After some weeks in the Northern Territory, it was time to move east and into Queensland. So we headed north from Alice Springs expecting to cross with some other friends who we thought were headed southbound, somewhere around Tennant Creek. We didn't see them along the way and they didn't respond to our UHF radio calls. As it happens, they didn't see us and we didn't respond to their UHF radio calls either. Friends they were travelling with had a caravan problem so we had settled for the evening at The Pebbles (or Devils Pebbles) camp spot about 15 ks north of Tennant Creek, and had done so before they finally arrived at Tennant Creek. The Pebbles (down about 6ks of average dusty, rutted road) is a very pleasant spot to stop overnight. There are smaller ... read more

It is hard to imagine Kings Canyon. This is a horseshoe shaped canyon, the highest wall peak 300 meters above the canyon floor, fascinating flora, rock formations, giant boulders that Marg had no show of lifting beside the path, and at the right time of year, full of bird life. This Kings Canyon is a little under 400ks from Uluru, and access is via a good sealed road suffering a little from damaged shoulders, but otherwise an easy drive north off the Lasseter Highway. I asked Marg what was missing on this road, and eventually the penny dropped as they say - despite crossing many creeks, there are no bridges, so this road could be challenging in the wet season. The land varies, some farmed but with an emphasis on arid pasture, other areas would not ... read more

After our stay in Alice Springs, we headed south to Uluru, or The Rock, or Ayres Rock, in the red centre. The sealed road south and then west to The Rock is generally good, just broken shoulders in places, and work teams out setting things to right. As you head west up the Lassiter Highway, its not long before you see the rock, and then you realise that it is the wrong rock as the sides become more visible. There is a lookout to see the false rock (Mt Conner) as it stands out above the desert plain. The area is generally low shrubbed in the desert with a few exceptions such as at Mt Ebenezer where things are totally barren. When we did the Palm Valley trip, our guide said to cross the road at ... read more

This is certainly a strange place, central Australia. Underground people at Devils Marbles, then just a few ks down the road towards Alice, Wycliffe Well where there is a concentration of alien contact, maybe even abductions, and Aileron where people are giants if the artwork is to be believed. We didn't stop for any great time in this dangerous region, but kept the foot to the floor and duly arrived safely in Alice Springs. Although we knew it was outback, we had no concept of the appearance of the town. So one of the early stops was up ANZAC Hill which is both a memorial place from WW I, and a good view point for the Northern Territory's second largest town. About 28,000 people live here, but I am not sure quite where, except to say ... read more

With our brief but rewarding stop over in Kakadu completed, we set off south east back to the Stuart Highway, stopping at a number of points of interest as we travelled. The roads here are generally excellent, but remembering some are through wetlands (a nice name for swamp) so there are areas that are uneven. Our first stop was a little off the highway at Edith Falls. There is a national park camp here and many had said this was a great place to camp. We were out of luck as far as getting a camp site suited to our long vehicle, so just went walk about from the car park to look at the falls and the stream that flows away. It is a great place to cool off in the lake at the bottom ... read more