Left Yulara at 8.15am, I drove 200km and on dirt road to Wallara Ranch. Good setup for school groups. Roomy eating facility, 4 room cabins, billiard table, swimming pool. Two hours to Uluru. Kings canyon up road, tours available. Went on to Henbury Crater through Fempe Downs and Angus Downs stations – they go for miles. A number of dead cattle on the roads. Crater site supposed meteorite crater, meteor size of 4 gallon drum 40,000 years ago. Unbelievable that it could be identified. Morris got a flat tyre on this road. Had lunch and proceeded into Alice Springs only to find it was show day and banks were shut. We got some groceries in a flash arcade. Mall is really rather nice. Stayed at McDonnell Ranges caravan park. Very crowded but nice sites. Pork chops and vegies for tea.
Category: Parents Central Australia, QLD 1988
Journey done in 1988 with a Landcruiser towing a camper trailer. Up through Central Australia and across through Queensland back to Victoria. Based on a hand written journal kept by Bev.
Uluru
Up to catch the bus at 8.30am on Edible Desert Tour. Quite good but would have liked more input from Pintinjarra people Cassidy and Tikku. Saw weapons and bowls etc. water bowl, baby bowl, winnowing bowl, flynet and head band for carrying bowl. Man had human hair belt to carry boomerangs and 6 spears. Nulla Nulla – Kill carried round shoulders. Women provided 80% of food and 90% of time. Aphids on mulga – food for honey ants. Witchetty grubs in mulga root can tell by sawdust and noise if grub is there. Dig through crust with digging stick use winnowing bowl for shovel. Showed us winnowing of seeds. Drug made from powdered leaves from tobacco bush-ash from spinifex and leaves from the grevillia. Hold under lip and sucking through teeth. Used to keep up spirits on long walks, social drug. Man had a spear made from vine bound with kangaroo sinew moistened to bind. Resin on Nulla Nulla was from spinifex and fibre from mulga tree. Vine was straightened over a fire. Spear in one piece was punishment spear. Put through persons leg – if cant walk you fall behind and die. Serious crime through the kidneys. Water available in pig face like plant. Sheoak in fork of branches, root of tree. Came back and went for a drive to Uluru. Walked around base, quite impressive. Caves, gorge with waterfall when it rains. Back for lunch and then to Olgas or Kata Tjuta. Really wonderful. Tremendous number of plants, through valley of the winds and across middle basin to lookout. Very lush in the centre. Magnificent towering rocks at each side. Great boulders of conglomerate, very spectacular. Like walking through Uluru. Originally would have been a much larger version of Uluru. Really wonderful. Home by 6.30pm then dined at a Grill in Yulara. Good meal home to bed.
Yulara
Left early up the highway to Kulgera. I drove nearly 200km very pleased I stayed awake in fact I stayed awake all day today. Beautiful scrubland today, lovely wild flowers, brachyscome daisies blue flower, red tipped leafy plants, thryptomene bush, wattles, really pretty. Didn’t stop except for Kulgera. Arrived Yulara early afternoon to do the washing – bucket unsuccessful. Early tea, Houses all desert pink and white, rock very impressive as we drove in. Arrived early did my washing pegged out washing machine working well. Cooked tea walked over around the shops had a drink in a bar, home to bed.
Cooper Pedy
Left 8.45am washing on wash. Flat land green but little growth, crossed south end of Lake Eyre, no water – met Bicentennial Camel Train walking to Byron Bay Leigh discovered he had lost the trailer ball nut. I travelled in Morris’s car while Morris and Keddy had a drive of the Land Cruiser and vice versa. Saw a few road trains and a couple of vehicles that were with us at Marree. Stopped at William Creek smallest town in Australia. Walls jammed with Rotary student cards, funny posters, newspaper articles, etc. Wonderful concrete tank toilets, indestructible and very clean. Old model jaloppie in station yard. Turned off planned route to Cooper Pedy. Very barren landscape often lake beds and occassional creek beds marked by a line of trees. Sand dunes sometimes otherwise flat, flat gibber. Come to mining sites about 4pm. Drove into a tourist town, people everywhere. Mines all around. Ostentatious hotel desert cave a’la American style. Had pizzas at Johns across the road. Man came in doing a whip around for someone sick. Lady not interested he owed them $500. Went to see underground home joined the end of the queue which wound through a mine very unexciting then viewed an underground house with a tartar of a lady. Mines just everywhere. Caravan park very poor. Moved on into darkness to spend the night at Cadney Park. Expected a homestead but only a roadhouse. Had a fire and a light meal.
Flinders Ranges, Lyndhurst
Morris up before daylight. We were up at 6.30am. Had breakfast packed up and on the walk by 9am. We walked up to Wangana lookout Morris grizzling all the way about how they had ruined the place and National Parks meant you couldn’t find anything anymore signs were always wrong. The view from the lookout was great. This open low grassy plain covered with gums so green surrounded by hills some beautifully coloured hills and rocks. We passed a hut on the way. Stone shell was complete also patterned metal ceiling. Beautiful day and a lovely walk. Small star flowers in the rocks, lily like leaves touches of purple also a yellow goodenia. Back by 11.had a cuppa and set off for the rest of the pound. Bunyeroo valley just beautiful, rolling green hills and pretty weeping trees. Tried out the 4wd bit through creek beds, Leigh insisting he could drive the Falcon through anyway. Stopped at Yanyanna Hut up to Brachina Gorge. Once again so lovely in the sun. Creek beds and red river gums against brown, orange rocks. Had lunch in a delightful spot, bread, soup and cheese and fruit/ defied cooked lunch. On out to main road followed the range up but flat plains between us to Leigh Creek South. Great coal mines on the right . Passed all the buses and trucks bringing the workers home. Miles of mines open cut ugly heaps left behind. Very flat plains followed. Stopped at Lyndhurst where the Strezlecki track comes in. Girl in the store had Sturt Pea flowers. Bitumen stops here. Gravel road to Marree. Beautiful sunset grey then pink. Reached Marree caravan park with just enough light to set up. Cooked tea and enjoyed it at our table. Played our tape – lovely starry night. Wrote this by gaslight. Think we may be getting organised at last. Cat howling wood all over the paddock
Arrive Wilpena Pound
Left early. Drove to Renmark to refuel, I drove for a while after this but prone to going to sleep. Got as far as Morgan. Everything green and bushy still good season. Had lunch on a very windy hill. Farmer fertilising his paddock next door. Just out of Hallett at 2.00pm near Mt Bryan. On to Terowie where Morris looked for a paddock full of trains that were gone, found a paddock of cars though. Gravel road after Orroroo windy and bleak hillsides pretty valleys probably terrible in summer. Lost contact with other vehicle on this road, later communication seemed okay. Sailing along to run out of petrol just after craddock. Became dark while we refueled so missed daylight camp again. Beautiful approach to Wilpena Pound.
