"We don't do mocha's here"

Well I wasn't going to argue with the burly, tattooed woman at the isolated road house...but seriously, it's not that hard!
The alarm went off at 5am..and we were on the road by 5.40 yesterday morning. The plan was to drive 1200km from Alice Springs to Mataranka. A very long drive...but just one straight highway with a 130km speed limit most of the way (not that we travel quite that fast with a heavily loaded car and trailer!).
Our first stop for breakfast was at a rundown ( at first we thought closed down) roadhouse. The burly, unfriendly woman behind the counter obviously didn't understand my need for a mocha, or she might have scooped some chocolate powder into the cappuccino. We were also hoping for some breakfast but the deep fried dim sims and chicken drumsticks just weren't looking very nutritious, so toasted sandwiches were the next best thing. Avoiding the mangy looking dogs, we headed off as quick as we could.
The rest of the day was spent looking at the same straight road, and mostly unchanging scenery...just under 12 hours all up. We did make one proper stop at a ghost-town called Newcastle Waters. We made some lunch and explored one of the buildings, the old store.








We left Alice Springs at 5.40am, temp 5 degrees.
We arrived Mataranka at 5.25pm, temp 30 degrees...hooray!

We were, of course, very tired. The boys had traveled so well, with very little complaining. We set up camp quickly and cooked up some dinner...then decided ( after much pleading) to have a quick look at the natural thermal pool. We wandered through the palm trees until we found the spectacular moon lit creek. The pools had been formed by widening the creek during ww2, and was originally for officers use only. Within minutes we were all floating under the palms and sparkling stars...in soothing warm water. On the way back we stopped for a drink and to listen to some live country music at the warm open air bar.
As we sat there together I completely forgot the long drive, and knew with absolute certainty, there is nothing. better. than. this.

Cazz x



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Location:Somewhere on the road, NT

Standley chasm and Alice Springs

Monday 19th July

I love updating this blog. It helps me to remember where we've been and what we have experienced. Not that I'm likely to forget, but there's always the risk that I'll forget the smaller details..and what day or week it was.
So I feel a little behind while I type this on my ( best thing ever) iPad, listening to a Wendy Harmer podcast in the car. We got up at 5am, and were on the road at 5.40...and here we are are 5 hours later somewhere in the centre of the Northern Territory. But I need to go back a few days..

Friday July 16th 2010

We woke early at Standley Chasm...another freezing night. This place is a part of the West Macdonnell ranges, and the 233km Larapinta walking trail.
Surrounded by steep orange rocky cliff faces, we wandered along the creek bed to the narrow section of the chasm, which is only a few meters wide but towering above us. We then climbed a small section of the actual walking trail, climbing the steep mountain side right to the top. The views were amazing...but the wind was just a bit cold!





After lunch we packed up and drove to Alice Springs. The big4 caravan park here has it all. Large shower/laundry blocks. Billy carts for hire, bouncing pillow, bmx track, organized activities such as free pancakes on Sunday mornings, an excellent didgeridoo workshop...and the list goes on.

We decided to stay here for 3 nights. A good chance to do some washing, shopping and relaxing. We also tried to have our damaged tyre repaired...of course it couldn't be...and do you think tyres for our car are available here. Nope! Another slight change to the plans...with a side trip to Darwin to pick up a new tyre..and additional spare wheel!

I hadn't expected to enjoy Alice springs so much. Besides the luxury of shopping at a real supermarket, we really enjoyed the local culture and activities. Thomas and I visited the women's pioneer museum, which told the story of many amazing Women. It is located in the old gaol which was also quite an experience ( slightly spooky actually). We spent the next day (sunday) at the reptile park, where the boys handled lizards and a massive python. The rest of the day was spent at the fabulous cultural centre where we heard stories of hardship and sacrifice by early explorers and missionaries. We viewed some beautiful aboriginal artwork, including some by Albert Namatjira ( we were also able to find his grave in the nearby cemetery). We saw the display of beanies from the famous beanie festival, and made a quick visit to the aviation museum..whew! It's a good thing A.S is a small town!
Yesterday afternoon we packed up as much as we could, ate dinner at a nearby restaurant ( featuring roast night - yum!)..all ready for an early start today.

Cazz and boys xxx

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A long day, and a change of plans...

We were excited about our first day 'off road'. We were prepared for the mud, the dust, the river crossings..and the long wide rough red dirt road.
The tyres had been let down to allow for the corrugated road, and by 11am we set off on the 150km long mereenie loop rd. Within minutes we were quite literally covered in thick red mud! The boys were roaring with laughter each time we came to another section of the road completely under water...the mud spraying right up over the top of the car...which soon resembled an army tank covered in inches of mud!












The road was obviously in much worse condition days earlier, as we could see all the dried up mud ruts where cars before us had slid...so at least we had some dry sections. The corrugations weren't too bad, and we seemed to be doing quite well.
About 100km into the trip we hit a deeper rut quite hard, heard a loud boom and grant noticed something flying off the back of the car. Our worst nightmare was realized when we saw the completely blown out tyre...which had torn off the rear mudflap! While changing a tyre is generally just an inconvenience....this was a real pain-because to remove the spare tyre we had to completely empty the back of the car...fitted with a built in unit, shelves, fridge, tubs etc etc. We set off to work, emptying out the car, then Grant managed to change the tyre without too much trouble, although all up we were stranded for nearly 2 hours.






Not many cars travel along this difficult road, but the few that drove past all stopped to offer help. The boys had a great time discovering ants nests, catching grasshoppers...and competing with one another throwing rocks as far as they could!
We were very thankful for the cooler temperatures ( about 20 degrees) and were very happy to be back on the road!

We came to a sign for Albert Namatjira's house but were saddened to see it in disrepair, there was obviously once some info boards but only the frames remained. I did have a wander through the tiny two roomed house, which looked quite picturesque in the afternoon light.







We continued more cautiously for the next 70km or so until we finally came to the road into palm valley...a beautiful camp site reached after several km of off road driving, and river crossings....and the sign said 'ROAD CLOSED'. We couldn't believe it! We had so looked forward to visiting this place we had heard so much about. There were several 4WD coming out and they assured us that the road had just reopened (they had been stuck for 5 days because of flooding) and we would be fine to get in. So we made the decision to keep going, and came to our first ever river crossing...it was the most beautiful spot. We made it across easily, much to the excitement of the boys! Feeling quite happy now, we continued along the rocky road until we came across the local ranger...who sternly asked if we had noticed the road closed sign...and advised us to turn around!

The river crossing:











So we sadly farewelled the idea of ever seeing palm valley and continued on our way. By now it was getting late in the afternoon, and we we all feeling a bit tired. We stopped at an aboriginal community called Hermansburg for some food and some air in the tyres. We could have camped here but the barbed wire campground didn't look very inviting, so we decided to continue on to Owen Springs reserve...but no luck with the roads again closed!
We finally reached a beautiful spot 50km before Alice Springs called Standley Chasm, and set up our camper in the car park...it was just getting dark...and once again was a very cold night. We enjoyed our hot chocolates before bed...and were glad to be off the road at last!

Cazz and boys xxx



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Location:Alice springs, nt

Spectacular kings canyon!

Wed 14th July 2010

It was an easy drive yesterday from Uluru to kings canyon...sealed road and only about 4 hours in the car. It's funny how quickly a drive which we would have considered to be long, seems suddenly quite easy.
The campground here is quieter and nicer than Uluru. There are dingos around, one of them took off with our rubbish bag last night while we were out! We took the kids to the campground pub for some live entertainment...lots of fun for the kids...but we probably won't go back tonight!
The boys helping out with the washing up...



Today we completed the 6km rim walk at kings canyon. A spectacular walk with some strenuous sections, but the most magnificent views over the canyon. The stunning 'garden of Eden' has some huge cyads which are remnants from prehistoric times.















Once again the boys managed really well...the cooler weather has made these walks really enjoyable.
We don't have any phone or Internet coverage (always scary when technology isn't available!) but I'm hoping to use the cafe wifi to upload this today.

Tomorrow we will attempt our first real off road driving along the mereenie loop rd to a beautiful camp at palm valley. There are lots of very muddy cars here which have obviously come from that direction. It hasn't rained for a couple of days, so we're hoping the condition a have improved.
We should be back in touch in a few days time.

Cazz and boys xxx

Location:Northern territory

Uluru and kata tjuta (the 'olgas')

I've seen plenty of photos of Uluru..but nothing compares to the magnificent sight of it, towering above us as we rode our bikes all the way around it's base. It really is the most magic sight, and the red colour against the striking blue sky is really special. The campground here is fairly ordinary and busy. I managed to convince everyone to drive out to the viewing point ( with many other tourists) to watch the sun set on the rock...it was really breathtaking.










The boys were more interested in playing in the red sand...



The 7.5km hike through the sacred kata tjuta was fairly challenging but worth the effort. No wonder the aboriginal people believe them to be so sacred...what a magic place...






We were all quite tired by the end of the day. The nights have been pretty cold -some only around 3-4 degrees, the days are perfect sunny and around 20 degrees. Everyone is sleeping very well though.
The stars in the sky at night are just spectacular!

Thomas "it was a very tiring walk through the 'olgas', but great!"
Harry "When we rode around Uluru some of the sides looked like faces and we saw some wild camels"
Charlie "I liked the ride around Uluru, but it was too long!"
Grant really just wants to sit by the tent....

Cazz and boys xxx

Location:Northern territory

Weird and wonderful Coober Pedy!

I'm not really sure how to best describe this place. We expected it to be unusual but it really doesn't get much more unusual than this. You would have to be a bit different to actually choose to live here! The population is quite varied...and multicultural. This is purely a mining town...the search for opals the reason that the town exists at all. Did you know that 80% of the worlds opals come from coober pedy?


We visited an original mine, underground homes (no heating or aircon needed...constant 20-25 degrees temp all year round), and stayed in an underground hotel room...the boys were thrilled!
We drove out to the 'moonscape' where movies such as mad max and Priscilla were filmed. We also marveled at the dog fence 5000km long, dividing northern dingos from the sheep in the south.





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We also visited the wacky home of 'crocodile harry'. Although he died in 2006 his spirit definitely lives on in his underground home...decorated with all things wild and wonderful. His life as a real croc hunter inspired the character for the movie 'crocodile dundee' and his underground 'grotto' was used in the movie mad max beyond thunder dome.







We waved goodbye to Coober Pedy yesterday, and drove for 8 hours to Uluru...we hope to cycle around it today.



Cazz and boys x


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Location:Cooper pedy, south Australia

...and we are on the road at last!

photo
Originally uploaded by beloved photography (cazz)

 
...and we're on the road at last!

Surviving the couple of days before our 3month trip was never going to be easy. Last minute planning, packing, shopping...and of course sorting out our house...but we managed to do it without too many meltdowns! Thanks to our fabulous friends who helped look after the kids, cooked us dinner...or (this week) are putting out our bins, collecting mail and feeding our spoilt rabbit.
The trip to Adelaide was great. The boys managed the long trip really well...even though we discovered the DVD player wasn't working! We arrived at our friend's place just in time for dinner. Chris and Pamela were probably surprised just a few days ago, that we were planning on visiting, and staying for a couple of days! They generously housed and fed us...it was great to catch up with them, and meet their two gorgeous boys, who became instant friends with ours...such is the way with kids!
After a day spent relaxing in beautiful Adelaide, DVD player repaired and a 5.30am departure....we are now on the road to coober pedy. The landscape has changed so much already. The strurt hwy is dry and barren, but the temp outside is only 12 degrees.
The sun is shining...and we're well and truly on our way.

Thomas " the flying fox of death at fergus and oliver's house was fun!"
Harry "I ran on the longest wooden pier in Australia with dad....and I saw a dolphin in the water....it was 3km return!"
Charlie "I am bored when we have to drive a long way!"
Grant is feeling slightly shady after a couple of nights on red wine, catching up with Chris!

Cazz and boys xx