Bearncec

Day 13 11/08/2009 Alice Springs 7.45 am we were picked up from the Caravan Park for a half day scenic flight from Alice Springs to Ayres Rock airport. Along the way we passed over many natural wonders, some we have never heard of before e.g Lake Armadeus a salt lake and Gosse Bluff a meteorite crator just to name a few. We have a heap of photos of the flight, too many to publish here but the sites were spectacular. On our return we caught the bus into town into Alice. What an interesting experience with a couple of local passengers. (Tub of Vicks recommended) After that we went back to camp to catch up on chores such as washing, grease the truch and resort the gear. Tomorrow we are heading up the Tanami Road towards ... read more

Day 11 9/8/2009 Ayres Rock to Kings Canyon Left mid morning heading to Kings Canyon. Easy drive today as the road was tar all the way and stopping at Curtin Springs for fuel and lunch under the trees again. Fuel $1.70 per litre. From there we turned off and headed north on Luritja Road to Kings Canyon. We called into Kings Creek Station which is a cattle station offering services similar to Curtin Springs but on a bigger scale - Fuel, accommodation, meals, souvenirs and camel, quad bike or helicopter rides. Very neat and tidy and staff very friendly. From there it was only a short drive to Kings Canyon, approx 38 km. The Kings Canyon Resort is on the other side of the canyon offering accommodation for all budget levels. The camping ground was well ... read more

Day 9 7/8/2009 Kulgera to Ayres Rock (Uluru) Left Kulgera late today as we needed to do some washing and an old bich, who was staying in camp that day, raced me to the laundry and I lost - not happy Jan!!! I was even crankier when I found she was staying on for an other day. One good thing did come out of it we sorted our gear and are thinking of sending some home that we do not use. The road today was all bitumen what a nice change. We stopped at Curtin Springs for lunch under the shade of a tree and had a bit of a chat to an Emu that was wondering around free. Must be a pet he was to tame not to be. Curtin Springs is a cattle station ... read more

Day 7 5/8/2009 Lake Eyre to Oodnadatta The road from Lake Eyre back to William Creek is badly corrugated with bull dust holes to make sure you’re awake. From William creek to Oodnadatta was a mix of sand, rock & corrugations. We called into the old Peake ruins - ruins of the overland Telegraph repeater station. The road was hard work but it was worth the trip. A lot of work went into the buildings back then - all rock, wide walls and huge fireplaces. Around the ruins are a lot of natural springs which was relied on once but now they have a high salt content leaving the ground with a white crust. From there we moved on to the old Ghan rail bridge which is no longer used. The structure was built in England ... read more

Day 5 3/8/2009 Marree to William Creek Awesome weather - Cold nights but glorious days. Marree consisted of a general store, old railway, a couple of caravan park/campgrounds, Pub and the famous intersection of the Birdsville & Oodnadatta Tracks. Campground old and well used but the folk were very friendly. The track leading towards Lake Eyre South was in good nick with changing landscape. From Lake Eyre the track was quiet rough with heaps of corrugations and loose rocky surface. The landscape continued to change from sandy dunes to low laying salty beds. The colours where amazing - varying shades of reds, yellows, browns and greys. Very similar to the colours the aboriginals use in their paintings. Tomorrow we are flying over Lake Eyre before and the Painted Mountains before making our way closer to Oodnadatta. ... read more