Coober Pedy is now behind me as I slowly make my way Northwards with the odd detour up the Stuart Highway. My first stop after leaving was a rest area called Tarcoonyinna. I was a good 200mtrs from the road, just me two dogs and about a billion flies. I thought the flies were bad in Queensland last winter, but I must admit the Northern Territory flies have them beaten hands down. Anyway I digress, so I was looking forward to getting a good sleep as there should have been very little noise. About 1am two road trains pulled in and both either left their engines running all the time or the chiller units they were pulling had very loud compressors. What miffed me even more was there were signs at the entrance saying no trucks, which is one of the reasons I chose this site.
Consequently the next day was an early start and back onto the highway. About an hour after setting off I came to the Northern Territory border where I stopped to give “the boys” a quick run before going across. The first thing I noticed in the NT was that the highway speed limit increased from 110kph to 130kph, not that I do those sort of speeds when towing, I normally put the cruise control on 95kph and just tootle along. about 20kms or so after crossing the border I came across Kulgera Roadhouse so decided to pull in for a coffee and to top up with fuel. I was feeling so tired at the counter that I just booked myself a powered site for the night, no point continuing if you dont feel like it. So into the caravan park I go.
That evening I couldn’t be bothered cooking so thought I would get myself something to eat at the Roadhouse/pub. I had clearly lost all memory of just what outback Roadhouse meals were like. I order something light, a chicken schnitzel chips and salad, too easy. Now imagine a square dinner plate the chips covered the whole of the bottom of it, but I couldn’t see them straight off as the schnitzel completely covered all the chips, not sure how big the chooks are out this way but I wouldn’t want to meet one it a dark alley. The salad came shortly afterwards in what could only be described as a large soup bowl which, if you asked for this salad in a normal food outlet would have been a main course. I tried my very best but needless to say there was no way I could manage it all.
Saturday late evening the rains came, and down it came with a vengeance. I must admit it wasnt nearly as bad as the East Coast of Australia got, terrible flooding and damage caused there, me I just had a very noisy roof (so there went a peaceful nights sleep again) and some mud and very large puddles the next morning. It rained all Saturday night, all day Sunday and most of the day Monday. So what was originally one night stopover turned into three.
On Monday night I thought I would get a bit of a feed in the Pub again before leaving on the Tuesday morning. I thought I would play it safe and just get a burger for my supper, Oh how naive was I. This thing when it arrived stood a good 20cms (8ins) tall and consisted of 3 homemade beef patties, and they weren’t thin by any means, each topped with beetroot, cheese, onions, lettuce, tomatoes. and at the very top under the top bun was a fried egg. All this in a bun which seemed to hold it all together with help from a large skewer, very admirably . I didnt know whether to eat it or climb to the top of it a sing nearer to my God than thee. Once again I was beaten by the sheer amount of food. But in their defence you get a good lot of tucker for a very reasonable price.
On the Tuesday morning despite a very light drizzle I managed to get out of the puddles and light mud and get back on the road again. My next destination which I was quite excited to see again was Uluru (Ayres Rock). I wasnt going to reach it in one day, but I had planned where I was going to stop for the night. The first pull over place was Erldunda Roadhouse which was about 80kms up the road, again for a top up of fuel and a coffee, plus a very cheeky blueberry muffin. I was now starting to get used to the Outback fuel prices. This Roadhouse is right on the junction where I had to turn off to the West to Uluru. After fuelling the car and myself I gave the dogs a quick stretch while I booked the campsite for when I got to Uluru. While I was on the phone the dogs started kicking up a fuss in the back barking and carrying on, very strange thought I as normally the are very quiet. Originally I thought it was just a dog running around from the roadhouse, but as I looked out of the passenger window there casually strolling by the car was and Emu which the boys were saying G’day to. On leaving this location I was only planning to go another 40kms or so before pulling over for the night. Just for info from the turning to Uluru was 240kms. My planned stopover was flooded, the second one I had noticed was like a mud bath, I think the local (if there is such a thing) people in the 4X4’s had been having a real yahoo time. But I struck lucky with the third place I came across, much better option than my original choice. By this time I had travelled just over 200kms rather than the 120 or so kms I had planned. It still left me with 130kms to go.
The next day it was on to Uluru or to be precise Yulara, which is where the camp site was and that was about 20kms before Uluru. Yulara is basically only there to service all the visitors who come to see the rock. It is just a load of hotels, holiday apartments and a camping and caravan park. Allied to this there is a small supermarket a couple of bars/cafes, and 3 or 4 shops selling all the touristy type stuff.
The last time I was there was 1998, and boy its grown a bit since then. The hotel I stayed at then was closed, the sign said due to covid but looking inside it had been stripped. Maybe they are going to refurbish it. I remember going out the back door to the hotel when I was there walking about 100mtrs then up a small sand dune for a lovely clear view of the rock. Now if you went out the back door and walked 50mtrs you were in a residential street, or to be more accurate someones back garden. Still Uluru is still an awe inspiring sight for what is basically a large lump of sandstone in the middle of nowhere. You will all no doubt be pleased to learn that my new hoover came in very handy with all the red sand the boys dragged in.
My stay passed all to quickly and I was soon making the trek back to the Erldunda roadhouse for my morning coffe, and again a fuel top up. You may be be wondering why I stop for fuel so often. You soon learn that due to the distances between places in the Outback that if you pass somewhere selling fuel you top up the tanks as there is no guarantee that the next place will have any.
I was looking forward to getting to my next planned stop which was Alice Springs, another place which has long been on my list of places to visit in Oz. About 30kms after the roadhouse I found a lovely Rest Area called Desert Oaks to stay for a couple of nights, before making the push to Alice. Tonight is my last night in Alice Springs, back on the road tomorrow, but Ive had a really good time here. Ive long had a liking for Aboriginal Art and boy they have some really lovely pieces on display in their galleries, unfortunately only two things stopped my from buying some, firstly the prices, and secondly the sheer size of some of them. I done a few little trips out and about, one to the Alice Springs Telegraph station which was the first telegraph station built and used to receive messages and telegrams from Singapore, before other other stations came into being and then messages were sent around Australia. I was a bit disappointed with my visit here and all the building were locked so you couldn’t go in and look around. So you were basically paying $15.50 just to walk around some old buildings. Anzac hill was a lovely place, it overlooked the whole town and the Mcdonnell ranges which ring the township. But also it was dedicated to all the Australians that had died in all the wars they were engaged in going right back before WWI. One place I was glad I visited was Standley Chasm which is basically an 80mtr high and 3mtr wide chasm made by water/rivers over a millennia or two, its all dried up now but you can walk along it. I had to leave the dogs in the van for a couple of hours, well nearer three, but they were fine as I left the aircon on for them. The reason for that is because you are not allowed to take dogs in National Parks, (again dont get me on my soapbox about that). So they had to take on the duties of vicious guard dogs for a spell. Like so many other places Ive been to I think Alice could be my kind of town, especially as the lady on the radio here was complaining it was a bit chilly in the morning as it was only 16c. If only they knew.
Anyway shipmates, I think that will do for this missive and as per a couple of photos for you non readers to look at.
Ooops before I forget. Pats I’ve now got a whistling kettle that whistles.
Geoff1511 Travels 