Saturday 21st July - Tuesday 24th July 2012 - Alice Springs

We drove into town and because Ed was still sick we decided that we needed to stay in a cabin for a few nights of warmth. We stayed t the Wintersun Caravan Park in town. Our next stop was the Alice Springs Hospital so that Ed could see a Dr and get some antibiotics. we then chilled out in the afternoon while the kids did some school work and we did a few jobs and some food shopping.
Feeling warm was so wonderful.
On Sunday we took a day trip out to the West McDonnell Ranges. We went to several points of interest along the way. We stopped at Ormiston Gorge, Simpsons Gap, the Ochre Pits And Standley Chasm. They were all quite pretty but we were glad that we weren't camping out there (that was our original plan till we couldn't cope with the cold any longer!).

Simpsons Gap

Ormiston Gorge

Ochre Pits

We had a lovely relaxing day exploring the ranges. It was a great feeling knowing that we would be going back to another night in a warm geared cabin! The kids enjoyed having baths and Ed and I enjoyed having 2 showers a day whilst we could!

On Monday we did another day trip out to the East Macdonnell Ranges. They were also very pretty. We went to Jessie and Emily Gaps, Corroboree Rock and to the Trephina Gorge.

Trephina Gorge - we walked through the gorge then up and around the rim.

We spent the afternoon doing school work and getting prepared to leave and having a look around Alice. Our last night in warmth. Ed is so much better!

Thursday 19th - Friday 20th July 2012 - Uluru to Kings Canyon

We packed up early and headed towards Kings Canyon. We camped at the campground and did some housekeeping cleaning of the car and trailer as well as some washing.
We enjoyed the sunset over the canyon with a drink and some cheese before going to bed.

The steep climb up to the canyon rim

The next morning we packed up and headed out to Kings Canyon to do the rim walk which was around 6km walk.
It was a steep climb initially and then it is a lovely walk around the canyon. The colours were amazing.
We also walked down into the Garden of Eden which was this lovely permanent waterhole.

The Garden of Eden

Along the way around the walk there were several boardwalks and steps to help you negotiate the rocks.

My 2 favourite boys on the canyon edge

After lunch we drove towards some meteorite craters (Henbury Craters) with the intention of camping there however the campsite was very barren so we went back onto the Stuart Hwy and managed to find a rest stop on the side of the road about 120km south of Alice Springs. Ed and the girls had a look at the craters but Thomas had a little melt down so he and I stayed in the car. Not long after we pulled into the rest stop our Tassie friends from the Oodnadatta Track also joined us which was exciting for the kids.
It was another freezing night. One guy in a caravan measured the temperature inside his van and it was minus 3 degrees overnight. Imagine how much colder it was only under canvas. The tap at the toilets had a frozen icicle on it and our water tank froze.
After a breakie of bacon and eggs we packed up and headed into Alice Springs.

Monday 16th July - Thursday 19th July - Dalhousie Springs to Uluru

We packed up in the cold morning and continued on the rocky road to Mt. Dare. That was also a bad road to travel on.

As we were pulling in we crossed paths with the Patrol Club doing the re-creation of the first car crossing of the Simpson 50 years ago. After a brief stop we drove on into NT.

In NT just past the town of Finke we drove 14km off the road into the Lamberts Centre which is the geographical centre of Australia. It is named after a Dr Bruce Lambert who was involved in the mapping of Australia.

It looks like a mini top of new Parliament House!

We camped the night at a caravan park at Erldunda. Another freezing cold night.
We had a slow start to the morning before driving through to Uluru. It was exciting to be finally seeing Uluru. Along the way we saw another large monolith called Mt. Connor which looked even bigger than Uluru.

Mt Connor - A view from the car on my phone.

We got our park tickets which are valid for 3 days and explored the cultural centre and the visitors centre. We parked at 'The Rock' and did a bit of exploring around the base. The climb was closed for the day.

Ed surfing at Uluru

A view of the base of Uluru

We set up camp and relaxed as the sunset over Uluru.
We got going around 9am and drove to the rock for our climb. Luckily it was open. It wasn't an easy walk but we made it to the top. The view over to the Olgas was fantastic. The climb down was hard as it was so slippery. Thank god for the chain. The kids did really well.

It's an awesome sight as you drive up closer to it.

Me climbing the rock - my quads were sore for days!

At the top of Uluru

Going down the very slippery slope of Uluru. The kids slid on their bottoms part of the way down and they all ended up with holes in their shorts!

We drove over to the Olgas and had lunch. We then took a walk called the 'Valley of the Winds' that took you through the Olgas. They are really spectacular.

We were all a bit tired and warm after an 8km walk so we set off back to the campground and caught the last rays of the sunset over Uluru.

Sunday 15th July 2012 - Oodnadatta - Dalhousie Springs

After a brief stop at the famous 'Pink Roadhouse' we drove on up to Dalhousie Springs on the edge of the Simpson Desert. It was a slow drive as the road was rocky - Gibber rocks (so says Ed). It took awhile to get there going around 40km/hr.

Some old ruins at old Dalhousie

Once we set up camp and some school work was done we went for an amazing warm swim in the spring. It was beautiful and warm and it was full of those little fish that nibble your feet. It was lovely - the hard part was getting out into the cold evening!

The kids and I enjoying the thermal spring at Dalhousie

The cold morning mist over the thermal spring

Luckily Ed had enough wood that we had a small fire to get us warm before we had another freezing night in the desert. Ed's cold that he had had for a week is not getting better with this cold air!
Thank god for thermals!

Friday 13th July 2012 - Sunday 15th 2012 - Coober Pedy - Oodnadatta

We packed up slowly and went into explore Coober Pedy. The kids were fascinated by the houses dug into the hills and underground. It looks like the movie set from the original Star Wars and apparently some of the Mad Max movies were filmed here. It's a pretty barren landscape. After a visit to the Visitors Centre we took the kids to the Old Timers Mine. We put on hard hats and began exploring the old mine. There was also a house attached to the mine which was interesting to see. I don't think I could live in an underground house - it's a bit claustrophobic! Afterwards we all had fun in the noodling pit looking for opals. I am not sure why they call looking for opals noodling!

The Old Timers Mine

We also went to one of the hotels in town and explored the underground exhibition they have about the history of Coober Pedy.
After restocking on supplies we decided to camp again out of town in the direction of Oodnadatta. We left town around 4pm hoping to find somewhere to camp. Unfortunately we didn't expect the moon Plains. The was literally no one place to camp. It was a barren landscape. We kept driving thinking we would camp near the Painted Desert (apparently famous for being in the movie Pricilla Queen of the Desert). It was only 45km out of town so we pushed on into Oodnadatta and camped at the racetrack. We had heard that there was a rodeo day there so we thought that we would all enjoy something different. It was another freezing cold night.
The next day we got up and went over to watch the action.

It started with camp drafting - a rider chooses a cow out of a pack and then attempts to steer it around a course whilst on horseback.
The next event was the main event - bronco branding. A rider has to rope a cow and then their team of 3 helpers has to rope a from leg and then a back leg and then the 3rd person uses paint to put a brand on the cows rump and their head. The teams are made up of guys and girls from the different stations. The team that brands 3 cows in the least amount of time wins.

They then did double branding where they had 2 riders to get cows to be branded. The winning team was the one who could brand 6 cows in the least about of time. The ran a calcutta on the double branding and we drew the top team (they went on to win). As we could afford to bid in the auction we waited and ended up getting $150 for just having that team. Happy days!!
They finished the day off with steer riding and wrestling. The kids enjoyed the day, especially as they also had a play area come craft etc set up to entertain the kids.

We finished off the day with a great roast dinner and some great company.
Another freezing night camping under the starts of Oodnadatta

Thursday 12th July 2012 - Coward Springs to Coober Pedy

We left Coward Springs and drove further down the Oodnadatta Track to William Creek.

A long drive for not much! (ABC Landing)

Just in case we had missed seeing all of  Lake Eyre we drove in towards the ABC Landing. Bad mistake! It was an awful track full of rocks and corrigations. Ed was cursing the whole time - approximately 2 hours. We had a quick lunch at ABC Landing before tackling the track again.

A sign post at William Creek

After a quick stop at William Creek we drove to Coober Pedy. The drive there was much more comfortable.
We camped just out of town and our Tassie friends joined us again - much to the delight of the kids (especially Charlotte & Olivia). Ed and Bel both cooked some damper which was yummy for sweets with strawberry jam.

Wednesday 11th July 2012 - Farina - Oodnadatta Track

We started the day by packing up and exploring the Farina Ruins. These ruins were once a thriving town on the old Ghan train line. In recent times a group of volunteers have worked to restore and protect the ruins. It was a thriving town until the 1930's I think. It was obviously a decent size town and it appears that there is still a working bakery there. There were ruins of a police station, school, hotel, butcher, post office and several homes.

At the entrance to the Post Office ruins

After exploring Farina we drove down to  Lyndhurst to start the Strzelecki Track. Unfortunately it was closed due to rain making the track difficult so we changed our plans again. (The fine for driving on a closed road is $1000 per tyre. We have 9 tyres!).
So off we went back to Maree and then onto the Oodnadatta Track.

Along the way we stopped at several spots to view Lake Eyre and historical spots along the old Ghan Railway.

Exploring the Old Ghan Railway along the track.

The old Curdimurka Railway Siding. Every 2 years they hold a big ball here and people apparently flock here for the big event.  

We camped at a place called Coward Springs. There were some supposedly 'hot springs' there - they were luke warm at best but the kids had fun. We met another couple there from Tassie (Bel & Pete) who had 3 girls (Anja, Jacqui & Meg). They are also travelling around Australia. The kids had fun playing together.

It was another cold night in the desert. Actually it was freezing!
We enjoyed an amazing lightning show in the desert. No wonder we couldn't go on the Strzelecki track!

Sunday 8th July - Tuesday 10th July 2012 - Maree

We had a cold but lovely night last night close to the waterhole.
After breakie we drove out towards the Lake Eyre viewing point about 50km from our campsite on the station.

Ed and the kids carved 'Hi from Perth' into the lake bed

We took a walk over the dune down onto the channel between Lake Eyre north and south. It was a dry salt lake which the kids enjoyed making pictures in the salt. We decided to walk out towards the water but we were never going to get there. It looked like you were getting close but it was just a mirage. As we got further out it got very muddy. We walked out for approximately 2km to one of the salt lines but we were miles away from the actual water.

Walking on Lake Eyre - we were never going to make it to the water! 

Apparently lots of water flowed into Lake Eyre North from the Warburton and Cooper Creeks in February but much of it had dried up. The kids enjoyed getting covered in mud and picking up chunks of salt from the lake bed.

Olivia with a chunk of salt from Lake Eyre

We returned to camp and spent the afternoon doing school work and playing around the waterhole.
We awoke Tuesday morning to a thick fog surrounding us.

The foggy morning.

Thank god we had our flight booked for 3pm as you couldn't see anything! We had a leisurely morning around the waterhole before packing up and driving into Maree after lunch. We wanted to go down towards Lyndhurst to drive up the Strezleki Track so we went to the visitors centre to check it out. Whilst we were doing this and waiting for our washing to get dry the kids enjoyed exploring the old trains from the old Ghan Railway.

We made our way out the airstrip and enjoyed a 1.5hour plane flight over Lake Eyre north & south. It is an amazing view from the air even though there is not a lot of water in the Lake. I am so glad that we did the flight. The views we had were amazing and the colours of the lake and the surrounding land was beautiful!

A view of Lake Eyre South. The pink colour is an algae - apparently it is the same algae that makes flamingos pink!

Here we all are in the plane!

After our flight we drove a short way south to the Farina Ruins to camp for the night.