Crossing over from South Australia into the Northern Territory
Heading into the Northern territory we passed a massive car rally on the highway, called the shit box rally, there were over 100 cars. The only rule was that the car could be worth no more than $500
Erldunda, Roadhouse 12/05/19
We stayed the night here, they had a kangaroo, emu and camel enclosure at the caravan park at the back of the road house. We went into the road house and had a beer and game of pool.
The next morning we headed off for a 3 night stay at Kings Canyon, the photos below are of our hot, dry, fly blown roadside lunch stop on the way, the soil was a very rich red colour
By this stage of the trip the flies were swarming in huge numbers and we could not go outside at all without wearing our fly nets over our heads. With out the fly nets over our heads they sent us insane, with us swinging our arms around madly, trying to shoo them away. For me, John, I have never seen so many flies in all my life. We are enjoying our sightseeing but the flies make it very uncomfortable
Kings Canyon
Below is the Kings Canyon 6 kilometer rim walk, which I did myself. It was to steep and challenging for Deb, only 3.5 months after her double knee operation
The next day we went on a 1.5 kilometre walk together to a permanent waterhole near by at Kathleen Spring. Swimming was not allowed at this and many other water holes due to the Aborigines claiming that they are sacred sites. The water is usually way too cold anyway. Also shown below is an old aboriginal grinding stone used to grind husks and berries in food preparation. A lot of these sites in the Northern territory have been handed back to the indigenous local populations in Land rights deals.
17/05/19 Off to Ayers Rock
After a free overnight stop at Curtain Springs road house camp ground, we arrived at Yalara resort caravan park. The rest of the resort is like a small town 20 kilometres before Ayers Rock.
The next morning we drove out to the Rock. As we got closer the view took my breath away. I was stunned at what a magnificent site Ayers rock truly is. It is majestic and the most amazing natural wonder I have ever seen. It seems to constantly change colour as the sun moves across the sky. Climbing up the rock is going to be banned in October this year. Even though I could have climbed it I had no interest in doing so, it is extremely steep and very dangerous. About 35 people have been killed and many more injured climbing it in the past 30 years. Photos below are of Ayers Rock
The Olga’s 19/05/19
The next day we drove out to the Olga’s about 50 kilometres east of Ayers Rock, not as majestic as Ayers Rock but still stunning views.
Did I mention the FLIES.
We departed Yalara resort the next day heading for Alice Springs, we stayed at a free roadside rest area that night and met a nice Queensland couple who lit a fire outside their van. We joined them for a couple of drinks around the fire, it was very cold. We made the mistake of leaving a light on in our van while we were chatting with them and by the time we returned there were hundreds of tiny insects inside the van. They managed to get in despite all the screens being closed tight. Deb sprayed the whole van with bug spray and we went straight to bed, the next morning there were dead bugs everywhere stuck to the walls.
The pictures above are of a Death Adder hiding under a tuft of spinifex grass, if bitten, you will die from total paralysis and respiratory failure in between 1 to 4 hours unless treated with anti venom. Death Adders and King Brown snakes are the two most common deadly snakes here in the Northern Territory. This is the reason Debbie and I always wear strong hiking boots and long loose fitting trousers when hiking through trails in the bush. Apart from keeping a sharp eye out it is your only defense against a possible bight as they only have short fangs, they are unlikely to get their fangs through the boots and trousers. It amazes us though when we see some dopey buggers walking through the bush with shorts and thongs on, no brains and happy without them!
