Not so hot after all

After suffering through a 42 degree day yesterday, I was looking forward to today’s cooler forecast of 32 and being able to wallow in the shallow waters of Lake Albert, hoping people don’t mistake me for a beached dugong. 

This trip was the first in our “new to us” caravan. We now have a 17’ Outback Expanda and despite being the same design as our last van but with a few additions, I was constantly finding stuff that I had to work out. 

We were packed and ready to go at 10 am, and I was sweating more than Colonel Ssnders’ pet chicken. It was already the estimated high of 32 degrees and I needed to be in air conditioning. 

I got about 500m away (3 streets) when I realised I left my phone behind. To me, this is the equivalent of leaving the caravan behind. I managed to convince Tyler to run back as I couldn’t turn around with the van, which he was very nice and obliging to do. Luckily for us that this all happened because on my hot sweaty rush to leave, I had left the roller door up for all and sundry to explore our back yard. 

The trip very quickly turned from a “crickey it’s hot “ kinda day into a “what the...?” moment. The wind had picked up and by the time we got out the car, it was 21 degrees. 

Once mostly unpacked, the kids took the kayaks (which I discovered had almost fallen off the roof racks during the trip here) and headed into the Lake, which seems to have a maximum depth of about 70cm. 

The wind and cloud cover kept changing the “feels like” temperatures to anything between 12 and 23 degrees, which resulted in me getting frustrated and burnt thanks to my laziness and lack of desire to go back to the van to find s jumper and hat. 

Tea tonight was some beautifully cooked Pork chops on the Weber with some equally beautifully prepared mixed salads. 

It very quickly turned too cold to sit up past dusk, so into the  van we migrated and off to bed. 

Weather is going to be similar tomorrow so we may end up driving and exploring yet. 

Inappropriate dress code

The days have progressively got warmer and my tracksuit pants were getting shabbier and dirtier. But it doesn’t matter because I didn’t bring any shorts or other pants or any non-camping clothes! 

That’s ok when you are just bumming around the campgrounds and not really trying to impress anyone, but not necessarily ok when you decide to go for a walk up the street to a swanky Gin bar. But in true Barty fashion, I did it anyway and couldn’t care less. The Gin was going to taste the same regardless of how disheveled I looked. 

What made this visit even more different was that we left the kids at the caravan park with 16 year old Darcy whilst we sauntered down the road for our tasting session. (Not sure that meets Parenting 101 rules, but......). 

Of course by the time we got back and had a bit more to drink and cooked tea, we were exhausted from our big day out and went to bed early. It was the hottest day since winter today and I vowed to shoot home to get some shorts tomorrow to be more comfortable in the forecast 28 degrees. 

Tomorrow arrived after the hottest night since April with a minimum overnight temp of 21 degrees. I cooked up brekky on the Weber, then went home to get some shorts. 

I arrived back at the resort in my shorts and Lily white legs, to be greeted with a thunderstorm and sudden temperature drop of about 10 degrees, along with some gusty wind bursts that made things uncomfortable every now and then. 

I was sheltering inside with Taz when the call for help arrived. 

Daniels erection couldn’t stand up in the stormy weather and was falling down around Olivia, mich to her dismay. There was only one thing to do, and that was to puff my chest out and make sure that my erection would see her through until Daniel got home from work. It was very quickly over, and Liv was smiling again, knowing that her awning was now safe and secure in the gusty wind. 

We all lazed our way through the afternoon whilst the kids did mini golf, swimming, table tennis and screen time and topped off with the now seemingly mandatory wine o’clock. 

Off home tomorrow with Tracy working whilst we unpack and clean up, but thanks to the long trip home (about 10 minutes), I am hoping we will get some more lazy time tomorrow afternoon. 

I need space

After a hard day at the office yesterday, I got back to the camp site to be greeted with 2 swags on our only green patch, bikes everywhere and some exhausted kids. It seems like the day had been a success and everyone was happy and smiling- Phew. 

I sat down with a bourbon and finished off some of the emails I hadn’t got to at work. I was also very happy to be told that the Mardle’s has found my GoPro outside their tent. The happiest part of this was that it turned out to be the one I had lost at our last camping trip, and not only had I now recovered nearly $600 of camera, but I also had all the pictures from that last trip. 

Saturday morning was upon us before we knew it, and so the  mandatory Weber breakfast cook up began. 

A very lazy day followed ( as it should when camping) with the kids playing mini golf, swimming and playing on the jumping pillow. 

The afternoon soon launched into Wine O’clock ( as it should when camping) with a quick kids friend exchange in between - Kayla’s friend Hattie going home with Dylan’s friend Archie arriving a couple of hours earlier. One swag disappears but a tent gets erected on our ever diminishing grass. 

Wine o’clock soon melded into nap time (as it should when camping) and I went to lay down for a few Zzzzzz’s, albeit very interrupted with the dog barking or kids screaming or Tracy continuously coming into the van for 4 different bottles of wine. 

I got up just in time to start the Weber for tea, averting the situation where Tracy may have needed to start cooking and putting me in a position where I had to pretend I was ok with her using it. 

It was a much warmer night tonight. We may actually make it later than a 9pm bedtime. 

The Big trip

The planning for this trip was simple. Close to home was the only requirement. 

So on Wednesday night we packed our clothes and some food, then tonight (Thursday) we left home and travelled 10km to the Hahndorf Big4 resort. 

I am going to work from here tomorrow, and Tracy is going to work on Tuesday. We are being visited by some of the kids mates with a sleepover on both Friday and Saturday night and I think there might even be some time left for us to relax. 

It is so cold tonight the Brass Monkeys are clanging with every step and making it seem like Santa Claus is ringing his bell through the park

Almost cold enough to send me home to sit in front of the fire. Almost

We opened up a bottle of wine and finished off the night with a bourbon or two, before climbing into bed in an attempt to warm up. 

I am back in my happy place, albeit for only one night but knowing after one more day st work, I have 4 days of camping. 

Time to go home

The worst part of any holiday is going home (in my mind anyway. We are 1633km away from home, towing 2.2 tonne of van, and some very weary legs, knees and children. 

The majority of this trip until we reach Pt Augusta is also without Telstra service. I am not sure how we are going to survive without posting hourly updates on Facebook .....

We had originally planned this part of the trip to take two nights, however we have agreed to just get up and drive until we can’t drive anymore, and see where that gets us. 

Despite a horrible headwind that meant I was chewing through closer to 18litrea per 100km instead of the normal 12-13, I kept my foot down and soldiered on. 

The kids kept themselves entertained in the back seat playing Minecraft on their iPad’s, whilst Tracy dozed and jumped out of her seat in fright occasionally when I powered over a cattle grid across the road. 

We eventually stopped at 5:30pm after a 8am start and could hardly walk. 

We were at a roadside stop (called Bon Bon) with about 10 other vans with another beautiful sunset and the most incredibly clear night sky I have seen. The stars and Milky Way are just amazing to see when there are no city lights around

It was also nice to have a night where the temperature stayed above 5 degrees again.....

The morning greeted us with our last country sunrise, before we started on the last leg home. 

This was a little slower and thankfully a little easier on the fuel use thanks to a tail wind. We stopped at Pt Augusta for lunch and gave the caravan a wash at one of the commercial wash bays, and then made a bee line to pick up our very missed and loved Taz from mums....

Battling peak hour Thursday night traffic with the van on the back is not my favourite thing to do, but we eventually got home and started the arduous task of emptying the van. 

The rains are coming tomorrow, so it is going to be fun removing everything that can be removed to try and get 6 weeks of red dust out of it, but I am sure every last bit of dust will be a reminder of the amazing journey we have just completed. 

And No... I am not going back to work tomorrow just because I got home a day early. 

(143 hours, not 43.....)

Our last walk

The sunrise over Uluru is supposed to be almost as spectacular as the sunset. Apparently. 

We get up at 6:15am in -2 degree weather and speed off into the darkness. Along with about 50 other cars in front of us. 

At least by the time we arrived at the Eastern car park and walked to the vantage spot, it had warmed up to 0 degrees. 

As we stood there in our our 4 layers of clothes, we heard somebody mention that the sunlight doesn’t reach this side of the rock in winter. It would have been really nice to have heard that yesterday 🤭

Once the sun was up and the temperature had dropped back to -1, we drove to the main car park and started our big base walk. 

There are many different areas of the rock that are fascinating to see from different angles, and despite still not being able to feel our fingers through the cold, we all chatted  about the adventures so far and what we interpreted from the story placards located around our trail, as well as what we had learned yesterday from the cultural tour. 

After what seemed to be an eternity, we reached the car park again. By now, both Tracy and I were not able to feel our knees and legs, and we collapsed into the car for a lazy afternoon. 2 hours and 50 minutes for nearly 11km. Certainly not any type of record, but a time that we will remember. 

Kata Tjuta - The Olga’s

Surprisingly we woke up able to walk and so headed back into the National Park. This time our destination is The Valley of the Winds , at The Olga’s. 

This turned out to be. 2.5 hour walk winding through the base of The Olga’s to an incredibly mesmerising two sided lookout. 

It was still mid morning so the North Eastern side was completely in shade, with the opposite side just starting to light up as the sun peered over the top. 

The composition of these rocks are very different to that of Uluru. This is a mixture of rock, mud, pebbles and granite formed hundreds of thousands of years ago, as opposed to the solid sandstone construction that is Uluru. 

The track led us through some warm sunny patches, to some cold windy valleys, to some shady rock filled mountain sides. We decided not to walk the 7.4km loop as the rest is just through scrub, so we turned around and once again hobbled back to the car,

After lunch we visited the local Arts and Cultural Centre in the Town Square, where they had a free tour by a local Aboriginal guide who told us all about the local wildlife, scrub and the beliefs surround Uluru and Kata Tjuta. 

It is always great to hear facts about the places we visit, rather than just looking  without understanding. 

Time to relax with a few beers, and get ready for sunrise viewing and the base walk tomorrow around Uluru. This is a 10.6km track with a few diversions to see local wall art and other interesting parts of  Uluru - neither of us are sure this is a good idea with our knees and legs feeling the way they are, however it is a goal we always said we would do, so we are determined to do (with a new box of Nurofen in our pockets!)

Uluru

We arrived at the campground at around 1pm, set up in the overflow area and then went into town to find the visitor centre and get ourselves orientated. The forecast was for another windy day tomorrow and hopefully calming down after that. 

Tonight we went to see Uluru at sunset, along with an incredibly expensive locally purchased bottle of wine and some beers, and some cheese, crackers & chips to celebrate my birthday that was on Thursday. 

Despite the cold, it was great to see this monolith change colours as the sun disappeared behind us. 

Morning came and we were back at The Rock prepared for the base walk around it. To our surprise it was open for climbers. I am not sure we knew what we were getting ourselves for bro, but 5 minutes later we were 50m up. 

History tells me I should have stopped there, however we continued the climb. Never in our lifetime did we imagine how much more difficult this was than what it appeared to be. But we did it. The climb had its moments with Dylan losing his hat in the wind, and the car key that was in a strap around my neck broke off and started rolling down. Thankfully Tyler was behind me and fearlessly leapt sideways to grab it without a second thought. (Apparently he has a fear about being stuck at Uluru for the rest of his life with a car but no key.  ). We got to the top of the chain section after a few rests and admired the view. “We’ve done it” we muttered to ourselves. 

Apparently not. 

Apparently, the end of the chain marks about 1/3 of the way. But it is also the hardest part. So off we went, up and down the valleys on top of this not so flat topped rock. In fact, some of the valleys up here were almost as difficult as the first section, especially for this of us with bung knees and the agility of a rhinoceros. 

But the views were fantastic and worth every minute of the climb. 

We had found out from all the people that passed us that the rangers had closed Uluru for climbing. They didn’t tell us the reason, however once we were at the final point and noticed we were the last ones here, we also noticed the wind was gusty and strong enough to carry me into the next Galaxy.  (That is one hell of a strong wind by the way...)

I also noticed a huge dust storm in the East getting closer to us by the minute, so we hurried off to begin our descent. 

By now, I had a real appreciation for why the rangers close Uluru for climbing. At times, we actually had to hide in valleys to stop being blown off, and it was getting quite frightening for the kids. 

As we approached the chain, I decided to forge ahead with Tyler and Kayla and get down as quickly as my knees would allow. Dylan had waited back to five Tracy some moral support as she occasionally slid down on her backside, and hobbled down backwards for the other parts, showing off her backside to all the amused spectators below watching us. 

But we did it. Sore as hell and 3 very relieved kids who had actually thought we weren’t going to make it at some stages when the wind howled through us, but we did it. 

Back to the caravan we went, had lunch, warm showers and a few beers. Not much else happened this afternoon... just chatting about the amazing experience we had just completed. 

Kings Canyon

It was freezing cold again in the morning, but we are in the middle of the Red Centre in August so we cannot expect anything different. 

This morning we drove past bro Kings Canyon and took off on the famous rim walk. This is a 6.3km walk that starts with 500 steps almost straight up made from natural rocks. Somehow I made it without having a heart attack and we began the remaining 6km walk. The surrounding rocks and bush made us feel like we were walking on the moon (but apparently I have never been to the moon so it wasn’t an accurate comparison). 

The kids were climbing on ever bit of  rock they could find and had to be reminded many times that there is a minimum 100m sheer vertical drop below them. 

It was nearly 2 1/2 hours later that we finally made it back. My knee had popped again about an hour earlier and I was hobbling down the mountain waiting for this moment to pop some pain killers, and the relief couldn’t have come soon enough. 

We had lunch that had been packed in our ever faithful cooler bag, and then headed back, but diverted off to Kathleen Springs. This was a Gorge that the early settlers used to heard cattle into with its never-empty water supply, and a narrow neck where they built a fence to keep them in until the trucks would arrive later in the week to cart the animals off to market. 

Dylan couldn’t contain himself, despite the rim walk earlier this morning, and jogged most of the track at least twice whilst we gobbled along slowly admiring our surroundings. 

We decided we hat we had seen all that we wanted to here, so tomorrow we were off to Uluru and hopefully achieving our goal to climb it. Assuming our knees will let us. And the wind

A long day driving

Our night of free camping was cold, but pleasant and uneventful. We were on the road by about 9:30 for an hour and a half to Alice Springs. Here we found the mandatory Woolworths stop, and stocked up for the next week. It was actually nice to be not spending $6:50 on a loaf of bread or nearly the same for 2 litres of milk. 

The big error in our plans was, however, that none of the bottle shops open in the NT until 2pm. And I had not a drop of beer or bourbon left in the van. Looks like I will be getting into the 5l cask of port that has been stashed in the van since we left home. 

Lunch was some dry over cooked pies, pasties and sausage rolls from the Stuart’s Well roadhouse where we stopped for fuel, because I stupidly forgot to fill up in Alice where the price was semi reasonable

Not long after turning right at Erldunda, we realised how hard the last 200km of this trip was going to be. There was a headwind or at least 50 knots and the dust storm created, made visibility almost zero at some stages. 

I was now chewing through diesel at an average of 21 litres per 100km, rather than the usual 13. At an expected refill price of $2:15 a litre, this was not the welcoming trip I was hoping for. 

And once we had finally passed through the dust, the rain clouds appeared and even slightly dampened the windscreen for a moment. This was when we made the choice to go to Kings Canyon first, and try Uluru later. Our goal is to get to climb the rock, and with this weather, I expect it is going to be closed for a few days

We stopped at Kings Creek Station which is about 30 minutes short of the Canyon, and set up in the red dust. This is actually the reddest and dustiest stop we have had so far. And with the light rain falling, we were now being also welcomed with red mud

The site was pretty basic, but nice enough. The rain eventually stopped, the clouds disappeared and a beautiful cold night descended. 

The home journey begins.

it was time to say goodbye to Kakadu and begin our South bound journey.

Almost. 

We had just over an hour and a half in the car before unhitching the van at the Rangers Station and tearing down 60Km of dirt road to Gunlom Falls. This time we had no expectations of seeing running water, but did know that there will be rock pools for swimming. 

The walk was graded as steep and strenuous. Easy for us I am sure. 

Well..... after about 40 minutes of climbing rocks up the side of a mountain and my heart stopping twice whilst my calves were burning more than Satan’s backyard, we made it. And once again, it was well worth the effort. This time, we were swimming in “The Infinity Pools”, where they overlook the ginormous cavern that we just climbed, and appear to not have an edge. 

Despite the general green look of the water, it was crystal clear as always and cool and refreshing. 

After an hour of paddling and washing off the layers of expunged sweat, we dried off and got dressed, ready for the descent down the “steep and strenuous” rocks. 

Arriving back at the car sweatier than a barramundi at Cahill’s Crossing, we raced back to the van in air conditioned comfort, and had our usual lunch break. 

We were now on the road back to Mataranka. We had called in on the way up, but will now be staying at the Little Roper campground so we can enjoy a relaxing swim in the natural hot springs. There was also a performance on tonight by Nathan “Whippy” Griggs who is actually a World record holder in 3 different topics of whip cracking. And he was amazing. A super talented 26 year old country kid who specialises in making and cracking whips. The kids were mesmerised by him and felt chuffed to be able to have their photo taken with him. 

The swimming pools here in Mataranka must be seen (and swam in) to be truly appreciated. Perfectly pure clean water that has 31 million litres of water a day flowing out of the limestone into the pools and then into the riverways, free for everyone to use. 

The Stockcamp we are staying in has its own unique way of keeping everyone happy. They bake bread every morning and sell it to whoever wants a loaf. They also have a variety of snakes that are brought out for the kids. This morning it was two small children’s pythons. Dylan and Kayla couldn’t get enough of them, whilst Tyler stood back and Tracy locked herself in the van. 

This stage of our journey had now also come to an end. Tomorrow is a huge day. Driving from Mataranka to as close as possible to Alice Springs. Which turned out to be a roadside rest area approximately 940 km away. A big day in the car, but allowed us to fit in the next stages of our trip without rushing. 

Tomorrow is shopping day in Alice before heading off to Uluru.