The Outback Way

It began on the 1^st of May 2013, a sunny Wednesday. We flew back to Alice very early in the morning, had a farewell lunch in town and threw everything into the camper- we were sick of packing and cleaning and were eager to get on the road. We headed west, this time actually making it all the way to Hermannsburg and then Palm Valley. We even passed some wild camels along the way.  Granted it was a little later than we had hoped (again pulling into camp on sunset), but at least we had made it and our journey had begun!

Palm Valley campsite was beautiful.  We could hear the dingo’s howling in the distance and managed to find one chilling out next to our camper. The next morning we headed out into the valley, actually using four wheel drive we went through dry creek beds and over rocky outcrops and ended up in a valley full of palms, funnily enough. The palms were prehistoric and were only able to survive due to a special underground water source. We walked around and through the valley and then headed out onto the Mereenie loop (dirt “shortcut” from Alice Springs to King Canyon), passing a feral cat on the way out.

We heard that the road may be rough and have some corrugations, but we did not expect to shake, rattle and rock as much as we did along the way (I was going 20-30 km/h at spots to smooth out the bumps!). Despite the poor condition of the road the scenery was nice, we saw some brumbies, trees and a lot of red dirt! Eventually we arrived at Kings Canyon Rest Area, a fairly basic stop which provided large views of the surrounding areas, a swarm of crazy bees and a spot to rest our weary heads!

The next morning we found tar. We had finished the rough road for now and drove to Kings Canyon. We walked into the Canyon and had our last chance to view the magnificent walls of rock before we departed.  We then took the very long road to Yulara, Uluru Resort. Our first stop along the way was going to be nearby Kathleen Springs, but it was closed! A fire swept through the area in summer, wiping out a large portion of Kings Creek Station, the surrounding area, including Kathleen Springs. Continuing on we stopped at Kings Creek Roadhouse,  a giant salt lake, checked out Mount Connor and stopped in at Curtin springs to admire their f**king good port (this is the actual name of the port!). We pulled into the campgrounds and were immediately drawn to the pool area, within five minutes of setting up we were swimming and washing away all the red dust from the drive.  When we returned to The Hulk we realised that we had an issue with the headlights – they were not lighting up. After much umming and arring and pretending like we were mechanics we gave in and decided that we would try again in the morning. We scrubbed up and headed out to dinner at my favourite restaurant - Ilkari. An all you can eat buffet, where the chef cooks all your food to order and there is a chocolate fountain for dessert! Yum. 

The next morning we were back to playing mechanics, just short of pulling the dash apart I decided it was time to call it in, we went to the real mechanics and had headlights once more soon after. As the day was fairly late we decided to stay at Yulara another night. Once again we ended up in the pool living it up. After that we headed to an Indigenous dance show. Michael even participated!

We decided it was probably time we pay homage to the rock and made our way west. There really is something strangely spiritual about that place. We parked at the sunset viewing station and eventually had dinner watching the sun go down at Uluru. Spectacular. We then headed back to the resort to grab a cold beer and listen to some live music.

The next morning we awoke very early to get to The Olgas for sunrise. Giving into the temptation for one last proper hot shower meant that we didn’t quite make it to the viewing platform, however we found our own spot and pulled up to watch the colours dance across the rocks. We then headed to the Olgas to walk Walpa Gorge.

After the walk it was time to get serious and start The Outback Way.  Known as Australia’s longest short-cut this route runs from Winton in Queensland to Laverton in southern Western Australia. We dropped the tyre pressures just after the Olgas ready for the red dust, knowing we needed an early start. We had a whopping 1100kms ahead of us and only 3 days in which to cross it (you have to apply for a permit to do this road and it stipulates that you are only allowed to do it in 3 days). The road is dirt and full of rocks, corrugation and sand. Going was pretty good at 80km/h and we managed to not lose or break anything, although the spotties and aerial came pretty close to rattling off. Michael seems to think I lost some screws along the way too...  

Throughout the vast expanses of nothing, there are some attractions worth pulling over for, either for it or the simple fact of a break from the deafening rattles and engine noise. Our first stop along the way was Lasseter’s cave. A historical site where Lasseter had sheltered during the heat of summer when he was exploring the outback and his camels ran off. We took a few quick pics and then were back on the road. We passed by Docker River (a community that I had visited for work previously) then crossed the border into Western Australia. With the thought of filling up with diesel here being vetoed by Sunday trading hours (ie closed), we continued on, with the hope that the other side of Docker River will see a “smoother” road, as the way in started to get quite sandy, rutted and corrugated on the way in.

We continued on to Warakurna where we filled up with fuel – at a colossal $2.30 a litre, Yikes! In the outback the fuel tanks are locked up and we had to get the shop owner to come fill it up. We talked to the owner there and found out that the S**t Box Rally would be coming through in a couple of days. We had previously heard about the rally and were keen to get a look at the cars and one day even participate (see http://www.shitboxrally.com.au/). We knew at some stage we would have to meet up with the Rally to check it out.  We left Warakurna and again headed west along the lovely rutted red road. Eventually we stopped at Yarla Kutjarra Camp Ground.  It was a welcome reprieve and within minutes Michael had a fire going and it was happy hour. In total we drove 500 kms of dirt that day.

Everything gets locked up tight in the outback, including the very expensive fuel  pumps.

The next morning we were up early and were on our favourite longest shortcut once more. The sun was streaming down and the dust was streaming behind us. We were happy that we were slowly but surely getting somewhere. We saw several herds of wild camel and stopped to photograph a few.  We did not stop long though, today was a driving day and gosh did we drive! We stopped at several parking areas to stretch our legs, however were soon back on the road. We called in at Tjukayirla Road house when we desperately needed a break and had a bucket of chips whilst looking at some local art work. Then again we were on the road. We stopped off at some water holes, which turned out to just be some holes (surprise we’re in a desert). Nearby we also checked out some very cool rubbish – cars that hadn’t quite made the track. Then it was back on the road.

Darkness was slowly setting in and we hadn’t yet reached our destination. We had to keep going as there was nowhere to stop.  The road was rough at night, we had the spot lights on, but it was difficult to see the ruts, holes and different corrugations. At some stage we crossed paths with a fellow on a grader. We spoke to him through the radio to stop us going batty with all the driving we had been doing.  He invited us back to his camp in The Pines Rest Area, which was coincidentally where we were heading.  We got there first, however he wasn’t far behind. We followed the big truck down a long track to this little village of caravans, dongas and roadies in high vis shirts drinking bear near a fire. When they offered us dinner we couldn’t refuse, we were stuffed and this was a very welcome respite. That night we slept very well! Another day with 500 km of dirt.

The next morning we were up and once again on our favourite longest shortcut, the big red road. We stopped at Giles Breakaway and marvelled at the colour in the cliffs then continued driving along the way until we found a Gnamma hole (natural well in solid rock used by early explorers to survive) full of tadpoles. Again we were back in the car heading west, woohoo more driving!

Eventually we found tar and there was definite celebration. We had made it! We were soon in Laverton and in what could be vaguely classified as civilisation. Huzzah! Also filling up for $1.50/L was a welcome sight, this was less than the whole time in Alice! We didn’t stop long as we were intent on making it to Niagara Dam that night. We called in at Malcolm dam for lunch and drank in the site of water. Soon after we reached Leonora and then headed south. Eventually we meandered into Niagara Dam where we settled in for the evening.

We went for a walk exploring the area surrounding Niagara dam, touched the freezing cold water and then had the fire ablaze.  It didn’t take long for a prospector to come over and see if we had caught gold fever. You see this part of Australia is famous for GOLD and many people travel to the area every year in search of the next big nugget. We explained that the only gold we were interested in was the golden hue of a twisty right before happy hour and that made him quite happy as it meant less competition. 

For that night we were contented.  We made it through the long trek and were once again camped near beautiful water views under shady gums. Though I have to admit we did have several conversations about staking a claim or buying a metal detector that night!

More importantly, we now have two extra extravaganza explorers travelling with us! To the left is Russel, a rather willful wombat who has a keen eye for spotting pubs and grub and to the right is Hubert who loves to dance and watch the world go by.

Lesson of the week: The middle of nowhere is actually the middle of everywhere, so get out there!