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Published: August 9th 2010
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Alice Springs
Widows peak with the Jakubiszyn As we headed toward Alice Springs (we had no yabbies), we felt the cold air arriving. How could we leave the tropical warmth of northern Australia. It would be worth it. The further south we drove, the redder the dirt became and for some reason the kids began digging holes again. There will be no end to the washing of clothes and hair. We rolled into Alice and were welcomed by our friends Jodi and Paul Jakubiszyn. With their girls Maya and Sadie, they gave us the local tour of AS. We took a barely beaten track up to Widows Peak to see the sunset over the ranges surrounding AS. It was all hands on deck to stop Finn trying to jump of the side of the ridge. A bbq dinner the next day at the Old Telegraph station had the kids in the Todd River. There was a bit of water, since there had been a large amount of rain earlier in the month. We took the boys to The Old Ghan Railway Museum. It seems that we are actually doing a railway tour of Australia. (Either that or a bread buying / washing mission, as it seems one of
Alice Springs
Finn in his favorite tractor those things are constantly happening.) The boys were happy to explore the old station and display but were happiest climbing aboard the old train and other machinery on exhibit. Finn spent some time on his favourite - a tractor. We met up with Jodi and Sadie at Olive Pink Botanical Garden to get a great view over the town. Paul.J took Paul.B 4 wheel driving up to Mt Undoolya to see another beautiful sunset. We finished the day with a yummy roast lamb and some red wine. We had been lucky so far in Alice as the days had been warm, with the nights being a little cold. The next day however the rain found us. Welcome to winter. We did manage to get out to see Simpsons Gap and the claypans between the showers. We had an early departure in the morning to drive to Yulara. It had been lovely to spend time with our friends and relax inside a space bigger than a bathroom for a change. Thanks to Jodi and Paul and the girls for making us so welcome. The drive to Yulara was great with the kids happy in the car for the whole journey. As
Alice Springs
Old Ghan Museum long as there is plenty of food the time in the car is usually pretty good. We arrived at Yulara in the mid afternoon and after setting up headed out to Uluru (Ayres Rock) to see the sunset. Jodi had given us some camel burgers, so we ate them topped with goat’s cheese, roma tomatoes and baby spinach. Yum. There is a new idea for McDonalds. The sunset was cloudy, which has seemed to be the case for us from Broome onwards. It was still amazing. Jack look up after drawing in the sand for half an hour to look at the rock. He yelled, to the amusement of every one around “hey look everyone, it’s changed colour”. We planned to come and view it again when the sky is clearer. With our breakfast warming on the manifold of the engine, we drove out in the dark to see the sunrise. It was something we had heard that we had to do. Our early morning effort was rewarded with a fabulous view as the sun hit the rock and then Kata-Juta (The Olgas) behind. It was freezing though. Thank goodness for the hot milo and crumpets. We then headed off
around the base of the rock, with Finn in the pram and Jack on his bike. The 10.6km walk tired us all out, enough for an afternoon nap. Jack spent the afternoon playing with his friend Lachie. They sat in the dirt on top of a sand hill directly behind our camper. From here we could see Uluru and Kata-Juta. I think the view was wasted on the boys though as they drove their cars in the sand ! We took a drive to Kata-Juta and braved the icy wind walking out to the first lookout in The Valley of the Winds walk. It was so cold. The sky had cleared so we took in another sunset that night. No fancy burgers this time, just champagne. We moved onto the Watarrka NP the next day. We were so glad to have our heater as the night temperature dropped to 4 degrees. The campground gave us a beautiful view of the George Gill Range and we tired ourselves out again walking at Kings Canyon. We were apprehensive to head out into the bush to camp with the freezing nights but it was something we had to do. Paul and Jodi had
given us “the local” recommended journey and this meant a few nights without power (and no heater). We camped in Owen Springs Nature Reserve and spent much time sitting by the fire. There was only one other person there. In the morning there was ice lining the inside canvas of the camper. We moved onto Palm Valley. The 20km road in took us 1 hour to traverse. The scenery was spectacular as we drove though the gorge of Fink Gorge National Park. There were plenty of water and river crossings. The large amount of recent rain meant the wild flowers and fauna were in abundance. The ranger told us that this was the best the park had been in over 10 years. Our days here were lovely and warm as we explored the gorge and Palm Valley. The nights were icy. We often hear other travellers use the saying “it’s all good”. We have our own saying though “it’s all part of it”. Let’s face it - the cold isn’t good. Neither are rain, crocodiles whilst swimming and mosquitoes. The last leg of our “local map” journey took us around into the West McDonald Ranges. This is truly a spectacular
part of Australia. We camped and walked at Ormiston Gorge and admired the ranges on our drive through. Stanley Chasm was a spectacular highlight as we headed back toward Alice. We were lucky enough to arrive as the midday sun hit the walls of the chasm. They shone a brilliant red. Fantastic. We have one more night in Alice Springs whilst we stock up on food before heading north again. When we meet other travellers the standard conversation includes where are you from, where have you been and where are you going? We are also often asked what has been our favourite place so far. It is hard to compare locations in a country with such diverse landscapes. At the moment Paul and I both agree that the Red Centre has been our favourite, despite the cold nights. Thanks to The Jakubiszyn’ for their advice. We love your part of Oz.
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Jodi
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It was great to see you guys...Thank you for loving this part of the world...our little 'local' spots help though! More people need to come and explore what this part of the world has to offer....the secrets of the desert!!! jodi xo