Lorelei’s
Sailing Outback Adventures
At the end of
Episode 48, we had finished Lorelei’s refit, flown to Sydney and joined Paul’s
parents George and Chez on a 7 week, 7500+km road trip from Sydney to Darwin
covering the 3 states of NSW, SA and NT.
The NSW leg
was completed at it was on to South Australia.
Our route for this
Episode of the Blog.
We left NSW
beaming after a great experience at Silverton NSW where Paul was able to get
some fantastic night photos of the old buildings.
From there we
crossed the border into South Australia.
We had to go
through a quarantine checkpoint and the not so friendly guy took all of our
fruit and vegetable.
He said he
had to take anything with seeds but still took things like cut pumpkin that we
brought with the seeds removed, spring onions, etc…
We were a bit
unhappy as we had just stocked up at Woolworths the day before and now it was
all gone.
Stupidly
enough we drove 200km, walked into the next Woolworths a few days later and
brought exactly the same produce, for the same prices, with the same stickers
on them, etc, etc….
It’s not like
we are against quarantine and are very used to it when transiting between
countries on-board Lorelei but this was completely silly…..
The first
overnight stop in South Australia was Burra.
On the way
into Burra we stopped at a well-known house on the side of the road.
It is referred
to as the Midnight Oil house as it appeared on the front cover of the iconic
Australian rock band Midnight Oil’s famous album Diesel and Dust.
The area also
had stacks of Wind Generators which look huge up on the ridge line.
The train
also came along at the same time.
Burra is an
old Copper Mining Town that started its first open cut copper mine around 1870.
Since then
mining has stopped and the town is vastly reduced in size.
It was a trip
down memory lane for Paul and George.
George was
sent here in the early 1970’s to oversee the building of a copper smelter. It
was to take many months so the entire family moved to Burra from the NSW
Central Coast. Paul was 4 at the time and still has some memories of the place.
We spent a
day walking around the old abandoned mine and visiting the towns attractions.
The open cut mine is now
filled with water.
It is very green in colour from the copper leeching.
We went to
have a look at the old railway station and found a couple of wild Kangaroos
which we got very close to.
Due to the
freezing overnight temperatures we decided to hire an old renovated Miners
Cottage.
It had loads
of old school charm. The walls were stone and about 2 feet thick!
If only the walls could have talked about the
history….
A couple of
Cook-A-Burras!
Sorry that’s an Aussie
Joke……
That night
Paul hiked back up to the abandoned mine to attempt his first star trail photo.
He had
brought all the equipment necessary a few months prior and was itching for a
chance to try it all out.
The most
difficult thing was the photo had to been taken looking exactly due south to
get the circle of stars right in the middle of the photo.
It was a
little unnerving for Paul walking around the mine site in pitch blackness with
single digit temperatures at all hours of the night and using a compass app on
the IPad to try and align a due south photo.
Eventually he
settled on an old smoke stack built in 1875.
By fluke he
got the stack and star circle just right and the 2 hour long photo turned out
great. Beginners Luck!!!
The next
morning it was very cold and we took off early to head towards The Spencer
Gulf.
Frost on the ground and
foggy conditions leaving Burra
Once at
Spencer Gulf, we drove along the coast visiting the 3 ports of Port Pirie, Port
Germaine and Port Augusta.
Port Pirie is
a very industrial area that is a town in trouble with scaling back of large
business and many vacant shops.
The Port Pirie Yacht
Club had only 1 yacht and 2 old power boats
Port Germaine
is famous for Sand Crabs!
It has the
longest timber jetty in Australia and the tourists flock there in Crab season
(the summer months) to catch Crabs.
There are
places that will rent you a cart with crab pots so you can walk out to the
wharf and put them in yourself.
The caravan
park across the road has huge boilers and steamers for general use so you can
cook them up straight away.
Port Augusta
is the largest of the 3 towns and has a nice foreshore area and quaint feel
about it compared to the more industrial Port Pirie.
Once we left
the water, it was a long and very windy drive to Woomera.
The head wind
kept speeds (and fuel efficiency) well down.
It was quite
flat for most of the way with red earth, salt pans and salt bush.
To say
Woomera is an interesting place is a large understatement!!
Woomera was
established at the end of WW2 when the Germans developed the V2 missile. It was
the first intercontinental rocket and it decimated London as it could be
launched unmanned from The Netherlands, was undetectable by radar and carried a
large 1 tonne bomb.
The UK had no
answer for it and nothing to match it.
So after the
war they wanted to develop and test a similar missile to the V2 and with the
help of modern day Aussie pioneer Len Beardell, chose the area at Woomera as a rocket
range.
Over 4000 missiles
were tested and fired from the range from 1947 to 1980.
The site was
then used to launch rockets capable of reaching outer space and to carry
satellites.
It is still
in use today as a testing range for all types of aircraft and there are rumours
it will become a joint US/AUS air force base.
We went to
the museum and info centre which was very informative and well laid out.
The Woomera
Caravan Park was a wild scene that afternoon!!!
It was brown
and desolate with a crazy cloud pattern in the sky and very strong winds.
We elected
not to put the tent up after seeing other tents nearly being destroyed in the
wind.
Instead we
hired an onsite cabin and the 4 of us cooked and ate in there and watched the
Friday night AFL game.
The next
morning Paul rang his Mum Diann for mother’s day and she says “Have you heard
about the huge storm? It’s heading your way?”
Well we did
know about a storm but not about the severity of it.
Over the next
few days it dumped water all over the central desert area.
Many roads
were cut including the main highway and the road to Ayers Rock/Uluru.
Hundreds of Caravans
and Motorhomes were stuck unable to move towns and there was a graziers/livestock
alert across the area.
We left in a
hurry and made our way 300klm north to Coober Pedy planning to outrun the
vicious storm which was hopefully going to track south of us.
On the way
north we stopped at Lake Hart for a look.
We also
walked along the train tracks for the famous Ghan Railway.
We found this destroyed
Wicked Campervan at the base of a
4WD track where it certainly should not have been…..
By the time
we arrived in Coober Pedy it was blowing Dogs off Chains and the windmills were
spinning very fast.
The self-contained
units were very expensive and the caravan park owners said we could pick any caravan/tent
site we wanted. We drove around until we found the wind blowing over a large
colourbond fence and set up camp in the reasonably protected lee of the fence.
That’s the
sailors influence coming out in us…..
The wind
slowly dropped on dusk making for a red sunset.
Paul was able
to take a star trail shot after dark when the wind dropped right out.
We found lots of Grasshoppers in the park and on our tent.
Wespent a
full day exploring town.
Coober Pedy
is the Opal capital of the world.
Whilst there
are many Opal fields in outback Australia, Coober Pedy has the largest amount of
Opal mines and produces the most amount of Opal.
In the
morning we went to the lookout and had a drive around the town centre.
70% of the
town’s 2500 people live underground and it is evident when you look from the
lookout and see the front facade of a house only on a rock face. The
ventilation tubes up the rock slope are the only indication of the rest of the
house being underground.
In the
afternoon we went on a tour with Stuart Outback Tours.
It was run
through the caravan park and we were the only 4 booked on so it was very
personal.
We went to
see some new underground houses being built.
We had a
laugh at the sign on the 18 hole golf course.
There was not
a single piece of natural grass to be found.
The whole of
the outskirts of town has thousands of piles of Mullock heaps (discarded piles
of rocks & earth) from the Opal mines.
We saw lots
of birds in the scrub area around the Mullock heaps.
We visited an
underground church which had a huge main room and lots of smaller rooms.
The shape of
the cuts in the roof looked great and made for an excellent design.
We visited an
underground museum that was once a full working mine.
It was huge
and a terrific experience.
On dusk Paul
went into town to photograph some of the old machinery using time exposures and
light painting with a powerful torch.
The Greek
owner of the caravan park makes a fantastic (and huge) Satay Chicken Pizza.
The next day
we went 20km out of town to view The Breakaways which are a series of amazing
rock formations.
It was
supposed to be included in the tour we did the day before but the road was
closed so we couldn’t get there in the bus. We did find out though that with
caution you could travel the road in a 4WD so we took the chance.
The view from
the top of the escarpment was just incredible.
Note Lisa on the edge at
the left in the photos above and below
There were
small caves with kangaroo tracks in them.
We went to
another lookout area facing another direction.
The scenery was different but still amazing.
We carefully
took the 4WD down to the valley floor and drove across the plain to view the
area from below.
After 4
fabulous days in Coober Pedy we took off north for a large 450km drive to
Erldunda in the Northern Territory.
We had to
stop a few times for food and driver changes.
We arrived at
Erldunda at 3:30pm and made the decision to push on the last 250km to Ayers
Rock/Uluru rather than stop and get out all the gear for only a quick overnight
stop.
A phone call
to the Ayers Rock Resort revealed that the caravan area was fully booked but
seeing as we had a 1 week booking starting the next day they said come anyway
and they will try to fit us in.
On the drive
in we could see Mount Connor - many think it is Uluru when they first see it.
We arrived at
the resort at 6:30pm – just on sunset. The fantastic staff of the caravan area
told us of a cancellation about 5 minutes after we initially called so they
fitted us into to a small but permanent site and we were very happy.
We had driven
700km that day (towing a van and using 3 different drivers) so it was a big day
and we had dinner and were soon in bed.
The next
morning we went and booked our activities for the week.
Thank
goodness we did because there was a special event on called the “Field of
Light” which was on for a limited time and the main reason the place was so
packed with tourists.
We were lucky
to get a booking for it on our last night in Uluru – 5 days away.
We also
booked some other fun activities and brought our national park passes.
We headed out
to Uluru (previously known as Ayers Rock) and drove right around it to get a
feel for its immense size.
We went for a
small 1km walk called the Mala Walk which goes into a remote pool of water at
the base of the rock.
George wanted to go
left, Lisa wanted to go right.
Chez didn’t know who to follow…….
There were
stacks of caves and cut-ins we could walk into.
There is even
Aboriginal Rock Art at Uluru.
At sunset we
returned to the National Park and went to the sunset viewing area.
Paul had
walked the length of it that morning and worked out the exact spot for the best
photos.
Fortunately
when we got there the car spot was empty so we took it.
Paul set his
camera tripod up on the roof cage on the car.
Like always,
as soon as the sun set the masses of tourists left and we were the only ones
left in our area to view the terrific colours after sunset.
The next
morning just the two of us went and did a walk around the rock whilst George
and Chez had the morning off.
We started
early when the sun was low which was great to beat the heat but not so good for
light and photography.
That
afternoon Paul searched around the outside of the National Park boundaries
(because the Park shuts at 7:30pm) for a location to do a Star Trail photo.
To do the
shot properly he should have faced the camera due south but it was hard to find
a hill or rise facing due south, but he got reasonably close within 15 degrees.
It was a
little far away from The Rock and the result was not perfect but OK.
About ½ an
hour into the shot the buses started to run along the dirt road at the bottom
of the photo as they transited into “The Field of Light”.
It made for
an interesting foreground as their headlights illuminated the trees and road.
We took a
break from Uluru and did a full day trip to Kata Tjuta or the old name of The
Olgas.
If we thought
Uluru was great, then Kata Tjuta was incredible!!
We stopped at
a viewing platform about 10km from Kata Tjuta to get an early morning panoramic
shot.
George and
Chez did the 4.5km lookout walk whilst we did the extended 7km loop walk.
On the walk
we saw a lot of small Lizards on rocks basking in the morning sun.
Our last day at
Uluru turned into a HUGE day and we ended up doing 4 activities which spanned
over 16 hours.
Just the 2 of
us woke at 5am and drove out to the Sunrise viewing platform.
We were the
first ones there by 40 minutes and took some great pre-dawn photos.
It got very
busy when the buses arrived but we had the prime position – with a thermos and
hot cuppas which was the envy of many people.
To the left
of Uluru we could also see Kata Tjuta in the distance.
As soon as
the sun was up we went to the main car park so Paul could climb Uluru.
There is a
lot of controversy regarding climbing Uluru.
It has been
climbed by tourists for many years but the Indigenous people are trying to
close the climb.
Prior to
coming to Uluru we googled info about it only to find out part of the climbing
chain was removed and the climb was closed indefinitely.
Even 1 week
prior it appeared to be closed and when we arrived at the Resort/Campground,
there was a sign in reception saying it was closed.
However when
we drove around Uluru the first day, we spotted loads of people climbing up the
chain.
Paul spoke to
a National Park Ranger and he said go for it as it was open.
So on the
last morning Paul decided to do the climb.
Due to the
steepness, Lisa chose not to do it.
The chain
stops about 1/3 of the way up but is there to help people transit the steepest
section.
There is a
series of white painted lines from the end of the chain which you can follow
for about 2km to reach the summit.
Paul on his own at the
top of the chain section
On our first day
at Uluru we booked a Helicopter flight with Professional Helicopter Services.
There are 2
Helicopter companies operating and we chose the wrong one!!
We were due
to do an afternoon flight on our second day and the company called us with only
2 hours to go before the flight and cancelled.
They offered
another option but wanted to charge us an extra $500+.
We were not
happy and they never called back or gave us another option for the initial
agreed price.
We contacted
Ayers Rock Helicopters and explained how we had been let down by the other
company and they were very sympathetic and offered to help.
However they
were very busy and couldn’t fit us in for a few days.
On the night
before our last full day Julio the manager of Ayers Rock Helicopters rang us to
offer us a fantastic deal for the following day (our last day!!).
Whilst they
couldn’t fit all 4 of us at the same time, they agreed to take Chez (in an R44
4-seater (3 tourists and a pilot)) on a flight with another lovely Aussie couple
who had also been stuffed around by Professional Helicopters.
Then George,
Paul and Lisa did a 1 hour, doors off Photographic charter covering Uluru,
KataTjuta and Lake Amadeus.
It is uncommon for the lake to have water in it so we were very excited to see this rare occurrence.
It is uncommon for the lake to have water in it so we were very excited to see this rare occurrence.
Julio was
sooo helpful!!!
He organised
it all, picked us up, was our Pilot and dropped us home.
He was
professional yet a lot of fun and it made for a very enjoyable experience.
We have
nothing but praise for Ayers Rock Helicopters and nothing but bad things to say
about Professional Helicopters.
First we went
over Yulara and the town area before going to the rock.
From Uluru we
went to Kata Tjuta.
In this photo we could
see Kuta Tjuta, Uluru and Mount Conner all lined up.
From Kata
Tjuta it was a 10 minute flight over to Lake Amadeus.
The water was
slowly evaporating leaving pools of water surrounded by salt pans with amazing textures
and camel trails in them.
On the way
home we went over the airport’s main runaway surrounded by red dirt.
Late that
afternoon we were picked up for our night at The Field Of Light.
The Field of
Light is a light show in the desert that is on for a limited time.
It is
constructed from 50 000 solar powered led lights connected by lit fibre optic
cables.
There is over
350km of fibre optic cabling!!
We were able
to have drinks and canapés on the hill overlooking the site and Uluru for the
sunset.
We were then
able to go down into the field and walk around the lights.
It was a
fantastic experience and we got home after 9pm.
It had been a
huge day and we were exhausted.
The next day
we packed up camp and headed north to Kings Canyon which is now called Watarrka.
On the way we
stopped for lunch at a small roadside stop and were very excited to see 2 pure
bred Dingos (wild Australian Dogs) coming up close to the caravan.
The white
markings on the tail was evidence of their pure breeding.
Paul chasing
the Dingos around for a good photo turned out to be a bit in vain as when we
pulled into the Kings Canyon caravan park we found heaps of Dingos roaming
freely through the park.
In fact they
were very bold and one day we even found one inside our tent when we left the
door open for only a few minutes.
This mangy
old Dingo was very brazen. He would walk right through people’s campsites
looking for food.
He got up on
the next door neighbours table one night and stole some dinner and would sniff
around our tent at night time, sometimes waking us up with his snout up against
the flyscreen and only inches from our heads.
After the
huge day only 2 days prior and a big day of travelling, we decided to do the 2
smaller walks for our first full day at Watarrka.
We went out
to Kathleen Creek and did the 3km walk into the valley.
The area is
an old stockyard and there is evidence of cattle pens and watering facilities.
We found some
large spider webs glowing golden in the sun.
In the arvo
we did the Kings Canyon valley walk which was 2km.
The floor of
the valley had some stunning Ghost Gum Trees which made for excellent photo
subjects.
That evening
the sunset looked great over the caravan park.
Early the
next morning Paul was in the tent editing photos when George comes in and says
“Come and check out the sunrise……”
George, Paul
and Lisa decided to tackle the Kings Canyon Rim Walk which is the premier walk
in the area.
They left
early to avoid the heat and with photo stops it took them 5 hours to complete
the steep 7km walk.
It was just
spectacular and Paul took over 800 photos.
There are a
few sections were you can get very close to the cliff edge.
The issue is
you don’t know whether it is a slope below, a vertical face or even an overhang
and you are standing on it!!!
In one section
we could lie down and crawl right out onto the edge and look over.
Above and
below are the same photo just zoomed in above and wide angle below.
Can you see Lisa and
George on the edge??
On top of the
rim we saw some fantastic Ghost Gum trees and unusual rock formations.
There was a
series of bridges and steps leading down into the valley.
At the end of
the valley there was a pool that made for great reflection photos.
We were very
fortunate to have the “Garden Of Eden” all to ourselves.
Overall Kings
Canyon was great.
From a
travelling point of view it is out of the way and requires long distances to
get there but it is worth it.
The dingos in
the park, the sunsets & sunrises all helped to round out a fantastic few
days.
We were very
fortunate with the weather and it was the warmest location yet with high 20’s
in the day and as low as 12 or 13 at night, unlike the single digit overnight
temperatures we had experienced everywhere else.
It was so
good to be running around in shorts, shirts & bare feet again…..
There is a
dirt road called The Mereenie Loop that is around 250km stretching from Kings Canyon
to Alice Springs – our next stop.
We talked to
many caravan owners and most were electing not to do the dirt road leg as it
was ungraded after the rain and heavily corrugated.
The issue was
then to get to Alice it meant travelling 270km south back to Eldunda before
doing a U-turn and going 200km north giving a total days run of 470km.
Sadly we
(along with everyone else at Kings Canyon) didn’t have a choice.
The fuel at
Kings Canyon was frightfully expensive so we stopped at a roadhouse that was
also a Camel farm.
While Lisa
and George filled the car, Chez and Paul went and visited a baby Camel we had
seen on the way in.
It took a big
liking to Paul….
We stopped at
the Erldunda Roadhouse for lunch to find it packed with caravan rigs refueling and having lunch.
Finally we
got to The Macdonald Ranges Caravan Park in Alice Springs at 4pm.
We were so
excited to find the site full of lush green grass which we had not seen for
weeks.
We had a
great baked dinner outside and then crashed.
For the next
few days it was day trips out of Alice Springs in virtually every direction.
The highlight
was a trip out to Palm Valley which was over 100km from Alice.
The view of
the ranges along the way was fantastic with so many different rock formations.
We were semi
expecting a paved road into a parking area and to start a walk from there –
similar to most other walking sites we had visited.
However this
one was very different….
We arrived at
the turnoff to be greeted by a dirt road and a very ominous road sign – what
does “Severe 4WD Route” mean???
The track
started fine.
However soon
we arrived at the first water course and there were many more after that.
Some were
shallow, some long and some deeper and very tricky to navigate.
The sand got
deeper and the rocky areas got steeper and rougher.
We spoke to a
few 4WD owners who had turned around, but we took up the challenge and continued on.
We had to
stop at one stage and let a large Perenti Lizard cross the track.
One water
course was very hard with steep drop offs only inches either side of the
wheels.
Paul and
George walked it first and talked Chez (who was driving) through the passage.
After 90
minutes we stopped for lunch at a Red Cabbage Palm Valley.
The palms are
only found in this area and not anywhere else in the world.
They are very
special to the indigenous people and are well cared for.
We continued
on the 4WD track until we found the walking trail.
We did a
fantastic walk encompassing the rim of the gorge and also the valley floor.
It was a bit
wild to find the pathway a twisted and mangled mess after what appeared to be
ruined by a flood.
Yet for us it
was completely dry anywhere around the walking track.
After the
walk we headed back but we had no wind and the sun behind us making for awesome
reflections in the water pools along the track.
Note our 4WD off to the
left hand side of the photo
For Lisa and
Chez it was great for them to sit with their feet in the cool water while Paul
and George ran around taking photos.
It took
another 90+ minutes to get back to the bitumen and then another 75 minutes to
drive back to Alice.
On the way we
stopped to view the amazing sunset through the trees.
Once again we
arrived home late, well after dark and totally exhausted.
In Alice
Springs we were very excited to see the Sturts Desert Pea plants on the side of
the road.
These iconic
Australian Outback plants normally only flower in the summer months when there
is rain, however the recent rain had made some plants flower during the winter
months.
We had never
expected to see these so it was certainly a bonus!
The next day
it was a late start but into it again with a 350km round trip to visit 4 walks
for the day. They were all short ones but each time with something different.
The first
stop was Simpson’s Gap.
The dry
riverbed wanders between some stunning sloping rock walls.
There are
lots of Ghost Gums in the river bed and Rock Wallabies on the rocky slopes.
We went onto Standley
Chasm for lunch.
This spot has
been returned to the Aborigines and you must now pay to get in.
That said –
they are doing a fantastic job of building a new track with hand railing up to
the area’s most famous part – The Chasm.
The Chasm is
most popular at around midday when for about 20 minutes, the sun aligns with
the straight chasm and illuminates it with light.
There are
lots of other walks in the area too which are very picturesque.
After lunch
we visited Emily Gap and Jessie Gap which are only about 5km apart.
Emily Gap had
a stunning valley and Aboriginal rock art depicting Caterpillars.
Jessie Gap
had some amazing bird life.
We saw
Parrots and a very noisy Bower Bird.
Unlike our
Black Satin Bowerbirds on the east coast, this one was beautifully coloured
yellow and after a little searching, Paul managed to find its nest.
It was
interesting that all the collected debris was green unlike to Satin Bowerbirds
which collect Blue. There is not many blue things in the pristine outback….
So that’s it
for this episode of the blog.
It’s only
been 3 weeks since our last posting, but we’ve done so much and there are nearly
280 photos in this Episode.
It was hard
for Paul to choose from the 12 000 photos he has taken…..
So far we
have covered 5 500km since leaving the Central Coast of NSW and as of today
(Monday 23rd May) we are half way through the trip, time wise.
From Alice
Springs we head slowly north towards Darwin.
So lookout
for the next instalment in around 3 weeks time.
Cheers for
now.
Paul and Lisa
Hogger
having a blast
with
George and Chez Hogger