Hot Springs

Everybody we spoke to before starting this journey, said we must go to Mataranka and Bitter Springs. So we did. 

There was s definite change of climate as we approached the last 30km or so, with many more palm trees and a lot less dry undergrowth. The termite mounds had tripled in both quantity and size, and the foliage was much denser. 

Parking was well catered for outside the local van park, and we wandered through to find a stunning tropical oasis. Despite being within the confines of the caravan park, this was completely free and superbly maintained. 

The water is around 30 degrees, crystal clear and has a slight flow thanks to the endless supply of natural water from the source just 30 metres away that has apparently originated in the limestone in the far top end of Qld and broken surface again here for us to enjoy. 

After an hour or so of splashing about and agreeing this was going to be a stop on the homeward leg of our journey, we said goodbye to our newly acquired travelling companions ( @gypsydustandwanderlust) who happened to be here as well. 

Just up the road was Bitter Springs. Much harder to find a park with the van, and we ended up in the mud on the side of the road - I suspect illegally parked, but with this heat, I didn’t care. 

This was vastly different from Mataranka in that it was a completely natural river, with a faster flow, and full of fallen logs, lilly pads and other growth that needed to be avoided as you floated down the crystal clear warm flowing spring. 

After 3-4 “floats” we said goodbye to another family we had originally met in Daly Waters and set off to Katherine. 

Not sure why, but we had both assumed Katherine was going to be a tropical town filled with lush green-ness. Alas, no....

Maybe in the wet season it is, but right now it is a hot dry dusty place with a river running through it (and more hot springs!). 

We are booked into Shady Lane van park which is 15 minutes out of town and on the road to the Gorges, which is the main reason we came here. 

The park is very quiet and nice enough, but still no green grass. We were parked right next to the pool, which was well utilised for the times we were here. 

Day 2 was spent on a 3 Gorge tour. Fascinating information and amazing scenery that will never display correctly in photos. We spotted about 5 freshwater crocs on the banks on the boat trip, and we also got to swim in one of the upper pools where they are “pretty sure” there are no crocs. 

Our final day took us nearly 100km North to Edith Falls. Again, we travelled through a dry dusty arid area that suddenly opened up into a series of lakes and the only waterfall in the region to flow all year round. 

The hot, dry 35 minute walk up the side of a mountain was well worth the incredible swimming hole above the falls, in another crystal clear lake that appeared to be deeper than the abyss. 

Clambering down the other side of the mountain, we had a late lunch and jumped into the lower lake, which  offered a 150m swim to a smaller waterfall. 

We were now completely exhausted and hit the road for the hour long trip back and to start packing up ready for the trip to Darwin tomorrow. 

The busiest pub in nowhere land

Nestled in the scrub about 600km from Darwin or 900km from Alice Springs, is a little country pub. It is here in Daly Waters that we are settling in for the night to see what all the fuss is about. It is only 2:30pm as we arrive, and we are already faced with being stuck in the farthest corner of the paddock they are calling a caravan park. Luckily, our newly found travel companions from Devils Marbles got here slightly ahead of us and told us to get into the small overflow non-powered spot. This turned out to be perfect, with lots of trees and our own scrub paddock behind us that may just have a tree in it that will be well watered overnight.

 

To describe the town as unique is an understatement. Even calling it a town is an understatement. The fuel, the gift shop, the caravan park, the pool and the pub are all run by the pub. Maybe there is something else to be seen here, but I didn’t get past the pub and it’s adornment of parting gifts left by the many thousands of travellers over the years. T-Shirts, Bra’s, thongs, number plates, hats etc. if it can be left behind, it is donated and then hung up somewhere for public display. 

And the pool. What can be better than ordering a pint of  Coopers Pale Ale and sitting by a crystal clear pool while the kids splash about. 

And then Happy Hour started. $4 beers. 🍺. Oh well..... we may as well join in. With about 150 -200 meals being served, the pub did an amazing job. Live country music being played on stage, kids making friends, adults making friends, more beer (just not $4 anymore). I have a headache. 

The morning was a slow and easy packup (something to do with last night I think). 

We had a stroll around the souvenir shop and then headed off on one of our shortest trips in a while. 2 hours to Mataranka and ending up at Katherine a further 1 hour for our next 4 nights. 
I still have a headache.....

The two D’s

After a night in Alice Springs that allowed us to wash both ourselves and our clothes, we left early to get to the renowned Devil’s Marbles camping area whilst there was still room. We had heard so many people tell us that we needed to get there early or not get in at all. This is against all our standard modes of travel where we like to wander aimlessly and just arrive when we happen to do so. 

However, what it did allow us to do was finally have some relaxation time for a few hours and explore these weird rock formations at our own pace. 

At first glance it appeared the kids were correct - “They are just rocks “. But when you start to see the way they just balance and then the way the colours change as the sun sets, it becomes apparent why it is such a huge tourist draw card.

 

Our neighbours tonight happened to be the same family we met at Coober Pedy - I have been stalking them on Instagram @gypsydustandwanderlust. This turned our night into a fun chat around a fire with the kids getting along famously whilst Tracy and I chatted to Simone all night learning about her travels around Oz with her kids. 

Tomorrow is off to the even more famous Daly Waters pub. 

Heard many things so I hope my expectations are met. 

Ochre Pits, Serpentine and Ellery Gorge.

Another freezing night without power and we are all still in great spirits. We eventually crawled out of the van and I cooked another storm on the bbq of bacon, eggs, toast and muffins.

We were on a mission to explore 3 different places today. However 1st stop was to see if there was any diesel at Glen Helen ( they had run out on Sunday). They did but at $1:90/ litre I only got just enough to get us back to Alice. 

This is supposed to be the most popular place to stay, but I suspect it is only beacause they have power, water and clean flushing toilets. They see the same dusty ground as us and we still much prefer our quiet sites. There was an old traditional hut out front that needed a bit of repair but was interesting to see how the ancestors may have lived. 

1st stop was at the Ochre Pits. A river bed surrounded by an array of different layers of soil, including limestone and red ochre. The cliffs looked extremely fragile yet up close were anything but. This is a sacred area and it is prohibited to dig or take any of the ochre. 

A few hundred metres up the road I made a hard right turn to the Neil Hargrave lookout. Apart from the litter strewn all around, there was a spot where a reflector plate was angled into a non powered dish and a spot where you could rest your phone to get a tiny cellular signal. Remembering this is 200km away from the nearest tower in Alice Springs, it is pretty amazing (and it actually worked to make a phone call too!)

Serpentine Gorge was next on the list. This was an easy 1.1km walk along a flat track to a Gorge that is symbolic to the Indigenous with a deep body of water to prevent both man and animal from entering. Apparently that means that Dylsn is neither of those. He had run off ahead as he always does in an attempt to expel his excess energy, and had started climbing the cliff face. But this time the cliff won and he had fallen in. As we reached the Gorge, there he was huddled between rocks on the other side, cowering low in the hope that we wouldn’t notice.... forgetting that all the other tourists we met were having a giggle and telling us exactly what happened. 

We noticed as we were leaving that there was a trail to the left indicating a lookout. For some reason it didn’t compute that the word lookout meant climb up a ginormous hill until your lungs were bursting out of your rib cage to see the same Gorge from a different angle. Nonetheless up we went. With a few stops to admire the different views (and maybe suck in some much needed oxygen whilst convincing my legs that we were nearly there), we got there and were greeted with a view that only a lookout could offer, and that pictures could never replicate. 

Thankfully the descent was much easier and we got to the car with an eagerness to see the next view. 

Ellery Gorge was our last planned stop for the day. Once again this was a beautiful area, only this time it was a public swimming place as well. However..... the water was at a temperature somewhere around -5 degrees yet not frozen. I have never felt water so cold  - not even an ice bucket. This was literally burning my legs and despite 3 attempts, I couldn’t stay in there for longer than one minute. 

The kids didn’t agree with me though, and showed how tough they were by actually diving in, but getting out again immediately to try and ward off the hypothermia in the19 degree sun. Dylan actually had us worried for a bit as he started feeling unwell, but soon picked up as he warmed up. 

This was our last day out here, and will be heading back to the big 4 in Alice Springs tomorrow. 

We will stop and have a look at Stanley Chasm on the way, but mostly it will be about having showers, doing the washing and getting prepared for the trip to Katherine. 

The Gorgeous Gorges

It was difficult to get out from under the quilts and sleeping bags this morning. It was at least the forecast-1, if not colder.

When we finally ventured out, I cooked up some bacon and eggs and toast for everyone and was soon warm. 

We all headed out to Glen Helen gorge and were greeted with another amazing backdrop with some beautiful water flowing through the bottom. This was only a 5 minute walk from where we parked the car and was the backyard for the caravan park here. We are so glad we are staying up the road, even without power or running water. Way too cramped here. 

We then drove further east to Ormiston Gorge. This had a 20 minute walk to the water hole, or a 3-4 hour loop walk through the mountains and gorge, returning via the water hole. Despite my body signalling in every possible way to take the short walk, we all “agreed” to take the loop. 

This meandered up the side of the mountains and just went on forever. The views were spectacular, but I am not sure any of the photos I took will ever highlight the enormous size of this vertical cliff faces. 

The terrain was forever changing. One minute we were in arid land dodging spikey grasses and red dust all over our shoes, next we were walking through sand and pebbles along the river beds, followed by great big boulders, all of which were changing colours every time we reached a new part of the river bed. 

We had reached what we thought was about halfway (according to my Apple Watch) when my knee started hurting and progressively got worse. Turns out that either the  description of the walk being only 7km is really wrong, or my watch doesn’t know how to calculate the hills and winding tracks, because my watch says we walked 11km. The last 2 km was extraordinarily difficult thanks to my inability to bend my right knee anymore... not very helpful clambering over boulders for 2 hours. 

Finally we reached the car again and popped some pain killers ready for the night ahead and more walks tomorrow. 

A bottle of red wine, a few bourbons and some schnitzels cooked over the fire finished off a great (but tiring day). 

Redbank Gorge.

Destination -Woodlands campground. About 180Km from Alice Springs.

The road out west is perfectly smooth, good quality and meandering through the West MacDonnell Ranges and the many floodways that cross its route. We passed by all the big name gorges such as Ellery, Stanley and Ormiston to a our destination 20Km west of Glen Helen. The grounds are part of the National Parks and cost $12.50 a night. They are equipped with an extremely clean drop toilet, free gas barbecues at each site, and an iron fire pit with a removable cooking grate. In short, they are fantastic for the location. 

About 5 minutes further up, there is a short walk into Redbank Gorge which is just stunning. 

It was less than hour return trip and a relatively easy walk and if it was an example of what we will see elsewhere , we are going to have some great days ahead. 

Back at the van, we started the fire and Tyler decided to cook the sausages over the fire rather than on the BBQ. 

The night slowly disappeared around the fire with a few glasses of red wine, and roasting Marshmallows. 

As the fire burnt out, the cold became more apparent (-1 forecast), so we all cleaned up as best as we could with the buckets of water and got into bed to keep warm.