Longreach Waterhole, Pamayu NT

Found this place near Elliott in our Camps Australia-wide book and thought we'd give it a go for an overnight stopover. Had to head down about 15km of sandy tracks, with some quite deep patches and many sections that wound tightly between trees. It seemed to take ages and we weren't sure what we'd find. All we could think of was that it had better be worth it, as the van was getting another hammering from the corrugations and it was in danger of getting wiped out on a tree branch.

When we finally caught sight of the water, we were blown away! Absolutely spectacular! The best part was choosing a secluded spot right on the bank. Once we'd set up Andrew was the only one gutsy enough to go in for a swim. He reckoned the water was 'bracing' but worth it to wash off the dust from the last few days.  He was able to wiggle his toes in the sand and dig up several different types of fresh-water muscles and a type of snail. We weren't game to eat them though!

It was magic to be able to sit around the campfire and watch the birds as the sun set. The soaring wedge-tail eagles, pelicans, cormorants and egrets, among many others, were amazing to watch. In the morning we got to see the pelicans work as a team to heard the fish into the shallows, before all of the different birds started diving in for their breakfast. 

This place is definitely one of our favourite places so far.

Karlu Karlu/Devil's Marbles, NT

These rock formations are quite spectacular and quite beautiful at both sunset and at sunrise. Clambering over and among the rocks while the sun set was a great way to finish off the day, and a great start the next morning, making the overnight stop there worth the effort.

Yahoo! We're in the tropics!

Alice Springs, NT

We've enjoyed six wonderful nights in Alice Springs, catching up with Andrew's sister Amber and her husband Michael. We've been out with them to cafes, had a number of meals at their home, a trip to Simpson's Gap during the day, plus a return visit to the gap for a BBQ tea and a spot of star gazing. Fantastic time with family!

There's a lot to see in Alice Springs too. We completed a guided walking tour around town, visited the National Road Transport Hall of Fame to see Heather's Uncle Ed's displays, called in at the National Pioneer Women's Hall of Fame, climbed up ANZAC Hill and wondered about life in the old gaols.

While all the touristy stuff was great, we also needed some down time to run errands, do some shopping, kick to footy and just chill out reading a book or two. Heth also managed to complete another half dozen scrapbook pages too.

Kings Canyon to Alice Springs

We took the shortcut from Kings Canyon to the Sturt Highway via Ernest Giles Road. Not sure how the van would cope with 100+km of outback dust and corrugations, so we taped up all the vents and around the door. Very relieved to find no dust got in, although I have to screw a few things back onto the walls, etc.

Kings Canyon

Andrew and the boys squeezed in a short visit to Kings Canyon, staying only one night. We explored the resort and hit the pool in the afternoon, then watched the sun set on the cliffs. Five sun sets/rises in three days is a record for us!
An early start next morning to pack up and start climbing up the South Wall Return Walk. We didn't have time to complete the whole Rim Walk, as we also had to do the six hour drive to Alice Springs. We had an appointment to catch up with Andrew's sister Amber and her husband Michael for tea. Tim and Matt are becoming great hikers - we managed to power walk up to the southern wall rim, spend half an hour taking photos and looking around, then hoon back down in two hours! It may have only been a flying visit, but at least we got there!

Yulara, Uluru and Kata Tjuta.

Even having visited Uluru before (albeit many years ago on a hight school trip) the size of Uluru was still surprising when we went around a corner and caught sight of it. No matter how skilled the photographer is, a photo just can't do justice to the place. It's very impressive!

We checked into the Ayers Rock Resort  Campground and were given a site right on the edge of the park.

That night we took off for the traditional sunset viewing of Uluru, along with the usual crowd of other tourists. We snagged a great spot and met a lovely Italian couple on their honeymoon. Amazing views of the rock, but again, the photos don't do it justice.

Sadly Heather's uncle Ed died unexpectedly this week, aged 93,  so she needed to fly home for a few days to be with her mum and attend the funeral. We were grateful for the timing, as it meant that Heth could share most of the time with us at the rock, then fly out of Yulara before rejoining when we got to Alice Springs. Lucky we weren't in the middle of nowhere and out contact!

Our plan was to jam in as much as we could before Heth flew out. So the second day began with an early start to see the rock at sunrise, before completing the base walk around Uluru. Lunch in the resort township, followed by a little housekeeping, then a chill-out by the pool for a few hours.  Next came a quick sprint out to Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) to catch the sunset, followed by dinner out at the back-packers bar. Busy day #1 - sorted.

Day #2 started the same way, early start for a sunrise viewing, except this time out at Kata Tjuta. We didn't have enough time for big a walk today, as we needed to get Heth to the airport, but we did hike into the first lookout area. We were quite surprised to realise that the rock formations at Kata Tjuta are very different to Uluru. The domes seem to be of sandstone with many rounded riverstone style rocks embedded within the sandstone. Kata Tjuta is quite impressive in its own right.

After dropping Heth at the airport,  Andrew and the boys hit the pool and went back to the back-packers for pizza and snooker.

Day #3 (Friday) was meant to be a relaxing day by the pool, before heading off to Alice Springs Saturday morning. However, at 10 am Andrew and the boys decided that they could do 'pool days' at home and instead hurriedly packed up and took off on a four-hour sprint to stay at Kings Canyon instead!