Distance traveled = 2245km
Sunday saw many of our group having different plans for the
coming days, some were heading to Uluru while others were going to Chambers
Pillar while we’d planned to have a couple of days in Alice with friends.
Saying our goodbyes, fate would soon have us reunited on the side of the road
100km down the road. The sidewall of a tyre had de-laminated on one of team’s
vehicles, thankfully the highway emergency hadn’t been too serious and we were
able to change the tyre and have them back on the road pretty quickly….
Continuing south, it was another 5 hours of driving at NT speed limits before
we arrived in Alice Springs. We checked in at the park where we’d previously
stayed before heading out to grab a few things which included a visit to the
ice-creamery. The remainder of our day was spent chilling around the campsite.
Monday started at a leisurely pace around the van park as we
caught up on domestic chores before an impromptu text message had me jumping
with joy. 30min later I was sitting in the co-pilots seat of a plane as we
headed to the remote aboriginal community of ‘Ernabella’ in SA where we needed to
do a patient transfer. The 50min each way flight provided spectacular views
over the countless mountain ranges that litter the area around Alice. However,
all too quickly we’d returned to Alice Springs but the smile and buzz I was
feeling lasted all day…… Back with the family we headed out for some more sightseeing
to finish our day. To conclude our time in Alice we enjoyed catching up with
friends over a lovely chinese feast.
Tuesday was one of our biggest days on the road. We made the
mistake of not getting away as early as we’d hoped, this was compounded by an
ongoing headed wind that buffeted us for the whole day. By late morning we’d
passed the turn-off to Uluru but there was still many miles ahead for us. The
countryside offered little to keep the kids amused but they took the
opportunity to catch up on school work while Leonie and I shared the driving.
We had lunch literally on the SA/NT border, the kids took great delight in
jumping from one state to the other, but with the temp nudging 34deg we needed
to be back in the car and enjoying the air-conditioning. The towns slowly come
and went, throughout the day we’d managed to tick up 10000km and 5 states in a
little over 5 weeks of traveling. As the time, neared 6pm we finally arrived in
Coober Pedy but typically of our lifestyle we didn’t stop to relax, the van
park doubled as an underground Opal mine and the daily tour was about to start.
Downing a quick dinner, we were able to join the very informative tour which
explained the history of Opal mining in Coober Pedy….. Surprisingly, upon
returning above ground a severe wind storm had moved in causing us to have
uneasy night as the area was buffeted by severe winds.
Wednesday dawn with no sign of the previous nights’ howling
winds. All of our group were back together again and we set about sharing a day
together around Coober Pedy. We checked out a number of the speciality opal
shops and a number of the local tourist attractions, we even tried our hand at
noodling in an attempt to strike it rich…. Needless to say we’re not giving up
our daytime jobs. We did another underground tour highlighting the dug-outs
which many of the locals live in. By late afternoon and with the sun setting we
headed out to a place called the “Breakaways” which is renowned for its
majestic orange, red and white soils that form mesa’s high above the ground.
Returning to town we all enjoyed a meal at the local pizzeria before spoiling our
kids with a nights’ accommodation in an underground motel. The novelty of such
an experience was not lost on them as they got to have their own room and bed for
the first time in 6 weeks.
Thursday saw us leaving Coober Pedy for another stint of
dirt tracks, our first track being the Oodnadatta track but not before we
checked out the ‘painted desert’ located in the Arckaringa Hills. Getting there
proved difficult for us as we lost comms with our group at a critical point resulting
us taking an alternate route to the others and thus giving the impression, we
were lost. After some anxious moments and lengthy delays, we eventually were
all back together. Pressing on towards Oodnadatta we were again flagged by tyre
issues, one of group had another tyre de-laminate (their 2nd in a
week). After another tyre change we finally reached the pink town of
Oodnadatta. With a new tyre sorted we pressed on towards William Creek. The old
Ghan railway hugs the Oodnadatta track and on many occasions, we stopped to
look at various historical rail bridges and ruins…. With nightfall upon us we finally
arrived at William Creek where we found a bush camp for the night. Our long day
in the saddle and plummeting temperatures saw us all in bed fairly early.
Friday started with a bitter chill in the air, after packing
up we had a gander round the one-horse town of William Creek where amazingly
the aircraft outnumber the vehicles…. Back on the road our next stop was the
thermal pool at ‘Coward Springs’. Many of us choosing to jump in the thermal waters
even though the outside temperatures weren’t conducive to swimming. Further
down the track we got our first glimpse of ‘Lake Eyre’. We’d soon stopped at a
vantage point overlooking the vast salt lake…… It was at this point of the trip
we bid farewell to two vehicles in our group as they need to return home for
work. For the rest of us we continued along the Oodnadatta track to Marree
where we marked the end of another dirt track experience…. Refuelled and with
fresh supplies we pushed on to the historical town of Farina where we completed
our 6th week of holiday travels around another campfire and clear
skies.
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