Grey ROWEmads

09/07/2024

📍 Next stop was 4 nights at the much maligned Alice Springs. We approached our stay here with some trepidation but an open mind after hearing lots of people say don’t stay there, there’s a lot of trouble etc etc and we are glad we did as we thoroughly enjoyed our time here in Alice. We stayed at a fabulous gated caravan park which gave us peace of mind on security and we chose not to venture out at after dark as a precaution but honestly did not hear anything to worry us and felt very safe and relaxed. The Discovery caravan park had some kind of activity on most nights including free entertainment and food trucks or pancake breakfasts which was great. Highly recommend staying here. Each day we headed out to explore the region and the township with its many attractions including the Old telegraph station, the original Alice spring and Rob was in heaven at the Road Transport Museum and we were lucky enough to catch The Ghan while in town. We also headed out to explore the West MacDonnell Ranges which we just loved and were in awe of Simpsons Gap, Ellery Big Hole, Ochre pits and Ormiston Gorge. Even though it was a beautiful 27 deg it was wayyyy to cold to swim in any of these places the water was like ice 🤣 but I can see how they would be absolutely amazing in summer to paddle around in, we will definitely have to come back in the warmer months for that experience. Unfortunately we didn’t get to see Standley Chasm as it was closed for sorry business (due to a family death) ☹️ so that is on the next time list as well. We also went out to check out Hermannsburg which is now an aboriginal community but was the first and longest running aboriginal mission in Australia run by the Lutheran church. It was also the birthplace of famed artist Albert Namitjira and we visited his home he built near Hermannsburg from the proceeds of selling his paintings in Melbourne. All in all we had a fantastic time in Alice Springs, there is a lot to see and we could have spent a couple more days there very easily, we would definitely stop and stay there again without hesitation.

07/07/2024

📍 Next stop was to travel back along the Red Centre Way 273 klms to the Stuart highway to stay the night at Erldunda Desert Oaks Resort which is a very fancy name for a roadhouse caravan park 🤣. In fairness it does have a restaurant and bar as well as a very nice pool and also has an Emu sanctuary and a resident camel 🐫. It also boasts to be the gravitational centre of Australia but this is under dispute what is the true centre due to different calculation methods (see attached pic for explanation) nevertheless we were definitely in Central Australia 😊. It was a good place to stop for an overnighter on your travels up to Alice Springs or out to Uluru or Kings Canyon.

07/07/2024

📍 Next stop was Kings Canyon. We stayed at the Kings Canyon Resort for 2 nights which was a really well set up park providing excellent facilities including a fantastic outdoor sunset bar and viewing deck as well as a heated resort bar & restaurant for those cool nights. After travelling 324klms getting there we spent our first night enjoying the sunset bar and chatting to some other travelers, one couple we met were from the next suburb to us 🤣 (it really is a small world 🌎).
The next day we drove out to Kings Canyon to tackle the feared Rim walk. To say I was nervous was an understatement as plenty of people had told me it was extremely hard particularly at the start going up and they were not exaggerating, by geez it was hard and steep and straight up and just when you think you got to the top there’s another similar climb 🧗 all over again 😱 eventually after several stops to catch my breath we got to the top and spent the next 3 hours tackling the rim walk. To say that was the hardest thing this old 57 year old not skinny and not super fit person has done is an understatement but was it worth it - HELL YEAH! Views to die for (nearly literally lol) and a fabulous sense of achievement. The pictures don’t really do the reality of it justice, I hope you enjoy them as they were bloody hard work to get 🤣

07/07/2024

📍Next stop was the main event, 3 nights at Yulara at the Ayres Rock Resort campground to visit Uluru and Kata Tjuṯa - The Olga’s. The rock was as expected, very big and very red at different times of the day (especially sunset). We enjoyed both a sunset from the rock viewing area and from the campground lookout and we also enjoyed a sunset from The Olga’s one other night as well. To be completely honest with you all I was a little bit underwhelmed by Uluru 🤣 was it worth the 300+ kilometer detour from the highway 🤔 well, yes it was worth seeing, would I go again? Probably not, I think seeing it at least once in your life is probably plenty enough 😊 I’m sure there’s plenty of other people with very differing opinions on that and that’s completely fine, this is why we are all different, wouldn’t life be boring otherwise 😉 We enjoyed a few walks around the base of the rock, we didn’t do a complete full lap around (10klms) but did about 7.8ks on the two gorge /base walks which showed off all the varying surfaces and we could check out some caves and gorges which was pretty cool.
On day 2 we visited the Camel farm and museum, that was absolutely fantastic and very informative learning all about how camels came to Australia and their input into building infrastructure and railway etc you could also wander around the camel pens and get up close and personal, they’re very funny creatures 🐪🐫
On the second last day we drove out to Kata Tjuṯan and enjoyed the very pretty 2.2klm Valley of the Winds walk but did not enjoy the flies 🪰 out there lol Another lovely sunset and a 50klm drive back to campsite in the pitch black was interesting 😬 😬 Overall it was a very enjoyable few days.

27/06/2024

📍 Next stop was the NT border, it was so great to be back in the NT again, you could feel the days getting warmer the closer you got. We traveled onto Kulgera which is another roadhouse stop with some quirky features including the BIG beer can, the shoe line and the pub with the most bras 🤣

27/06/2024

27/06/2024

📍 Next stop was the opal mining town of Coober Pedy, famous for its stunning opals and its underground lifestyle. We had a great time visiting Tom’s underground mine and noodling around looking to strike it rich (no such luck)🤣 The underground Serbian church was fascinating as were the other attractions, 360deg cinematic experience, big winch. Our accommodation at Coober Pedy views was great perched up on an embankment with fantastic views over the Breakaways. To top our visit off we had a quick catch up with some friends we originally met in Darwin on our lap, Ben & Shanen and the gorgeous Hercules the dog who were passing through Coober Pedy on our second day there, it was so great to see them again 🥰 you really meet the best people travelling.

27/06/2024

📍Next pit stop was a visit to Kokatha - Lake Hart salt lakes, sometimes pink sometimes not 🤣 it was a good chance to stretch the legs on these big drive days. A bonus to see a wild family of emus on the walk back to the car 🥰

27/06/2024

📍 Next stop was an overnighter at Spuds Roadhouse Pimba. The Pimba progress association provides an excellent area beside the roadhouse for self contained vans to pull up for the night providing excellent bathroom facilities and exercise equipment for a $5 donation. The adjoining roadhouse provided good meals and vibrant bar area. It was a great safe place for a stopover.

27/06/2024

📍Next stop was the historic town of Burra SA in the beautiful Clare Valley for a couple of days. The town was established in 1851 and its main economy was provided by the Burra Burra Copper mine which at the time supplied 85% of Australia’s and 5% of the world’s copper supplies. There was several well preserved historic buildings around town and the surrounding area which was really interesting. It is also home to the most photographed ruin what’s known as the “Midnight Oil” house which you may recognize from the cover of the Diesel & Dust album. We also toured around the surrounding townships of Farrell Flat, Clare, Wirrabarra and Eudunda ticking off some more impressive Silo Art. Overall an interesting region to visit 😊

15/06/2024

After a couple days delayed start 🤬 we finally got away Wednesday afternoon to start our 5 week trip to Central Australia 🎉 we hot footed it up to Sea Lake the first afternoon and free camped the night behind the Royal Hotel where we enjoyed a delicious dinner & a few drinks - highly recommend a stop here 😊. Next morning we headed off again, we were planning to stop at Lake Tyrell but the weather gods were not on our side 😭 so the first stop was a bit further up in the tiny town of Walpeup to check out a painted silo we hadn’t seen previously. It was beautifully done with great detail that the pics done do it the justice it deserves. We continued on and silly Debra made a rookie mistake and completely forgot about the border crossing 🤦‍♀️ so it was bye bye bananas, mandarins and tomatoes that I had just brought 🤣🙄 we crossed into SA and continued on to the riverside town of Berri (home of the Berri Estates). We set up camp for the next 2 nights at Martin’s Bend reserve right on the edge of the Murray River, it has a beautiful view of the river straight across from your campsite with loads of birdlife and lots of serenity. I can imagine in summer it would be chockablock and priced at only $5 per night you cannot complain!
The next day we had a look at the surrounding townships of Renmark (Paddle-steamers), Paringa (historical sites and more silos), Barmara (Lake Bonney) and Kingston on Murray (Banrock Station winery). We arrived back to our campsite to discover they’re had been a huge downpour while we were out and that we were now marooned on our own private island 🏝️ lol and to think people pay big $$ for that privilege 🤣🤣 ahhh the joys of winter travels 🥶❄️⛈️☔️