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Published: August 31st 2009
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Day 124 - Kings Canyon to Finke River Rest Area via Kathleen Springs
The alarm went off at 6.30 this morning and we gleefully ignored it! We’re heading back towards Alice Springs today but we’re travelling with Tony and Jane so there’s no need to leave at the crack of dawn which is a blessing!
We haven’t managed to upload the Uluru blogs yet which is a shame, we had internet access there but we were doing so much during the day we just ran out of time to get them uploaded. There’s no Telstra coverage here but they do offer a WIFI service of 6 minutes for $1 which is pretty cheap so we pay $5 and get two of the blogs on. Sorry for not replying to your Skype shout Ed, we’ll definitely catch up with you on the weekend though when we’re back in Alice!
Dar clears up the caravan while I duck off for a quick shower. I run into Katie & little Pearl in the amenities block and we get chatting about their trip and where they’ve been. Katie was the lady whom we first met at the waterhole in Uluru where the
kids were all playing in the water. She tells us, Jane has come in too, that yesterday they spent time at the local Lila aboriginal community with a great lady called Sadie who showed them around. This isn’t a tour openly advertised but one Katie organised herself as she managed to get the public phone number for the community and had Sadie as the contact. She described the visit to us saying that it was so personal and that it was the highlight of their trip so far. We’re out of time to do this as we’re leaving today, although we do consider it as an option. Instead we’re going to stick to the original plan which was to complete the short walk at Kathleen Springs. Katie brings the telephone number across to us and we thank her very much. We’ll pass it on if we meet like-minded others.
We’re ready to rock and roll now although stop quickly at the general store for stew supplies, yes it’s the famous Wallaby Wanderers stew tonight by campfire light!
We trundled in convoy with Tony and Jane along to Kathleen Springs. The walk is beautiful and the sun is already
heating up the 2.6 km walk. On the way in Tony spots a Skink in a bush and we all stop for a look although I think I scared it when I moved, sorry about that! Further along there are two kangaroos just off from the path. One looks very red, quite young and in fact doesn’t look much like a kangaroo! We think it was a young one so still fluffy round the edges! It’s a very interesting area and the information boards tell of the Aboriginal culture from centuries ago. The recent cattle industry is apparent by the developed watering hole that ensured the cattle came back each day. We remark on the toughness of live back then especially in this sort of heat.
At the end of the walk is a beautiful spring-fed waterhole where you could sit whiling away the hours in the peaceful tranquillity. As it was we joked and laughed with a chap sitting doing just that when we arrived, probably ruined quite a moment for him but we left him sitting there a while longer so hopefully nobody else disturbed him.
Walking back along the track, the kangaroos had disappeared into
the bush but we found a little lizard to watch and then I spied what looked like a piece of dung rolling along the path. On closer inspection it was actually a piece of dingo poo being rolled along by four dung beetles working brilliantly together. We watched the four push their prize along the path for quite some distance and then they managed to turn it and push it into the gravel towards the bush. Absolutely fascinating to watch the team work and co-ordination apart from when one of them got stuck to the underneath of it and rolled along with it for a turn or two! We had to leave them to it after a while though or we’d still be there now! Tony was checking out the flora along the path, there are so many different wild flowers and grasses to try and identify.
Back at the vehicles we have a quick cuppa and then go to set off but Tony and Jane’s Toyota Landcruiser won’t start - the battery is flat. They have a rather large fridge in their caravan and Tony thinks this is the reason for the flat. Not to worry, Nissan Terrano
to the rescue! In no time at all we’ve slave started the Cruiser and we’re on our way. Nissan saves Toyota, hurrah!
We travel on in the direction of the Finke River Rest Area which is a free camp spot ‘by the river’. All the central desert rivers fall short of the sea so they are watered only by rain fall, in which case we’re not expecting to see a flowing river when we get there!
Tony is great at spotting the wildlife for us although we got confused between ‘cattle’ and ‘camel’ on his first shout!! Either way we didn’t see it / them! The second shout for a Wedge Tail Eagle was impossible to miss as the huge raptor was sitting proudly on the side of the road reluctant to move from his road kill prize. These birds are just amazing.
We make it to Erldunda for a fuel and ice-cream stop. Thanks Jane for the cooling icy pole, it was great! We’re following behind but they soon pull away from us back on the open road. We can see something flapping to the side of their caravan, we think it’s the awning working loose
so we shout them over the radio but we hear nothing back. We think they’ve got flat batteries in their two way so we’ll just have to hope that the awning holds or somebody coming towards them gives them a shout about it.
We drive through the most stunning dust storms and can see whirl winds at the side of the road heading towards us ready to deposit their sand, grit and dust right in our path! It’s great when we get the other side of each one but the wind is unrelenting and every now and then we can feel the caravan rocking!
Carol and Ray are waiting for us at Finke River in the midst of a dust storm! Poor things, they’d been there an hour already and must have wondered what on earth they were doing stopping there! We all parked up and had a look around, the river bed of sand and stone was interesting to wander through collecting wood for the fire! We all agreed that we’d stay, just hoping that the wind died down! We got on with dinner preparation. Darryl was cooking up a sausage casserole so the boys got down
to fire lighting and beer drinking while the ladies peeled, chopped and opened the wine! Soon we had a roaring fire, the wind had dropped and beautiful green parrots were landing in the trees above us.
We had a great night and the casserole went down very well with Jane and Tony’s Sticky Date pudding complementing it beautifully for desert! Fabulous! The road train drivers were giving us a good blast of the horn when they drove by and we all waved back as we enjoyed dinner by the ‘river’. The stars and moon were out and it was a great atmosphere.
By this time the rest area was packed out and another group were playing a bit of background music for us too! It was all really good fun but by 8.30 the night sky had taken the natural light and we were all just about ready to drop! It was still really warm and even with the windows open in the caravan we sweltered a little bit!
Here’s to free campsites and great company, it really makes for a fantastic time.
Dar and Sar
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