Day 19 - Mataranka (still)

 Today was another low key day, we are on holidays! We headed into Mataranka and visited the museum and read up about the local history, which was interesting and included the WWII army camp and at one stage, they had wanted to make Mataranka the capital of the territory. We just chilled in the afternoon back at the caravan park, before heading out to Bitter Springs for a last float in the thermal pool. This time I got to see 3 turtles and a fish in the crystal clear waters. It was very relaxing to float along in the tyre inner tube in the approx 32 degrees water. There was even a guy singing and playing his guitar by the pool, so even had entertainment. We returned to the Clippers and after dinner, proceeded to watch the full version of the movie 'We of the Never, Never'. We have been enjoying our own time in the never never area, and can recommend the thermal springs as well worth the visit. Tomorrow we head to Katherine and to the hospital to get my next few weeks worth of medical supplies, and hopefully all that was ordered will be there. 

Roper river - didnt see any crocs

Day 18 Mataranka 2

 This morning we headed into town to the local markets. There was a handful of small stalls selling local produce and fresh food and various other items. We got chatting to some locals running one of the stalls, and this Indigenous fellow Aaron, who was particularly chatty. He is training to be a teachers aide at the school in his nearby community, and was telling us about his studies and how he was aiming to be a PE teacher but was also helping teach the Indigenous cultural studies as well. He talked about all the brilliant programs that the school and community runs to get the kids to school and engaged to learn, as well as a school exchange with a school in Sydney, where their kids spend a week in Sydney and the Sydney kids come to Mataranka. He was a fascinating guy, and it was so encouraging to hear about an Indigenous community  having some positive things happen, and that some of the kids are going on to further studies when they leave.

From there we headed out to the Elsey National Park and visited the cemetery, where the real life characters from the movie and story 'We of the Never Never' by Mrs Aeneas Gunn, resided. We were able to see where the original homestead was located, and where they lived back in 1901-1903. We headed to the Mataranka Homestead, and saw the replica Elsey Homestead made for the set of the movie 'We of the Never, Never'. I saw this movie in primary school, as a school excursion, and loved it. I have also read the book, so being able to be immersed in the land Jeannie and Aeneas Gunn lived in, was pretty special. We then explored the thermal springs at the homestead, which have been cleaned up for tourism, but we thought were not as nice as the Bitter Springs, we had been in yesterday. We opted to have lunch here and they started to show the movie 'We of the Never, Never' but the venue was too loud to hear it well, so we headed off. David and Brenda were exploring the area on their e-bikes, while Matt and I went out through the Elsey National Park, to Roper River. On the way, some wild pigs and piglets ran out across the road. Not quite bacon! At the river, it was still very full, and the 8.4km return walk out to the Mataranka Falls was closed due to this, and the increased chance of encountering a croc, both salt water and fresh water crocs can be found in this river. Matt and I were not keen to take any risks!!

We headed back to our caravan park and ventured back down to the Bitter Springs thermal waters and this time, I was not connected to my IV nutrition and was able to cruise down with the current in the inflated tyre inner tube, and keep my central line above the water. It was sensational to be able to be in the warm waters and look into the crystal clear water to look for turtles. Matt brought the snorkel and mask and was able to get a better view of the bottom and spied 3 turtles. It was a delightful and relaxing way to spend the afternoon with David and Brenda on pool noodles, and as we had gone a bit later, the place wasn't so crowded and noisy. The down side is getting out, and then running in the cool to get back to the beginning, to float down again in the warm waters - natures own theme park ride!

We headed back to the Clippers for a hot shower, dinner and the caravan park was showing the movie 'Guardians of the Galaxy' and Matt, David and Brenda went and enjoyed that, while I wrote this up.

Day 17 Mataranka

This morning we went for a walk and explored the Daly Waters town a bit further, spotting that Kevin the crocodile was in another position, and the free range donkeys like to knock over the garbage bins and help themselves. We did the obligatory pose of Bridget outside the Daly Waters pub, before heading to Mataranka.

 We stopped at the park in Mataranka to admire the roaming Brolgas. After checking in at the caravan park and catching up on washing, and Matt was trying again to fix the faulting water pump, and after I had a rest; we headed down the road to see the Bitter Springs. These springs are thermal and the water is very clear and a pale blue, with the occasional turtle visible; and are surrounded by tall palm trees. There is a current, so you step in where they have stairs, and you can then float down slowly on a pool noodle or inflated device, get off at the bottom, and walk back up to the top and repeat. Apparently you can spot the odd freshwater crocodile in the springs, but not today. I was connected up with my pump to IV nutrition, so couldn't go in today, but just sat and dangled my legs in the bath like temperature water and watched the many families and couples enjoying the springs. It was a relaxing afternoon. 

We headed back to the caravan park and finished off the washing and Matt continued to work on the misbehaving water pump switch. Many caravaners came and commented or quizzed Matt about the Clipper, as we are used to. You get a range of people like the time wasters, who are the know all but know nothing, or people just wanting to say how great they look or ask to take a photo. Sometimes, I go inside and shut the door and hide, but quite a few mornings this trip, I have been up early in my pyjamas and doing my morning IV care and noticed people taking photos. A taste of what celebrities experience, I guess. It was a nice to day to be slow and not much driving.

Day 16 Daly Waters

 Early this morning, we were both awoken by the howling of a dingo, it sounded nearby but we opted not to get up and look for it. (all babies were accounted for upon sunrise) But Matt did get up in time to watch the sun rise and take more photos at Karlu Karlu. We headed off early, as we had another 500 or so kilometres to drive today. We did encounter some hills and bends though but it was an easy drive, and again we found it to be quite green and there was still water in some creeks. Wattle and a few other natives were flowering, so it was quite pretty as well. We had been conserving water in the bus, not knowing when we would next fill up; so to be saving water, I decided to shave my legs with a bowl of water, whilst we were driving along. So I got a bowl of water, a towel and my razor and shaved my legs. Then I thought, no one can see me as we drive along, so I decided to shave my armpits too. I took my top off and proceeded to do my left side, and then as I turned my head and body to do the right side, I notice this 4WD was overtaking us.😱 The female front passenger was nodding her head, presumably to acknowledge that she liked the Clipper, and not because she saw me in my black bra shaving my armpits!! (I wondered why she looked t me strangely as they went past.) I am just telling myself, that if she had realised what I was doing, that I gave her something to smile and talk about with the driver of the vehicle, and with any luck, if we see them again, that she won't recognise me. (no photos of all that sorry)

We stopped at Elliot for lunch, and a local council worker, came and told us how he was last in a Clipper, when he was 5 years old, (he wasn't 5 anymore) to be taken to Mt Isa for medical checks. He was thrilled to see them again. Elliot is a town that has about 3 streets off the main highway, a park, 3 servos (one derelict) two general stores (one derelict), a pub (derelict) and more broken cars in peoples front yards than there are people in the town. oh and a police station, though i couldn't tell if it was derelict cause police residences in this part of the NT are built like prisons where the guards live on the inside. over all, its a run down old town but the people were friendly , but the town had seen its best. probably in the 60's.

 We arrived in Daly Waters, in the early afternoon, and found a queue into the campgrounds of the iconic Daly Waters Pub. Fortunately, we were able to still secure a site for the night. We headed out to explore the tiny town and went through the motor museum and saw many quirky and historic vehicles either fully restored or in the process of being restored. There was all sorts of other things around the site, like helicopter shells, Cessna plane shells, and a live freshwater crocodile named Kevin! Later we saw a couple of friendly donkeys and horses just strolling around town.  The Daly Waters pub is infamous for having people leave behind items and have them stuck up on the walls, including business cards, bras, thongs, badges, polaroid photos and more. It is also famous for serving a beef and barra dinner, which Matt, David and Brenda enjoyed. The place was very full, as the peak travel season is starting to get under way. Matt and I felt young and in the minority, (kill me if i wear a "i'd rather be in my caravan" tshirt) though there were a couple of young families and young adults there. The trillion flies seem to have been left behind at Karlu Karlu and the weather is starting get a fair bit warmer. The roads have got rougher too, but we are looking forward to more amazing things to come.

 

i had a truckie compliment us on the busses as he went the other way over the CB radio, i told him that we had left sydney specifically with the intention of showing them to him this morning, so that he had something interesting to look at on this part of his drive. "ah very good" he said. 

😒The thanks you get sometimes...

 

Day 15 Karlu Karlu (Devils Marbles)

 An early start to drive to Karlu Karlu  (Devils Marbles) and get stuck into the several walks around all the granite rock features, before it was too hot. The trillion flies came with us on the walks, but they always disappear when there is a strong breeze or after the sun goes down. The walks today were on mostly flat ground, so very easy. These rocks are in unusual stacks, and are mostly rounded from the weathering over time, and some have split. This is a sacred site for Indigenous women. We returned from a couple of walks and I needed to connect up to my IV nutrition, before we could head out again to do the last walk. We returned for lunch, and I caught up on some Inphase Audiovisual accounting and banking, and then we had a quiet afternoon resting, before Matt got stuck into finding the holes letting the dust in, and filling them with gap filler, so hopefully we won't gather so much dust when we travel on dirt roads. We headed out just before dusk to capture the photos below, when the sun's rays hit the red rocks and gave them an extra glow. It's not hard to sense and feel our creator God's presence and handiwork in places like these, and I am enjoying having this time to be still, and know God. Once the sun had disappeared, I cooked dinner, then we headed back out under the stars before we enjoyed another moon rise. We were joined by some fellow campers who we had met at Kings Canyon. It's not hard to recognise us!!

Day 14 Alice Springs to Ali Curung

 This morning, Matt and David greased the bus springs and did any running repairs and servicing that the Clippers needed; while Brenda and I cleared out some of the red dirt inside, albeit a temporary respite, as we knew more red dirt will be inevitably filling the Clippers throughout this adventure. A restock of fresh food and topping up with fuel, we were eventually on our way, with a lot less noise and squeaks thanks to the work Matt had done this morning on the springs. It was an easy drive to Ali Curung,  with an occasional bend in the otherwise very straight road. Easy for Sal, she slept for an hour , i drove for 3 1/2 hours straight... but that's what i like to do.

Ali Curung is a small community, but where some friends of David and Brenda's had a watermelon farm. Not the kind of crop you would expect out here, but very successful, and we now have this whopping big melon for Matt to consume. The owners took us around the farm and showed us the watermelon fields currently being harvested, and an asparagus trial crop and we got to pick some of this as well, and eaten freshly picked was apparently delicious, especially when I then used some in a beef satay for dinner. After spending time with David and Brenda's friends, we found a spot on the property to park up for the night. We ended up with front row seats to watch the new moon rise on the horizon, dinner time entertainment doesn't get better than that, though we had also just been spoiled with an amazing sunset earlier.

cant see the next bend...

asparagus plants

watermelon fields

sunset

moon rise

Caravans

i now see why truck drivers complain so much about them  

their drivers will sit on 95kmh and a  60-80 tonne 3-4 trailer  road train slowly catches them up doing 100. no problem as yet. then to be helpful, they indicate left, half pull off the road and brake to 60kmh instantly,thinking this helps the truck driver go past.nope. cause they did it with traffic coming the other way, and the truck has to throw out the anchors so they don't clean the caravan up, cause he has nowhere to go.

they then did the same thing to me and the bus travelling with us. 3 potential accidents. all he had to do was drive predictably at the same speed and the trucks and busses will go out when they are ready, then the caravan can slow down and let the truck pass safely. it took the truck 3 kilometers to build up the speed to overtake again. 

i've seen at least 4 caravan drivers do this

rant over . oh and i tried to fix the step but all the legs snapped off. and i cant weld alloy. it now lives in Alice springs.

 

Day 13 West MacDonnell Ranges to Alice Springs

 Today was a long day exploring all the various amazing features and gorges within the western side of the MacDonnell Ranges. First stop was Glen Helen Gorge, where we found the path to the gorge was hidden by grasses taller than me. We found the creek bed and then the gorge, full of cold, deep water. They even had a life saving ring, just in case. The orange and white cliff faces were pretty awesome. 

 

From there we went to the very popular Ormiston Gorge. It even had a kiosk, being in the middle of nowhere. They had a paved walkway to the beach and water hole. I spotted some wild budgies flying around too. It was very popular and busy there. We opted to do another walk, the Ghost Gum lookout walk, which took us up many steep steps, but the effort was worthwhile, as we got spectacular views that overlooked the beach and waterhole and around the corner of the gorge, that you couldn't reach because of the water. The colours were varied and again pretty amazing. There was one lone white ghost gum on this little peak within the gorge, hence the name of the walk.

 Ormiston Gorge

 Below, there is a photo of a lone little wild purple daisy plant, trying to sprout through rock and concrete. When I saw it, I saw me; I saw something beautiful, trying to breakthrough, to be strong, despite the lack of water and soil. I saw its resilience and courage to overcome the conditions, to survive; me.

From Ormiston Gorge, we explored the Ochre Pits, with many shades of rock that had been used by Indigenous communities, to make paint. 

 

 Next stop was at the Ellery Creek Big Water Hole, which lived up to its name. The water was very deep with amazing rock faces all around. A lone kestrel was soaring above, and occasionally diving into the water to catch a fish. This was a popular spot, with a few braving the freezing waters for a swim, there were influencers filming themselves, waiting for others to leave the water so they could get the perfect shot, families, hikers, and an ultramarathon event was stationed there to check on the participants, as they ran past. We enjoyed lunch and watching all the action before us.

Next stop was Standley Chasm, where we had taken our 4 children aged between 1 1/2 years old and 6 years old in 2004. It was very green this time, and although we had taken them to see the rock faces in the middle of the day, this time we had gone in later in the day and it was much cooler and thanks to recent rain, was very green and lush. Again you could see where the water had washed away the orange red colours, to leave a polished white and grey rock. The rock shaped like a slippery dip, that was smooth and shiny and made a great slippery dip for our kids all those years ago, was still there. The height of the rock walls was awesome, as you stood between them. This part of the park is now privately owned and run by an Indigenous community.

 

The last amazing sight was Simpson's Gap. This had even taller cliff faces than Standley Chasm and was equally as spectacular as Ormiston Gorge, with pools of water and sandy beaches, between the cliffs. At that time of the afternoon, it was much cooler and very pleasant, and the trillion flies were starting to dissipate, much to our relief. We took some cool photos of the 2 Clippers in front of the gap as well. 

 The Larapinta and Namatjira roads have spectacular escarpments and cliff ranges and mountain views, all along the roads, on both sides. At the moment, we have been blessed to see it at their best because of the recent rains. It's teeming with life and health. We feel so privileged that we can see it like this, with the orange rocky faces hidden amongst the green, swishy grasses, white ghost gums, she-oaks and limestone mallee about to burst into flower, to name a few. We eventually drove into Alice Springs and were able to meet and stay with a fellow from our Clipper club, who is slowly restoring a Clipper. A long but wonderful day, immersed in God's creation again.

never have I seen or eaten so many flies... why God, did you not make enough spiders to catch them?? 

No,  wait... i see your reasoning...

oh and i may have killed our portable step that we put at the door to get in easier, like old people do,,, it seems it puts up no resistance when 8 tonne of steel rolls over it. mmm  

and we must be old cause they charged me pensioner discount to get into Standley chasm. bloody teenagers.