Alice, Grandma, Jack and the Rocks!

We headed south towards Alice Springs where we would pick up Lou’s Mum and take her with us to Kings Canyon and Uluru.  We had a couple of overnight free camps on the way, the first of which was so lovely that had we not needed to meet a plane, we would have stayed at an extra day just to relax and enjoy the surroundings.  It is called Longreach Waterhole (or Lake Wood), down 12kms of dirt and sand road near the town of Elliot.   The road winds though pretty boring scrub and paddock land, fenced on either side, but then you pop out in a clearing in front of a beautiful lake with campsites dotted all along the shores. 

Great view at the free camp.

It stretches for kilometres each way and there were only about 5 other campsites taken at the far end so it was like we had the place to ourselves.  We parked the van facing the water and watched the birds and clouds as the sun set right in front of us.

The peace and quiet was shattered several hours later as we sat watching a movie.  Around 9pm we saw a flash out of the window and thought someone was outside with a torch.  A short time later there was a mighty crash and the heavens opened.  Crazy wind gusts buffeted the van and the rain was so heavy and loud hitting the roof that we had to turn off the movie as we couldn’t hear it!  Somehow Ben slept through the whole thing.  The rain and wind continued for a few hours but in the morning when we opened the blinds it was sunny and the skies were clear again.

The storm was obviously moving south as we caught the back of it as we continued towards Alice Springs though Tennant Creek to Ti Tree.  By the time we got to the free camp at Ti Tree, the roads were awash and it was spitting but thankfully there was no more stormy weather.

As we passed through the town of Aileron the following morning we noticed a giant statue of an Aboriginal Warrior on top of a hill overlooking the township.  He holds a spear and stands just above some enormous white letters spelling out the name of the town, Hollywood style.  This remarkable sight definitely warranted a closer look so we pulled off the highway into the art gallery to check it out. 

Tall man behind the Aileron sign.

As we parked, we saw another giant statue, this one an Aboriginal female standing at the edge of the carpark.  

Female statue in the carpark.

The owner of the gallery said we could climb the hill to look at the warrior statue so we headed around the back of the building, along the trail towards the hill.  The trail passes a paddock containing a huge pet pig and a pet kangaroo with the most enormous arms we had ever seen.  He looked like he was on steroids.  Ben loved the animals and stood chatting to them through the fence as long as he could.  

Roo and Pig.  The pic doesn't really show how enormous the roo's muscles are.

The climb up the hill was not too hard and we got fantastic panoramic views from the top.  The statue is a fibreglass sculpture and is around 20m high.  It’s an amazing thing to find in such a remote location. 

Panorama from the top.

We made it to Alice Springs and stayed at the Big 4 holiday park there.  They are totally set up for kids and have playgrounds, 2 jumping pillows, a BMX track, 4 pools and a brilliant water slide.  It was bucketing down rain and was cold though!  We were amazed that after having spent the previous 6 weeks in 35+ degree temperatures, it could get so cold so quickly moving south.  We were dying and had to dig out all our warm clothes (which we didn’t have many of!)

The following day our good friends Sue and Dave and their son Jack (one of Ben’s best friends) arrived in Alice for a red centre holiday.  They came to visit us and had a swim/water slide in the Big 4 pool.  It was so awesome to see them!  We went out to Anzac Hill and then to the RSL for dinner.  The boys had crazy fun playtime, reconnecting without issues despite not having seen each other since January. 

We said goodbye to them that night but planned to meet up with them at Uluru in a few days time.  It would be Ben’s birthday and we planned a birthday dinner at one of the Uluru resort restaurants.

After doing a huge shop we headed to the airport to pick up Lou’s Mum (aka Grandma).  Ben was super excited and when he saw her he ran up, gave her a huge cuddle and then didn’t leave her side.  We loaded her bag into the car and then set off for Kings Canyon.

That night Grandma had her first taste of free camping as we stopped for the night at the Salt Creek rest stop.  It is a big, clean space but doesn’t have toilets like many rest stops do.  It does have a resident dingo who isn’t shy about walking up and sniffing around for food though and that was quite an experience for her.  We had a camp fire and rejigged our sleeping arrangements so that she wouldn’t need to try to squeeze into a caravan bunk.  Jenny had that honour and it actually worked out well.

Free camping at Salt Creek with Grandma.

Kings Canyon

We arrived at Kings Canyon the following afternoon and set off to do the 6.5km walk around the rim.  It starts with 500 really steep, uneven steps. Despite giving it a crack, after the first 40, Grandma sensibly decided that she would give it a miss and meet us at the end.  

Setting off up those crazy hard steps.

It was a very good decision as the walk is hard and long, especially in the full sun (it had warmed up thankfully!).  We did the 6.5km in around 3 hours and Ben was awesome.  He is like a little rock wallaby, sure footed and energetic.  The views were spectacular and well worth the effort.

Winding through the rocks.

Amazing rock walls.

Surprise!

The weight of the rock (before it cracks off) causes semi circular stress  lines.

  

On the homeward stretch!

We went back to the van briefly for an icy pole and to pick up Grandma and then we all did an easy 2.5km walk through the trees along the floor of the canyon.  At the end of the walk you can see into the canyon and get glimpses of the amazing rocky walls.  Ben was still rock hopping, even after the earlier walk and we were all very impressed with his stamina.

Walk into the canyon at ground level.

We ended up driving back to the Salt Creek free camp as the one we had planned to stay at closer to Kings Canyon was closed off.  It meant we got to camp after dark but also saved us some driving time the following day.

Uluru and Kata Tjuta

We stayed at the Ayers Rock Resort campground and explored Uluru and Kata Tjuta  (The Olgas) over the next week. 

We met up with Sue, Dave and Jack again for a few days of fun and thoroughly explored the rocks at all times of day (including a sunrise or two!)

 

Here are highlights:

Ben’s Birthday!

Grandma had brought presents, including a gift from Jenny’s Mum, and we had decorated the van with balloons and streamers.  Lou baked a super chocolately cake in the van which turned out surprisingly well but the heat made icing it tricky.  It was covered with M&Ms and had chocolate biscuit sticks all around the edges, but it was so warm in the van that the icing wouldn’t set and the biscuits kept sliding sideways. 

Caravan cake!

Family birthday!

We had a birthday dinner with Sue, Dave and Jack that night and took the cake for dessert.  I asked the waiter to put it in their fridge and he looked at it closely and said “Absolutely, and I’ll have the chef fix it up for you.”   They were awesome and it came out looking as good as new!

Ben and Jack about to divvy up the chocolate biscuits.

Sue, Dave and Jack ‘took the cake’ for great birthday fun surprises though.  Part of their very generous present was a book called “The 13 Storey Treehouse” which is silly and funny and a current hit amongst the prep age group.  Ben absolutely LOVES it and asked us to read it to him at least three times every hour. We have since bought him every book in the series (26, 39, 52, 65 and 78 Storey Treehouses and the activity book) and even weeks later, as soon as he wakes he asks us to read it, whenever we drive, when we stop, while we make dinner, before bed…. “Mummy, can you read me another chapter please??”  It’s brilliant.  We are about to start “The 65 Storey Treehouse” and when we asked what he will do when we finish the last book, he said “read them all again.”  

Uluru

Uluru is awesome and we went there several times.  Every visit and every angle you see it from provides a new perspective and greater appreciation for its grandeur.  We did short walks at the base as well as Jenny and Lou doing the full base walk.  On that day, Ben rode his bike and Grandma walked 2km of it before they then took a further 2km trek down a trail to the visitor centre where they hung out until we got back. 

Riding around the base (some of it anyway)

On the walk with Grandma.

Rest stop on an amazing branch bench.

A shade stop.

Two cheeky monkeys having a brilliant time.

Kata Tjuta

We went out to Kata Tjuta a couple of times too.  The first time we did the short Walpa Walk, into a gorge and on the second visit we did part of the Valley of the Winds walk.  I suppose we shouldn’t have been surprised, the Valley of the Winds walk was INSANELY windy.  We got to the first lookout and the wind was howling, hats were flying off and Ben couldn’t even stand up straight.  He and Grandma were going to walk back to the car while Jenny and Lou continued on but we had to accompany them so far back down the trail to make sure they weren’t going to be blown over that we decided we had done enough. 

On the Walpa Walk.

Found a passing tourist to take a family shot.

Panorama of Kata Tjuta.

An interesting fact that we learned about Kata Tjuta is the translation of the name.  The Aboriginal dialect here (and other places) has words for one, two and three only.  Anything more than three is ‘Tjuta’.  Kata means ‘heads’.  There are 36 rocks, so the name translates as ‘More than three heads’  

Cultural Activities

There were many cultural activities to see at the resort and we got to as many as we could.

We saw traditional dancing and had pics with the warriors.

Ben and Jack with the performers.

The Mani Mani theatre was really interesting.  They acted out a traditional story about the Eagle, Crow and Cockatoo using a combination of lighting, stage props and actors.  It was a fascinating story and technically really well done.  

 

We also listened to a hunting talk where a local indigenous hunter, Lester, showed and talked about all the different weapons used.  It was brutally honest and there was a lot of frank description of how to break animals’ legs, how and why they are killed quickly, how the spears stick into ribcages and so on.   

Lester - super interesting talk.

Lou, Jenny and Grandma found it really interesting while Ben lasted about 5 minutes before spying a row of nearby park benches and running off to do parkour on them instead.  

If it can be jumped over, he will....

It was a brilliant week and we absolutely loved catching up with friends and family.  We were very sad to take Grandma to the airport at the end of it and she was equally sad to be heading home.

Farewell awesome friends!

The sad day had come.  Today we would part with Ross, Barb and Daniel as they headed east and we headed for Alice Springs to pick up Lou’s Mum for a Red Centre adventure.

We decided to have a final lunch together at the iconic Daly Waters Pub and were unlucky to arrive 5 minutes before a pipe burst somewhere and they lost all their water.  Most of us were busting to go to the loo but the lack of flushability meant that the toilets were closed :(

Entrance to the pub.

The pub is pretty amazing.  We heard that it is up for sale for $4 million and even though it is such a famous historical landmark and tourist attraction, that seems really steep.  It is deliberately shabby and the walls in the bar are totally covered with shirts, undies, bras, money and every kind of ID card imaginable.  People have stapled their drivers licenses, concession cards, university ID cards, work ID cards, CFA badges, several European documents that look like passports and military name patches.  If you ever turn to a life of crime and need to assume a new identity, this is the place to come!

The outside bar is adorned with akubras, thongs (the shoe kind) and vehicle number plates from every state and several overseas countries.  We were imagining all kinds of people sitting there having a drink or three and deciding that ripping the number plates off their car and nailing them to the wall is a good idea. 

Cash - in many many currencies.

After lunch we said our goodbyes and Daniel gave Ben a cardboard plane that he had made.  It was very sweet and Ben loves it.  He’s talked about Daniel every day since and can’t wait to see him when they get back home (we will be back a few weeks before them and Ben may well wait for them on their doorstep!)

Great mates!

It was a very short parting as we accidentally met up again at the local service station when we both refuelled so we had another goodbye before finally, really going our separate ways.  The boys said goodbye to each other over the UHF radios until we finally drove out of range.

What a brilliant few months we have had travelling with them.  We headed south and as Ben asked the first of a million “when will I see Daniel again?” questions, we were glad that we had a visit from Grandma, a rendezvous with his friend Jack and a birthday for him to look forward to.

Mataranka of the Never Never

As we packed up before heading to Mataranka, the bracket holding the TV up on the wall spontaneously ripped out of the panel it was screwed into.  Lou was standing in the doorway talking to Ross when they heard a commotion and they turned in time to see the TV plummeting to the floor.  Luckily, it was plugged into all the cables which attach to the ceiling and that broke its fall somewhat.  The TV landed on a corner and the antennae cable ripped out of the back.  Somehow it didn’t shatter and when we tested it, it still played DVDs fine.  The big issue was that when the antenna ripped out of the back it took most of the connection point on the TV with it.  The result was that we couldn’t watch any free to air, which was a big pain given Ben’s newfound obsession with Zumbo’s Just Desserts and also with the AFL Grand Final approaching.  We spoke to New Age (again!) and they said they would send us a replacement TV to Alice Springs where we are heading in a couple of weeks.  Jenny decided to fix the bracket herself as she had discovered that they had screwed the original one into a thin wall with short screws.  She bought longer screws and went in search of a hunk of wood that she could glue and screw in the wall cavity as plating  to provide extra purchase.

Onwards to Mataranka…

The area around Mataranka is where the book and movie ‘We of the Never Never’ is set.  There is a lot of memorabilia, a couple of museums and some well-worn statues there and Jenny was keen to watch the film ‘on location’.  She had wanted to do the same with Wolf Creek but we weren’t able to take the van down to the Wolf Creek crater for that viewing (which Lou was very happy about!)

Luckily, when we visited the ‘Never Never Museum’ they were selling copies of the film so we purchased one on the way in.  As it turns out, the DVDs on the front counter are about as ‘Never Never’ related as the museum gets.  It is mainly town history and a lot of WW2 memorabilia.  As with many areas of the NT, Mataranka saw a lot of armed forces activity and the descriptions of living conditions at the time are dreadful.  Anyone who served up here during those terrible years should get a medal, even if they never saw direct action.  Surviving the heat, bugs, crocodiles, mosquitos, diseases, snakes, spiders, lizards, wet, humidity, vast distances and many other challenges was a miracle in itself.  

For our real ‘Never Never’ experience, we visited the reconstructed ‘Elsey Homestead’ which is the relocated replica of the original house that was used in the movie.  The interior has furniture from the set and there are several dresses worn by Angela Punch McGregor who starred as Jeanie Gunn in the film. 

Outside the Elsey Homestead.

Despite its historical renown and celluloid credentials, Mataranka is best known for its hot springs.   There are two to visit, the Mataranka Hot Springs and Bitter Springs. 

Mataranka Springs is the most well known but to be honest, we found it a little underwhelming.   It is smaller than we anticipated and it has been paved, so it is more like a public swimming pool (albeit a very warm one) than a natural hot spring.  The hot springs in Katherine are much better, as are the Buley Rock Holes in Litchfield (although Buley aren’t hot springs, they are certainly warm enough). 

Ben enjoying Mataranka Springs.

After taking a dip with a zillion other tourists, we left and headed into town to take some cheesy photos with statues of the film characters which dot the parkland there.  

Jenny and Ross.

Lou with Jeannie and Aeneas Gunn.

Jenny was delighted to find a giant fake termite mound that was covered with spray on render and had a bull’s head embedded in it.  She does love tacky monuments.

Happy dance at the fake termite mound.

We headed for Bitter Springs and as the kiwis would say, it was much ‘bitter’ than the pool at Mataranka. For a start, it was still in its natural state, other than for some paved steps to make getting in and out easier and safer.  We’d been told that you can drift downstream in the water and then walk back up a path to the entry point so we went prepared.  We took thongs as the return path is rocky and in order to carry them, everyone had a floatation ‘noodle’ with a thong stuck on each end.  Ben had his Wahu vest with thongs laced through the straps.

The water was really warm and the current made for a leisurely float down the river.  There were bits of algae in the water, submerged logs and grasses growing beneath us while we were surrounded by trees and blue skies.  We passed through a few smelly sections but just made fart jokes and carried on.  We ended up with some great underwater footage of Ross kicking and turning in the water, which Jenny put to music and edited to make a very funny synchronised swimming video.

Noodles and thongs ready!

That night Jenny saw a snake in the toilet block area. There was also a cane toad (that Ross whacked with a door mat) but the snake seemed to know to keep away from it.  The caravan park owner told us that the cane toads had decimated snake numbers over recent years and she was glad to hear that there were still some around.

Snake vs toad.

Later on we experienced a ‘top end’ rain dump.  Luckily Lou was still awake around midnight when the rain started and she ran outside to grab the washing off the line and put away the camp chairs.  Ross was also out putting chairs away and bringing their washing in too.  It was good timing, as just as we got back into our vans the heavens opened and it absolutely bucketed down.  

Unfortunately, we were getting close to the end of our time with Ross, Barb and Daniel.  When we hit Daly Waters, they would head east and we would continue south.  The boys were not happy about this situation as they get along so well and did not want to be parted at all.  It has been brilliant for Ben to have company and Daniel is one of the nicest kids we have met.  We would miss Ross and Barb a lot too.  They have been brilliant to travel with and we were all a little surprised to realise that it had been 5 months since we first met and around 3 since we have been travelling together.  In that time, we have done so many great things with them, had heaps of laughs, learned a lot (Ross is a walking encyclopaedia), laughed at how similar Ross/Jenny and Barb/Lou are, caught very few fish, played a lot of cards and generally had an awesome time.  We’re really glad that they live so close to us back home!