to outpatients and have my back checked out. Nice young Doc !! And he and I agreed that it was continuing stress to the mussels doing all the Gorge rock climbs, day after day, that was causing the pain. Some strong painkillers and try to avoid strenuous exercise for a few weeks should fix it.
We are now at a lovely farm stay ,about 20 Min out of town . Just what the doctor ordered. Yes the back is feeling a lot better. The painkillers do work.
A few days ago we crossed the Tropic of Capricorn, I think it could do with a freshen up, looks a bit dilapidated to me.
At Burt Plain there is a Cain, marking the highest point on the main road between Adelaide and Darwin.
We didn’t get far that day, so we pulled up after lunch at a roadside camp, and watched the clouds close in. Rain was forecast so it could be interesting times ahead.
It rained all night, so our camp area was flooded, when we stepped out in the morning, not bad ,just enough to be annoying getting from the van to the car.
It was still raining as we moved on .We stopped at Aileron Roadhouse for fuel and a pic of the Anmatjere Man and the Woman and Child statutes. Nothing else worth looking at.
Our travelling friends are sill back in Alice Springs, so we are travelling alone now. Just wandering along., the rain seems persistent so we pulled into another roadside camp just out of Anmanjere. There we were able to get phone service from a satellite dish. It was cold and wet ,but quite a novelty to be making calls like this from the centre of Aus.
A point of interest that we passed was Mt Castle, looks more like a small hill , but I guess in the plain, it’s a mountain to them , no we didn’t climb it, I’m still suffering from back problems after our Kings Canyon adventures. 😞
All the creeks have running water now and the roads are a mess. Lots of washouts and water over the roads in some areas.
We called into Barrow Creek and went for a walk around the old Telegraph Station there. Still a few showers hanging around, but it’s so nice to see the red inland turning green, the country is beautiful after so much rain. Sure to be a lovely wildflower season.
We pulled up early again that afternoon. Opposite the Devil’s Marbles pub. . We were first there so had a top spot on the end. Slowly the area filled up and by dark the place was packed, There is a lot of vans on the road now, and the popular free camps are also packed. No wonder with the cost of staying in a caravan park being so expensive. Lucky if you find one under $ 45 a night. Some I’ve seen as much a $165.
We were first in and last to leave the camp the next morning. Not far up the road is the Devil’s Marbles. The rain had cleared so it was nice to do a bush walk around the Marbles . It’s an easy walk, and somewhere where we hadn’t been before. Can’t say it’s anything spectacular compared to other rock places we’ve been.
We stopped for lunch beside a creek, then headed into Tennant Creek, for a look around town and grab a few supplies at the I G A, which are few and far between around these areas.
The town wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, but still not a town I’d stay in. This is as far south that we have come to on the Stuart Highway in all our travels over the last 17 years. So we have now completed the trip up the Centre. Which was our aim, when we set out on this trip. Yes it was worth doing. Now what..?, sure there are still plenty of places we haven’t seen. So we’ll keep moving along looking for what’s changed and towns we haven’t been to.
Nothing new at the Theeways, but we still made a short stop there.
Then we camped for the night at Attack Creek. It was interesting to see how much water must of been going through there ,as there was flood debris half way up the trees.
A nice sunset completed another good day of travel.
The next day we were travelling along and passed a Lady doing a charity walk. Chris recognised her as an acquaintance from Ballina when he lived there.. So we turned around and spoke for half an hour or so. She is walking from Darwin to Adelaide raising money and promoting awareness for Beyond Blue and Black Dog.
On our way again, we decided to find another camp ,so not far out of Elliot there is some old cattle yards off the road a bit and surrounded by natural bush. Just perfect !
We have the place to ourselves ,most of the time ,also have phone service.
Weve been here two days now , just chillin, surrounded by bush flowers, no flys, and blue sky’s, what more could we want.
Keep well ,till next time, it’s bye from us,Merelyn and Chris. Xx
We thought we would stay for a couple of days and it turned into 12 . The highlight for me was the Alice Springs Desert Park. There are many parks around town, but this one has it all , there are walk through bird averies and good walking paths. You can self tour or have free guided tours.
We did a bit of wandering around to start. And it’s so impressive how the enclosures are just like the natural bushland that they come from.
Next we went into the nocturnal museum. So many unusual specimens in there
Some creepy, some well camouflaged.
Some downright nasty !
Some cute.
Back outside we walked through another enclosure
In one of the small bird, walk through Avery’s, we kept getting attacked by a little yellow wren, that was building a nest. He loved picking the fibres out of my track pants.
Next was a wander around some water birds.
From there we went to watch a wild bird feeding show, in a natural Amphitheatre. Hills surrounding the seating area. The little willy wagtail had sat patiently on the log for about 15 minutes, waiting for the girl to arrive with some food. Then the wild birds flew in from the hills for their morning feed
I really enjoyed this show ,especially this little fellow that came up close to me for his food.
This is typical of the bird watch huts, and the wired mesh covers a huge area of natural bush, surrounding it. A bit like the humans are locked up and the birds are free. We were told that David Attenborough, rated the park as one of the top 10 in the world.!
We finished the day at the park with the overland walk , not many bush flowers out yet, but would be nice in spring.
The next day we drove out to Hart, to have a look around an old mining settlement in the White Range.
It seems to have been a big settlement in its day. Remains of buildings spread over quite a large area of bushland. Rough walking tracks, so a hot and dry couple of hours spent there..
Some of the old plaster walls had names scratched into them. I found one dated 1886.
I was amused to see this grasshopper, just like most things around Alice. Red !!
Next was a visit to the old Telegraph station and park in Alice. Many old buildings restored and completed with old world furnishings.
A park and restaurant there as well , which was very busy while we were there. Also some sheds filled with all sorts of gear.
You hear so much of the negative things about Alice Springs, but we were able to have a good look around over our stay there , we didn’t feel unsafe and thought it was a great town with lots to see ,has all the facilities and retail shops, moreso than a lot of coastal areas.
The old Ghan train was just behind where we were parked at the Transport Museum, so before we left town I thought I had better check it out. Some of the carriages have been restored, while most are just the way they were. Sure was a luxury way to travel.
Chris spent quite a few hours in the Truck Museum, while we were staying there. I took a couple of photos, but we all know what’s in a Truck Museum, trucks ,trucks and more trucks. This one is one of the best and biggest displays in the Country.
Yes ,even the ” last Cab to Darwin” is there.
So that was Alice , where the town is nestled through a gap in the ranges, in the middle of Australia. Glad we’ve been there and done that.!
After such a big day doing the Kings Canyon rim walk, the next day we did an easy bush walk following the creek into the base of the Canyon.
At the end of the walk there is a platform with seats, so we sat for awhile and watched the birds
We were very happy with what we had seen and done over the 4 days at Kings Canyon, so it was time to move on. The West MacDonnell ranges, are truly amazing as you drive along them..
There are a couple of different ways that go through to Alice Springs ,which we planned as our next stop. Chris decided on the Mereenie way, following the Macdonnell Ranges. O M G What a road , rough as guts and dusty. Down to 10klm at times.
Thinking we may of taken a break and stayed overnight at Hermannsburg caravan park, I enquired at the only shop in town and was told ,we could stay ,but there is no one else there. I took one look and a couple of photos, that was enough, we weren’t staying there!!
We made a short stop in Namatjira, taking a couple of photos of the area that inspired Albert Namatjira the renowned artist, for his paintings.
We drove on and finally arrived at Alice Springs and booked into the camping area behind the National Hall of Fame Truck Museum. About 6 kl out of town.
The following day we restocked the fridge then drove back out to the National Park to do the walk into the Standley Chasm
It was a rough track in, but the scenery and the chasm at the end made it worthwhile.
I know I probably take too many photos but the colours and the natural formations of the rocks are breathtaking to me. The West MacDonnell Ranges is a place I would visit again, Maybe in the next life as the roads and walks are killing my back.
Still in the west McDonnell’s we walked into Ellery Creek big water hole.
Another beautiful place to have fun with the camera.. The track was a good , well maintained and one with lots of colourful rocks along the way.
I also like coloured rocks, so I took a few steps off the formed track to get a closer pic. Then Chris yells out ,”there’s a snake behind you..”Those that know me ,know what I think of snakes !! Terrified, I was back on the track in a flash. The snake just went on it’s merry way slithering under the rocks
If you scroll in ,on the next photo, you can just see a glimpse of that 2/3 mtr king brown., heading under the rocks. Nasty pieces of work !!
I took my next rock photo from the pathway. Haha.
A bit further on we drove into Serpentine George.
Then another rocky walk that takes you into the Gorge.
After that and not far off the highway Is the road into the Ochre pitts!. It was only a short walk from the carpark and again, beautiful colours on the cliff faces
From there we drove up to a lookout, with a view of the Ranges we are exploring.
Next stop was Simpsons Gap which was one of my favourite. Large sandy river beds, lots of ghost gums and waterholes along the walk in.
Just brilliant for wandering around taking photos
We are staying at the Road Transport Hall of Fame , which gives us easy access to everything around Alice. We feel safe here and both like Alice, there is a special feel about the place,that makes you want to stay longer.
A view from Anzac Hill over the town. So much bigger and spread out more than we expected.
Last Wednesday morning we were out of bed at 5 AM to catch the channel 7 Sunrise team doing a live shoot, from here to promote the NT.
What a fun morning, Sam the weather man and the directors were so nice, we were shouted breakfast by Rotary, around a warm fire, it was only 1 degree that morning. It wasn’t open to the public, but the staff and a few caravaners.,including us, were the rent a croud for the promo.
Everything was on display, from little trains to the big old Ghan. Even a couple of resident owls in the Truck Museum watched on.
After the filming was done, we were chatting with Sam the weather man, and I asked if I could have a photo of the Jodies Inspiration cap . Before I knew it the director said he would take the photo, and directed Chris to get in as well, Sam handed me the microphone as well.. Yes I was speechless ,for once !!
Live Life Large , and enjoy every day as tomorrow is not promised. XX
Our Sunrise Segway tour started at 5.30 am. A bus picked us up and took a group of 20 out to the Rock. We were served breakfast as the sun rose. The beautiful sunrise promised a good day ahead.
The Olga’s came to light in one direction and the Rock in another
The birds hung around to pick up the crumbs from breakfast, and we were then taken back to the base of the Rock to get some training on the segways.
All kitted up, and feeling confident we were off.
We passed all the interesting formations ,that you don’t see from the road.
We stopped for photos every now and then, we had a great tour guide and we all were having a great time.
It didn’t take me long to get confident enough to take photos as we rode around. I was placed at the head of the line behind our guide, so I was able to chat with her most of the time . And take photos of those following behind. Great fun !
When we completed the ride around we went on a walk into a water hole. A nice serene place to finish off the tour.
On the way back we stopped in to view some Aboriginal rock art in a cave.
What a great tour ,we parked our segways and were bussed back to Ulara camp ground.
The next morning Chris and I drove out of town and did the Kathleen Springs walk
It was a lovely walk with a good mix of colourful rocky cliffs, bird life, wildflowers and waterholes.
We had moved on to camp at Kings Canyon and that evening we went up to the bar area at the park and sat around watching the sun set and the laser lights with the ranges in the background, Meanwhile a solo singer performed Aussie songs.
Just as well we had had a relaxing evening as the next day Chris and I drove out to Kings Canyon to do the rim walk.
The climb up at the start, was very steep, I mean steep!
There were many stops on the Way up. Just when you think you’ve reached the top ,another cliff pops up in front of you to climb up.
Wc think this is around the top, but as its a rim walk, there was no flat area. The going was still rough and rocky, up and down , one cliff edge after another.
Thank goodness I like taking photos as doing so, took my mind off where we were, there was no turning back ,it was a one way 6+klm trek, and the only way out was to go forward.
I’ve always like rock hoping, especially at the beach, but considering it was now the middle of the day, no shade and we were only just nearing the end of the canyon, like half way . How stupid am I..?
Finally we got to the the end and and crossed the little bridge to the other side of the canyon. Hoping that that side will be a easier walk ,we moved on.
Not so this side was still hard going and maybe even more spectacular than the other side.
We took a 600mtr diversion and went down into the garden of Eden. It was lovely, so worth the extra effort.
Back on track after having a quiet sit by the waterhole, we felt we were homeward bound.
How amazing are the cliff faces that we had just walked over.
The track did get a little easier on the way back, just a few cliffs to scramble around ,at least we were going downhill.
When we got back to the carpark we read a sign relating to the way we had just come back. Yes it was hot!
It had taken us 5 and a half hours, and we were quite pleased to have achieved the hardest walk we have even done.!
Sunrise at Uluru, with the field of lights, was spectacular. We were also fortunate enough to see the glow from Aurora.
We did a tour, which included breakfast after a wander through the lights, the changing colours were beautiful .
The lights slowly dimmed as the sun came up and shone on Uluru
The Olga’s also came into view, as did the ground cover. A beautiful time of day, and well getting up early to see.
Once we were back in town we did some shopping and had a drive around, there is a lot of tourist accommodation as well as a shopping complex, parks and gardens, also I was able to see my favourite flower the Stuart’s Desert Pea. Love them.
That evening we all went up and sat at a view point to watch the sun go down
It ended up being a triple treat, as well as sun set we again saw the glow from Aroura and some of the Drone display at the Rock.
The next day Chris and I drove out to the base of the Rock and did the walk in to a water hole.
It was an easy walk and gave us an insight as to what is around the other side,as you usually only see photos from the main road side.
On the walk there is also a cave with Aboriginal art that we went into.,which was quite interesting.
It was a lovely walk in to the waterhole and there are nice timber seats scattered around .
As with all outdoor activities, flies go with it. !
That evening we went on a bus tour out to the Rock for sunset and the drone show, nibbles and drinks included
As we got out of the bus there was a dingo hanging around. Not a good photo as he wasn’t there long,
When we were all seated our snacks and drinks were served. A nice variety of cheeses and dips. We were also told that there was to be no photography taken. It was a nice venue, but disappointed that I couldn’t take photos of the drone display.
The story started off with drones then the wind became to strong for them to fly, so the rest of the event was done with a ground strobe light display. It was OK, but a bit of a let down.
We walked back to the bus ,which took us back to camp, passing the well lit sails in the desert resort.
As we travelled towards it, it seemed to become bigger and more interesting.
We arrived at Eyers Rock Campground around lunch time and set up for the next 4 days.
I didn’t expect to see so many accommodation places out here. Sails in the Desert is a popular one, and has a nice pool and gardens surrounding it.
Not to waste any of our time here, once we were set up, we headed out the road further to walk through the sand dunes and view the Olgas
As they have had a good amount of rain recently, the desert wildflowers are starting to bloom.
How cute is this little fellow, and so well camouflaged, and what a long tail, looks just like another stick
Hope you all like wildflowers as much as I do, incredible that they can survive out here.
We still had enough time left that afternoon to do another couple of walks.
It was quite a decent walk over a rough rocky pathway. We could have gone further but chose to turn back after getting to the first lookout.
We drove around to the next walk , it wasn’t as hard going .
We had only been in the park for half a day but I was really enjoying the scenery, and taking lots of photos
What a perfect afternoon to be out there wandering around in natural beauty.
It only takes a little amount of water, to make the place come alive, and for me to have fun with the reflections.
This was as far into the Valley of winds that we could go , so we sat for awhile and just enjoyed the towering rocks around us. Ahh, and our phones, I’m thinking.!
I just had to stop a few times on the way out to take more photos of the rock pool and flowers
Well that was our look around the Olga’s. I really enjoyed the time there. That evening we drove out from the camping area to a viewing point ,a few kls away to watch the sunset on the rock.
Hundreds of people line the fence, sitting and waiting for the sun to go down. As I’m not one to sit around and drink, I just wandered around trying to get some different shots. After all, a rock is a rock, so it makes sense to me ,to give it some character.
The sun set and so that was the end of day one at Uluru
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