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Published: April 27th 2013
Chewie and Bartholemew Otis have now become "the boys". Mostly they have been good except for one memorial occasion when they were relegated to the bumper for "1057 green bottles hanging on the wall"
There are 28 photos attached to this, so it is a long way to the comments area.....
20th April - We left Brinkworth not long after 8:30am and had not even left the town boundary when Graham asked if I had packed his Kindle. Not my issue! Back we went. Chris and Sally were wondering how long it would be before we were back when Graham wandered in to get it.
Off we went again and managed to not have to return. We drove steadily, not wanting to stop much in the areas we had visited before and because we did want to get to Farina specifically for the night. We planned to spend two nights there enabling us to spend a day just relaxing.
Our only problem on the way was one of the Tyre Dog monitors was screeching at us that the pressure was too high. Out Graham got and made adjustments which did not seem to make any difference. About
40 kms further down the road he finally worked out he had deflated the wrong tyre. Oops, another adjustment made and it was a more silent drive.
We stopped for lunch at Kanyaka Station Historical site which we visited last time we were up this way. It is a nice spot to stop. Then back on the road stopping every couple of hours for a stretch and walk around.
We topped up the diesel at Lyndhurst and gulped at the price of $1.769 per litre, what will it be when we really get remote?
25 kms further on we made it to Farina Camp Ground where we settled in for the night. Nice camp grounds with flushing toilets, showers (hot water by donkey), lots of shade, fire rings, BBQ's bins and even recycling bins.
The worst thing is we don't know how the footy had gone, no radio or TV.
We spent a leisurely morning and unbelievably we had a little rain. No rain anywhere for months and the Bolarks come to the area and we get some. Thank heavens it was not a lot.
We did a little housekeeping, and lots of reading.
Just before lunch we went and checked out the historical cemetery and the old town site, before returning for lunch and the obligatory Nanna nap. The cemetery mirrors many of the ones from the 1800's and early 1900's. There are lots of unmarked graves and many of them are children. There does not seem to be a map of the Cemetery. There is however a list of the people who are buried there in a very substantial display.
The township is likewise very well signposted and an excellent display is available. The restoration of the actual sites is now beginning as much as they can be stabilised.
There is an incorporated body which is working on the restoration projects here and they are doing a great job. At the SA Caravan show in February we donated enough money to buy them a bag of cement to continue their work. It was a great way for them to raise money.
On a small rise overlooking the camping grounds there is a lovely war memorial. It would be a good place to watch the sun come up on 25th April in our own private Anzac Day commemoration; unfortunately
we will be further down the road by then.
We have discovered that our fantastic fan which pumps air in or out of the van according to the settings we put in is great, in fact it almost pressurised the van as we slept.
22nd April - Packed up and left Farina and went to Maree. On the way we came across an Inukshuk. Big, Big HJ and Alias. It stood around 10 feet high but who ever built it cheated they used cement to put it together. It is at the site of a Stuart Memorial in a very stark inhospitable area just south of Maree
The Maree store also proved invaluable. We got freshly baked grain bread, home made pasties (magnificent and Alias size) and the essential day wear we forgot to pack - Fly veils. The flies seem to be prolific and very friendly.
Just across from the store is a mud brick mosque with a brush roof, fenced off so we can look but not damage. Left by the Afghan Cameleers. We then headed out onto the Oodnadatta Track proper.
We saw more emus and our first dingos, just after we
passed through the dog fence.
One of the interesting places we visited was Plane Henge. Someone has built a memorial using what look like spitfires and made them into a gate with an inscription "may this gateway stand to the realisation of humanities triumph over it's own ignorance." There are lots of sculptures around the place. My favourite is the dog. What else do you do with an old water tank formerly used to fill steam trains.
We went on to the Lake Eyre lookout which looks over the very end of southern Lake Eyre and what did we find. Some bright spark had put a sticker from Yackandandah on the pavilion housing the information display.
Then on to Mound Springs to visit the Bubbler and Blanche Cup. The road in was very corrugated. When we emerged and headed off towards William Creek we discovered what Corrugations were. We had about 35 kms of horrible roads, In the end we pulled in to Beresford Siding for the night and packed on the road side of the dam. Thank heavens - one of those tour buses with the trailer behind pulled in and went the other side.
23rd April - First task of the morning was to check the water pump because we were having issues with getting water from the tanks. Smarty bumm immediately tried the water filter on the tap and discovered it was blocked so the problem was solved very quickly.
Before heading off Graham checked all the tyres etc and decided the recalcitrant monitor on the Tyre Dog needed adjustment again.
The road was good, or so we thought with only a couple of bad patches in the road though we did hit a couple of grids too fast.
Mostly the country is very flat and desolate and exceptionally dry. Appears that there has been no rain for some time.
One thing we have been looking forward to is some real red dirt like we are used to from the Goldfields in Western Australia. We came close when we passed through the Nilpinna area where we saw two sandhills which nearly were red enough. The one thing we have is the fine bulldust we were so used too. It gets in everywhere. The first thing I do when we stop is get out the car vacuum cleaner and vacuum
the van.
We stopped at William Creek for a toilet break, but as it was only 9am it was too early to head into the iconic hotel for a drink.
We stopped and looked at the Algebuckina site of the longest railway bridge in South Australia. It was a steep climb up and down some steps to get to the bridge, but worth it. There was an excellent view of the surrounding countryside.
We finally made it to Oodnadatta and of course headed straight for the pink roadhouse where we had lunch and fueled up. Remember we gulped at the Lyndhurst price Oodnadatta was $2.11
We then headed out of town to the free campsite and discovered we had no water. My joy at having water again did not last long. Upon inspection we discovered that the blanking plug on the drain hole of the water tanks had been damaged and all our water from the tanks had drained out. We now need to go back too Oodnadatta tomorrow and try and get another blanking plug, perhaps a half a dozen. When we examined the damage it looks like someone passing us on the other side
of the road has thrown up a stone at speed and it hit the actual blocking plug which shattered. We figure it happened that way because of the remains of the plug on the outlet the damage was to the back of the car. We'll be in to see you Rudi on our return to try and devise some kind of protection for this area under the van.
24th April - Graham went back in to Oodnadatta to try and find a blanking plug but had no luck. He came back with some old inner tube which he placed over the damaged area and duct taped it into place.
We got on the road to Arkaringa Station Homestead and after 40 kms on the road to Coober Pedy we headed west. The road was a little bumpy in places, but the bulldust was exceptionally thick.
The country side was beautiful, stark and very little vegetation. About 5 kms out of Arkaringa Homestead we came to the painted desert. A breakaway area where the hills are composed of varying shades of white, ochre, brown, black and orange. Magnificent. Photos just don't do either the landscape of the painted
desert justice.
We booked in at Arkaringa and noted that there was a dawn service the next morning. Cars kept rolling in until after dark. In the end there were 3 caravans, three lots of people in tents and even more in dongas.
At 6:15 am we turned up at the site of the service and discovered that every person in the camp site was there AND one family had driven from Oodnadatta (90 km on some very bad road) just to be there.
The service was conducted by Lauren one of the people working the station. She was very emotional. They have only been here for 9 months and she did not want to miss a dawn service.
One family from the Gold Coast had spent the evening before with their two children making a wreath which was laid on the makeshift site. Lauren read out a postcard which had been sent to her Great Grandmother by an unknown service man in France during WW1, a poem about the ANZACS, the Ode, we listened to the last post and sang the national anthem lead by a little girl of about 5 who is in a
Newcastle choir.
Lo and behold we were all invited to the homestead for tea, coffee, fresh scones and Anzac biscuits. Lauren now knows what Shotgun tea is and there will be a bottle of brown rum available next year. It was a wonderful service because of the emotion and support given. Lauren was so happy.
One of the caravanners managed to produce a blanking plug which fitted out outlet and which was recovered with duct tape, however we note there is still a small leak happening, so will have to investigate carefully when we get to Alice. Lets hope the tank itself is not damaged. We cannot be sure because we have not yet managed to get any more water.
25th April - We packed up and headed off towards the Stuart Highway. The road west was a cake walk compared to the easterly road, we were astonished. The scenery was just as magnificent. Once on the highway we headed north and settled in to a rest area on the NT/SA border for the night. Within 10 minutes of us stopping a second van pulled in and now there are 4 in place.
26th April -
Headed up the highway and turned off to go to Rainbow Valley 23 kms from the highway. The road was corrugated so we had to go very slowly. Once there we wandered off and did some sightseeing and the walk. At sunset we went back and watched the rock change colour, then suddenly the sun went behind a cloud and the spectacle was gone. We were by ourselves overnight.
27th April - It took us 65 minutes to get back to the highway then on to Alice Springs. We have booked into a real caravan park so we can do some washing etc. We have discovered the leak we have on the watertank can be fixed by using plumbers tape on the thread. That will be done in the morning and then we can fill the tanks again. Then Graham is doing that and attempting to open the generator outside locker which has decided not to play nice. It is where he stores his hot beer!
Whilst Graham is doing that I will be doing the washing and shovelling the bulldust out of the van. This stuff is so fine it in incredible. I have already worn out
the old 12v car vacuum so we bought a new one today. Posh upmarket one which we have discovered needs to be charged for 24 hours before use, so we need to book in for an extra day.
It seems Fray is not missing us here is an excerpt from an email from Sally and Chris our housesitters.
"I've set our laptop up in the dining room and have put a towel on a chair beside me where Fray has joined me and is purring away. I feel very privileged also because while she will snuggle up against either of us when sitting in Graham's chair, as you said Chris, she has also curled up on my lap when I haven't wanted to put my legs up! She has also spent a couple of nights on the bed with me while Chris is away and some time on the bed when both here. She actually also climbed onto Chris's tummy when he was lying on the couch but didn't stay there for long. She 's moved away now, must have got bored with that as I stopped patting her so I could type. She'll take as much affection as you're prepared to give her I think, like most cats when I think about it." I also need to move some things around inside the van they still are not in the right places. We plan to move on Monday after we have managed to watch some football and purchased the winning lotto ticket for next Thursday night.
Till next time
Cheers
Chris and Graham
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Gareth
non-member comment
Time travel?
We're marvelling at your abilities to post about tonight and tomorrow in advance :) is there a time-warp in SA? Are you secretly travelling in a TARDIS? Have you just lost track of time?