Purnalulu

From Halls Creek we travelled to Purnalulu National Park. The park is accessed over 53km of 4wd track. The planned length of our stay was 5 nights, and with 2 parties the selection of camp site took on epic proportions, with endless rounds of the possibilities and discussions of tent and van orientations. So many considerations… afternoon sun, morning sun, mosquitos, toilet access? Eventually, with input from the camp hosts, we managed to select and erect camp and settle in.

Purnalulu is a massive expanse of weathered rock, conglomerate to the north and softer sandstone to the south. The softer sandstone is what gives rise to the iconic bee hive shapes the rock forms in it’s southern areas.

The main activity once one is in the park is walking, and after the first 4km return walk our children had had it…… no more walking if it were up to them! We partially ameliorated this problem with a GPS running watch and a box of jelly beans. For every 500m walked a jelly bean was issued… and we got through the remainder of the short walks. Each of these walks invariably lead to some amazing chasm or natural rock formation and many were indeed breath taking.

If Purnalulu from the ground is impressive there is no comparison to seeing it from the air- we took a 30 minute helicopter ride to see the rock formations from the air and it was indeed spectacular. It was a great way to appreciate the sheer scale of the place. I have but one word of advice for those people with longer hair contemplating a doors-off helicopter ride…. Tie it back!

Some time during the following day I managed to undo the dred locks which had formed in my hair. My parents looked after the kids so we could enjoy a rare bush walk without constant whingeing.

There is no permanent water in Purnalulu over the dry, and this may be the reason there are no animals to be seen except for the occasional furtive skink and an abundance of cane toads. To make up for the lack of animals there was an abundance of birds, including double barred finches, bower birds, white crested rock pigeons, quail and red winged parrots.  The presence of cane toads was a bit depressing, these ugly beasts seem to be everywhere.

Bowerbird bower along the track

Two days into our Purnalulu stay I embarked on my first baking of bread for the trip. This was my planned solution for the lack of bakeries in this part of the world but my practice run prior to departure was a total failure (burnt on the bottom but otherwise passable, except the kids asked, why did you make it so floury and doughy?). The loaf I lovingly slaved over I am probably more proud of than my child’s last report card. Fresh bread for lunch!

At the end of our 5 nights we bade Annie and Ashley farewell.... and it was on to the next destination, Fitzroy Crossing for us and Kunanurra for Ashley and Annie.

The Tanami Road

The Tanami Road is over 1000 km long, mainly dirt, sometimes lovely, sometimes awful from Alice Springs in the south of The Northern Territory to Halls Creek in the north of Western Australia. We set off on Thursday morning from Alice Springs.

 I believe the road has improved immensely in recent years, and indeed the first 200 kilometers are sealed! So we cruised along the first section without trouble, stopping at this picturesque roadside rest area for our lunch.

Later that afternoon we pulled into Yuendemu, one of the few places to buy fuel and the last fuel stop for 590 km or so. Yuendemu is an indigenous community and Frank at the diesel bowser recommended the art centre in the town. 

last fuel for 590 km across the Tanami Track- time to fill up

After being blown away by some of the art we saw in Alice Springs, we decided to check it out. Except it seemed to be closed- the gates were chained shut. After milling around for awhile outside and about to get into the car to leave, Ashley struck up conversation with Rosie, an elderly toothless indigenous woman who assured us it was open and someone would come out and let us in. Eventually that indeed did happen, and when we went in we were surprised to find a bustling arts centre including a gallery with a massive collection of works. The gates were chased shut because there had been some fighting outside in the morning. 

We left Yuendemu and headed off to find somewhere to camp the night- we again took Frank’s recommendation and stayed at some ruins off the track which was a pleasant, if dusty, place to stay the night.

The next day was some more driving on the road….. the Tanami desert was nowhere near as desolate as we imagined, there was a wealth of vegetation and a plethora of bird life along the way. Some sections were a sea of termite mounds amongst the grass. At lunch time we were in the vicinity of a gold mine and used their mobile signal to call Tim’s mum for her 70^th birthday, an unexpected bonus.

That afternoon we pulled into an unofficial campsite listed on Wiki camps which was perfect- off the road, no mozzies, flat ground, no dust!!!

The following day was Saturday and the fuel supplies were getting low….. jerry cans were emptied into the fuel tanks and we were on a mission to get to Billiluna before 12 when the shop there shut and there would be no fuel until Monday morning.

Arriving in Billiluna it seemed deserted. It was 10:38, and the shop was shut (shut at 10:30), no signs of life. Driving around town we did see this guy standing guard in a driveway.

There were instructions of what to do if the shop was shut- go to house 18 next to the clinic- but where on earth was the clinic? We dispatched men to find house 18 but when they finally found it there was no answer! What to do? We hadn’t any fuel to continue to anywhere, and Bililuna wasn’t anywhere we particularly wanted to hang out for 2 nights until the store opened again on Monday morning. Eventually someone pushed the “emergency” button at the clinic entrance, and the call was soon answered by Jenny, the town nurse, who helped us raise the store owners (why hadn’t we just honked our horn a lot?) and eventually we got some fuel. Sigh. It was a relief, even at $2.60 per litre!

And where to go now? We had thought we would head to Lake Gregory which is some 120km out of the way. The Bililuna folk suggested a place called Lake Stretch,15km down the Canning Stock Route where there is water, trees, birds, and swimming! The decision was pretty easy and soon we were set up and having a swim.

 In the last couple of days the weather had gone from bitterly cold in the morning and kind of warm during the days, to pleasant overnight and really quite hot during the day.

Lake Stretch was absolutely teeming with birdlife. We camped next to trees with nesting budgies and zebra finches, across from kite nests and a spoon bill roost. We also saw rainbow bee eaters, egrets of all types, herrons, terns, honey eaters, and many others we didn’t get to ID. There were some tense moments when a baby budgie fledged the nest only to crash into the water and then get swooped by a kite! After much advising of not to get involved and let nature take it’s course, I eventually allowed Hugo to intervene and lift the budgie from its tenuous clutch on the tree trunk it was clung to with it’s head barely out of the water, to a higher, safer location. He was chuffed with his life saving efforts.

 The next morning we had an early start thanks to the WA time difference (6am without an alarm and without trying!). After a leisurely start the plan was to go to Wolfe Creek national park and camp there, exploring the meteorite crater. We pulled up and had taken in the crater in about 20 minutes- an amazing sight but nothing more to occupy us than a 400m walk to the craters edge. 

The camp site was a bit barren and it was windy, so we decided to push on. The last section of the track to Halls Creek was possibly the worst- very rough with frequent big holes and to make matters worse lots of cattle on the road. By the time we were done we were ready to head to the nearest shower. Which happened to be the not very flashy Halls Creek caravan park. Mobile signal, power, washing machine, happy.

This weeks injuries: not much, just a million mozzie bites

Notable Wildlife Sightings: a dead donkey, our first Western Red Kangaroos, so many birds, and notably on the track, many flocks of budgies and many birds of prey.

Cruisin' Up The Highway

After our luxurious overnight hotel stay in Coober Pedy, with the trailer now significantly de-mudded with the thanks of the hotel hose, we faced the decision of whether to continue on our planned course, back up the Oodnadatta to Dalhousie Springs and past the Lambert centre of Australia before heading west again towards the rock. We were so happy being clean, and there was still the threat of more rain (and worse mud), so we decided to just cruise up the highway towards Yulara. 

We stopped for an quick overnighter at Kulgera- a highway stop which  possibly over-does the ocker thing.....

Then it was onto Yulara and the red centre..... which was more green than red! Recent above average rain has meant that the red desert sands are largely covered in green grasses above knee height. The desert light is beautiful, especially at sunrise.

Tim and I have both been to Uluru before, but you forget just how immense and powerful a place it is. The rock is a colossal thing, and hard to capture in words or pictures.

We went to The Field of Light installation at sunset, which is 50000 coloured glass globes which glow over 7 acres in the shadow of Uluru. Totally impossible to photograph well without a full size tripod, here are some of our pitiful efforts....

Following a couple of nights camping at Yulara, we packed up the trailer again and headed for the West Macdonnell Ranges. First stop was Kings Canyon, which has spectacular sheer cliffs allowing one to test their fear of heights- or not. This part of the Northern Territory is really spectacular- Kings Canyon has to be one of the best sights to see.

The campsite at Kings Canyon has dingoes which roam through the area, especially as people are cooking. It is slightly disconcerting to look up and have a dingo 2 metres away from where you are eating! This guy was hanging around a roadside rest area where we were stopped for lunch. 

We had to stop and check out a Thorny Devil that we passed over at 80 km/hr on the road. They are very hard to see amongst all the rocks and corrugations- fortunately he was fine, maybe more alarmed by the affection that Hugo showed to him after we turned around. The following 30 minutes of conversation in the car related to why he could not take one home as a pet. Hugo has no fear of small animals, and will happily pick up any insect for a closer inspection. This praying mantis was also a popular find.

From Kings Canyon we moved to closer to the WMR's west of Alice Springs. There are a few gorges along our target stretch of road, and as the afternoon was getting on we set up camp at the first one we came to, everyone getting hungry and tired of the miles- which turned out to be a great decision. We found a lovely bush campsite where neighbours were out of sight- it is great being isolated in the bush with access to the relative comforts of our camper trailer. Here's where we spent 2 nights at RedBank Gorge. This was a good base to explore the other gorges, Orminston and Ellery big Hole.

Palm Valley is also a popular 4WD trek off the main road in the WMR. Its an oasis in the middle of nowhere, at the end of a pretty rough and slow track- definitely not for the low clearance two wheel drive's. Found here are an isolated population of Red Cabbage palms, located about 1000 km's from their nearest relatives in Queensland. Various theories abound as to how they got to Palm Valley... via the digestive system of Pelicans seems to be the most favoured.

Our walk around Palm Valley was joined by fronny, the palm frond, who Hugo picked up and first used as a large hammer on the rocks and then used as a push sleigh type thing around the entire 2km loop walk.

Our visit to the west McDonnell's wrapped up with a walk up through Stanley Chasm. Lunch here was a welcome change from leftovers and stuff lying around in the fridge, served by an Irish couple who ran the local cafe at the start of the walk. Lasagne for the girls, pies for the boys, everyone was happy.

So off we went, out of the WMR headed for Alice Springs on Monday. Annie and Ashley (Kristen's parents), have been making their way from the Sunshine Coast via the Plenty Highway for the last week to meet us. A few nights in the relative civilisation of the Big4 caravan Park (with a few hundred others) have been fun. Its been a good chance to catch up on domestics- dentists, haircuts, shopping, mobile coverage (e.g. paying bills, making calls, posting updates to friends...), and shopping for the 2 weeks ahead when we will likely be off line and in some remote areas. Tomorrow we start the Tanami track with Annie and Ashley, a dirt road that heads North West from Alice Springs for abut 1100 km towards the Kimberly. We plan to take about 4 days to cross the desert. With no established campsites along the way, a left turn at the right time into the desert for as long as you feel seems the norm to set up camp and gaze at the stars. The Bungle Bungle's will then be home for a week or so after that.

This weeks injuries: continuing bite woes, a dislodged filling. Possibly a bruised ego or 2.

Notable wildlife sightings: dingo, perentie, crimson chat, zebra finch, thorny devil