Port Augusta to Alice Springs

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The road north from Port Augusta today was amazing and constantly changing as we are really heading into the outbacks now. The soil is very very red and sometimes there are 2 metre high bushes lining the road, and then changing to just small shrubs, before again changing to just stark red rocky ground. We spotted a sole emu very close to the road at the last minute, (fortunately it did not run in front of us), a dead cow, four amazing wedged tailed eagles on top of some kangaroo road kill, plus a few scrawny looking sheep. There are several huge spectacular salt lakes along the way too so all in all it was a fascinating day on our first day heading towards Coober Pedy and Ayers Rock. We are parked tonight in the large carpark of a Roadhouse not far from an Australian military base where many years ago satellites and missiles used to be launched from the town of Woomera. Petrol is already 30 cents a litre more but we must ensure we top up now as further north we will have to pay even more I am sure. How it hurts!

After several hours of driving on the one long, almost straight road we arrived at Coober Pedy (pronounced peedy) and found the place very interesting with its underground churches, houses, opal shops, restaurants and motels. The rock walls and ceilings are very different to the ones we saw in the underground mine in Sapphire in that these are very red and almost warm to touch with a constant temperature of 24 degrees Celsius all year round. (Locals love it, in that they do not have huge heating/air conditioning bills.) The town certainly has a rustic charm and very much an outback town with hardly a blade of grass in site and dust blowing everywhere. It was very quiet on the one main street and the opal shop owners were looking forward to the next few months when business hopefully will pick up. The St Peters and St Pauls church was small and beautiful and we lit a candle for all the people we know who are suffering health-wise at the moment.

Forgot to mention the flies! How could I forget them! They are a PITA (pain in the arse)! They get up your nose and in the corner of your eyes and are very hard to swat being so fast. I hate them with a vengeance and have resorted to wearing one of those dorky nets that cover the head completely. I may feel and look like a masked robber but it is worth it to not have to constantly wave a hand in front of my face.

We have just completed two more days of long drives and have finally reached the Northern Territory border. At our campsite this morning, in a rest area by the side of the road, we were visited by a Dingo, checking to see if anyone had left any food out so we just stayed in the van. Fellow campers mentioned that they had seen wild camels further north so hope we get to see some too.

Ayers Rock, Uluru, was all we had been told and read about and absolutely amazing. It is so red that it stands out for miles. (We camped the night before in front of Mt Connor which is often mistaken for the Rock and managed to get some great sunset shots of this huge attraction also). We were unable to climb the Rock due to high winds but instead walked the 10.6 kms track around it which showed us many different angles of it and definitely worth the 2 hour walk on what was a very hot day. However, on looking at the steepness of the climb to the top I am unsure whether I would have had the nerve to climb it as it looked far from easy what with chains to hold onto practically from the first steps and all the way to the top! Thirty-six people have died attempting to climb it so far so that was a very sobering thought too. We then moved on to the Olgas, a large unusual range of huge rocks about 40kms for Ularu, where we did a couple of hikes into a gorge and up to a canyon look out. It was great to actually to be able to walk on and in between these rocks and feel their specialness (if there is such a word).

Next leg of our long road trip was to Kings Canyon where we did the route around the rim of the canyon. It was an even hotter day, possibly 35 degrees Celsius, making for a very strenuous hike but well worth it and Pete and I both agreed that it was even more spectacular than Ayers Rock.

We have had to, at some service stations, pay up to $2.16 a litre for diesel and a far cry from the $1.39 we paid in Port Augusta. Still we have to expect these prices considering how far the fuel needs to be transported. To help matters we are travelling at 80kms an hour which is not so bad as we just put the van on to cruise control and enjoy the views, being that the roads are more or less straight all the way.

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