To 23-Oct-06 (Port Augusta SA to Kulgera SA)
Almost there!
Hasn’t this year flown by - it’s almost over! We have seen so much of this wonderful country and met so many great people on the way. It has been great for us to spend so much time together too.
GLENDAMBO SA (Glendambo North Rest Area Free-Camp)
Population 2 (us)! Very, very quiet and the stars were truly awesome. Spencer has even discovered how to find south using the Southern Cross (and has shared this with Rhonda a number of times already). We also saw 3 huge red kangaroos in the distance via binoculars.
COOBER PEDY SA (Oasis Caravan Park)
Deja-vu really set in as we reversed the van into a site 3 along from where we stayed with the boys 17 years ago. This place is HOT even in “spring” – 40deg days! Our van site had shade cloth above and behind (17 years ago it was just above) – woohoo! It makes a big difference. We really enjoyed a town tour and saw an underground church, an opal mine and a dugout home. We also spent an awesome afternoon in The Breakaways taking in more spectacular scenery and checked out the Moon Plains where Mad Max and other movies were shot.
This is Spencer pointing to where Glenn found an opal (this pool was still being built when we were last here).
These are “blowers” which are just like giant vacuum cleaners – they suck up dirt from down in the mine and then dump it into mullock piles. These piles are everywhere around Coober Pedy. It has to be the dustiest place we’ve been to so far.
Did you know that “Coober Pedy” means “White Man’s Burrows”?
KULGERA NT (Kulgera Roadhouse Caravan Park)
Very hot here too and so we decided to go for some 240 volts to cool down a bit (the air-conditioner is our friend). It was a quiet place and very reasonable at $20. We also met another man named Spencer who was also travelling around Oz.
ALICE SPRINGS NT (McDonnell Range Caravan Park)
We met Sam & Keren and their daughters here 17 years ago (we had a delightful stay with them for a few days on their sugar cane farm at Ingham last April). This caravan park has also grown just a bit.
We visited the Old Telegraph Station (they really did it tough in those days), Simpsons Gap, Standley Chasm, Ormiston Gorge and Glen Helen plus heaps more. The scenery is awesome - look out . . . that dreaded slide-show is growing bigger & bigger!!
We were delighted to find this Sturt’s Desert Pea growing beside the van park’s games room.
Standley Chasm is one beautiful place – very difficult to photograph though.
KINGS CANYON NT (Kings Canyon Resort Caravan Park)
This was our first visit here as a 4WD had been required 17 years ago. The road is all tar now so getting there is a breeze. This canyon is an amazing place!
This is the “Rim Walk” – truly spectacular! It’s about 6.5k and starts with a huge climb and ends with a very welcome descent. The sign suggested 3.5 hours and we thought that’s very slow for 6.5k. However, the climb, rough terrain and many, many photo & video stops meant that we went over-time. Rhonda managed the exercise with style & panache – her heel problem seems to like retirement and holidays.
There were no safety rails here – just little signs saying “Be Careful” and graphics of people falling over cliffs. The signs worked!
YULARA NT (Ayres Rock Campground)
This is one huge boulder! We had decided to respect the locals’ preference that people not to climb the Rock and had intended to keep our feet on the ground this time. As it happened, the climb was closed while we were in Yulara because of high winds (guess the rangers get tired of rescuing dumb tourists in dangerous conditions).
Here is a sunset shot. The colours change so marvelously and are a challenge to capture – we have at least 100 or so photos of the Rock at different times of the day . . . so look out!
We also visited The Olgas (Kata Tjuta = “many heads”) for the first time because a 4WD had been required on our last visit due to rain. We did the ‘Valley of the Winds’ walk to the second lookout (5.2k). We were truly amazed and felt dwarfed by these huge rocks. How amazing is God! We were also treated to a show by zebra finches and other birds meeting around a puddle of water – very special.
KULGERA NT (Kulgera Roadhouse Caravan Park)
A quick overnight stop here on our way back to Port Augusta.
With best wishes & God bless,
Spencer & Rhonda
= = = = = = = = = = = = =
Hasn’t this year flown by - it’s almost over! We have seen so much of this wonderful country and met so many great people on the way. It has been great for us to spend so much time together too.
GLENDAMBO SA (Glendambo North Rest Area Free-Camp)
Population 2 (us)! Very, very quiet and the stars were truly awesome. Spencer has even discovered how to find south using the Southern Cross (and has shared this with Rhonda a number of times already). We also saw 3 huge red kangaroos in the distance via binoculars.
COOBER PEDY SA (Oasis Caravan Park)
Deja-vu really set in as we reversed the van into a site 3 along from where we stayed with the boys 17 years ago. This place is HOT even in “spring” – 40deg days! Our van site had shade cloth above and behind (17 years ago it was just above) – woohoo! It makes a big difference. We really enjoyed a town tour and saw an underground church, an opal mine and a dugout home. We also spent an awesome afternoon in The Breakaways taking in more spectacular scenery and checked out the Moon Plains where Mad Max and other movies were shot.
.jpg)
This is Spencer pointing to where Glenn found an opal (this pool was still being built when we were last here).
.jpg)
These are “blowers” which are just like giant vacuum cleaners – they suck up dirt from down in the mine and then dump it into mullock piles. These piles are everywhere around Coober Pedy. It has to be the dustiest place we’ve been to so far.
Did you know that “Coober Pedy” means “White Man’s Burrows”?
KULGERA NT (Kulgera Roadhouse Caravan Park)
Very hot here too and so we decided to go for some 240 volts to cool down a bit (the air-conditioner is our friend). It was a quiet place and very reasonable at $20. We also met another man named Spencer who was also travelling around Oz.
ALICE SPRINGS NT (McDonnell Range Caravan Park)
We met Sam & Keren and their daughters here 17 years ago (we had a delightful stay with them for a few days on their sugar cane farm at Ingham last April). This caravan park has also grown just a bit.
We visited the Old Telegraph Station (they really did it tough in those days), Simpsons Gap, Standley Chasm, Ormiston Gorge and Glen Helen plus heaps more. The scenery is awesome - look out . . . that dreaded slide-show is growing bigger & bigger!!
We were delighted to find this Sturt’s Desert Pea growing beside the van park’s games room.
.jpg)
Standley Chasm is one beautiful place – very difficult to photograph though.
KINGS CANYON NT (Kings Canyon Resort Caravan Park)
This was our first visit here as a 4WD had been required 17 years ago. The road is all tar now so getting there is a breeze. This canyon is an amazing place!
.jpg)
This is the “Rim Walk” – truly spectacular! It’s about 6.5k and starts with a huge climb and ends with a very welcome descent. The sign suggested 3.5 hours and we thought that’s very slow for 6.5k. However, the climb, rough terrain and many, many photo & video stops meant that we went over-time. Rhonda managed the exercise with style & panache – her heel problem seems to like retirement and holidays.
There were no safety rails here – just little signs saying “Be Careful” and graphics of people falling over cliffs. The signs worked!
YULARA NT (Ayres Rock Campground)
This is one huge boulder! We had decided to respect the locals’ preference that people not to climb the Rock and had intended to keep our feet on the ground this time. As it happened, the climb was closed while we were in Yulara because of high winds (guess the rangers get tired of rescuing dumb tourists in dangerous conditions).
.jpg)
Here is a sunset shot. The colours change so marvelously and are a challenge to capture – we have at least 100 or so photos of the Rock at different times of the day . . . so look out!
.jpg)
We also visited The Olgas (Kata Tjuta = “many heads”) for the first time because a 4WD had been required on our last visit due to rain. We did the ‘Valley of the Winds’ walk to the second lookout (5.2k). We were truly amazed and felt dwarfed by these huge rocks. How amazing is God! We were also treated to a show by zebra finches and other birds meeting around a puddle of water – very special.
KULGERA NT (Kulgera Roadhouse Caravan Park)
A quick overnight stop here on our way back to Port Augusta.
With best wishes & God bless,
Spencer & Rhonda
= = = = = = = = = = = = =
posted by S and R caravan Oz at 7:41 p.m.
1 Comments:
Enjoy the warmer weather while you can...Sydney is once again confused as to which season it is and it has been generally quite cool with some patches of rain.
I can't wait for the slide show and to be able to catch up on everything.
God Bless you both,
Sarah
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