Day 10 - Mini-Desert Trip 2011

It had been very cold overnight and froze some water we had left out. As we hade been sitting around the fire we spotted a dingo prowling around but not really taking any notice of us. In the torch light they have green reflective eyes. We slept in a bit and cooked a leisurely breakfast before heading north along the track. We crossed the river a few times but none of them were very deep. The track more often than not ran down the centre of the dry river and there were stoney patches as well as some soft sandy patches.

 

We got to the Boggy Hole camp ground and then went in search of the ruins of the old police station. This time we were luckier finding a track across the river and then walking when the sign said not to drive any further. We took some photos and headed back to the cars and ended up having a bit of lunch, before heading north along the track and out of the park, ending up at Hermannsburg. This is a great track to drive with lots of stunning scenery and fun driving, there are also quite a few very pleasant camp sites along the way.

 

We then drove onto Palm Valley about 20 kms the other side of Hermannsburg, when we arrived we found a nice camp site and Brett noticed that his rear suspension was sagging a bit, but there didn't seem to be anything noticably wrong with it. We set up camp and then took my car out for a drive to the walking tracks further in Palm Valley. The road was very rough and we ended up driving over quite a lot of large rock shelves. As I parked in the car park I hit a hidden rock with the new bull bar and tilted it down a bit. We went for a walk around the Palms and took some photos before heading back to camp. We had a look at the bull bar which was still very firmly attached, just tilted down, and tightened up all the bolts and adjusted the spotties up wards. Then we had a tepid shower with the remains of the hot water from the solar system  on top of the shower block. Then a quick dinner before going to bed early as it got bloody chilly quickly.

Day 9 - Mini-Desert Trip 2011

We packed up and left fairly early, heading back to the Stuart Highway where we turned south and Brett refueled at Stuarts Well again. We also had a spot of morning tea before heading further south, turning off the highway at Henbury onto the Ernest Giles road and stopped to have a look at the Henbury Meteorite craters. Then it was further west until the turnoff for the Finke Gorge to the north. Along the way we went in search of some old ruins at Illamurta Springs and failed dismally.

 

We continued onto Running Waters, just outside the Finke Gorge National Park where we crossed the river at a very tricky crossing as the rock ledges were pretty high, but we made it over with no real problems. Just over the crossing we found a great camping spot just beside the river with a great view of a large red cliff and some fresh water. We set up camp early and went for a walk along the creek followed by a very short swim as the water was very chilly. I then collected a fair bit of firewood ready for the evening fire. Brett went for a long walk to the other side of the creek while I lazed around camp. The fire was very welcome that evening as it got quite chilly. The view of the cliff was fairly spectacular as the sunset.

Day 8 - Mini-Desert Trip 2011.

We slept in a bit before having a cooked brekky. Then it was a walk around Chambers Pillar to take in the views and some photos. We packed up slowly and headed back to the old Ghan route whree we headed north for awhile before turning off onto the Hugh River Stock route. We stopped for lunch and some photos in the bed of the Hugh River where the new Ghan train line passes through. We continued onto the Stuart Highway turning north to go to Rainbow Valley. We stopped and refueled at Stuarts Well along the way.

 

We got to Rainbow Vally and found a good camping spot and set up camp before heading off for a walk to look at the cliffs, but there was not a lot else to see. While waiting for sunset to take some photos I repacked the car and everything was sitting much better. We went and set up the cameras and tripods for sunset and spent 45 min or so taking photos as the sun slowly went down. When we got back to camp some very inconsiderate people had set up camp right next to us and were using our fire ring. We were very pissed off. We listened to some of the Broncos versus Storm NRL game at a fairly loud volume and we got rid of them fairly early. We ended up going to bed fairly early but the whole camp site was pretty noisy.

Day 7 - Mini-Desert Trip 2011

We got up with the sun because of some noisy birds near camp. We packed and left early heading north to Hamilton Station where we turned right for Dalhousie Ruins and Springs. This stretch of road was the worst so far, very bumpy and rough. We stopped at Dalhousie ruins and took some photos before heading to the Springs. The water at the springs was warm and relaxing (about 40 deg C). In the springs were thousands of little fish all headbutting on your skin giving a pleasant all over massage. After some lunch we headed to Mt Dare where Brett refueled.

 

Then we headed onto Finke where Brett also refueled and we headed north along the Old Ghan train route. The road was in excellent condition except for the random occurrance of rail spikes left over from the rail track. Along side the main road ran the much rougher route the Finke desert racers use. We made excellent time and turned off for Chambers Pillar. After a lap of the crowded camp ground we went back about 1 km to some new camp sites that were just about ready and set up there for the night. Another dinner was cooked over the fire and we went to bed fairly early.

In Hermannsburg

Stopping momentarily in Hermannsburg after a few days in the Finke Gorge and Palm Valley national parks. The views as we drove along the river and in the river were spectacular. Working our way slowly towards home via Owen Springs Consvervation Park, the Painted Desert, Strzelecki track, Cameron's Corner, Innamincka, Hadon Corner adn a few other places we haven't decided on yet.

Day 6 -Mini-Desert Trip

Got up very early so that we could get to the Maree airport at dawn. Between Brett setting his clocks to SA time and me keeping Qld time but doing date and time relativity calculations we managed to set the alarms properly. Brett and I ended up in a VHF DN with four other passengers and the pilot. After takeoff we flew up the Birdsville track and over the Clayton wetlands where we had camped a couple of nights previously. Then on to the Cooper Creek ferry crossing and from there we followed the Cooper Creek until it flowed into Lake Eyre and then we flew south over Lake Eyre back to Maree. Just over 2 hours of flying time and the views were wonderful. I'm hoping the photos turned out OK.

 

Then we had morning tea in Maree while Brett refueled and we headed north on the Oodnadatta track where we stopped at a couple of old railway sidings and ruins for photos and a quick stop for a few photos at Plane Henge near Alberrie Creek. Then we had a look at some Mound Springs at Wabma Kadarbu Conservation Park, amazing sights as water bubbles out of the ground and supports some very green plant life. We stopped for lunch at what would have been an excellent camp site about 20 kms south of William Creek on the banks of Warriner Creek. Brett didn't refuel at William Creek.

 

Then onto Oodnadatta where we both refuled and continued onto to find a camp site about 30 kms north along the banks of the Alberga River. Very quiet and someone had even left us some firewood and it was not too chilly overnight.

Day 5 - Mini-Desert Trip

As it was a little chilly we slept in a bit and packed up slowly to let the dew dry off the car awnings. We left about 9'ish to head into Maree. When we went to refuel, I found my credit card would no longer work (neither eftpos nor credit) so something was very wrong, luckily I had enough cash to cover the fuel. There is no mobile phone reception (telstra or optus), so no internet and the public pay phone was playing up and wouldn't accept coins and the post office was out of phone cards. Long frustrating story cut short, a dodgy charge was lodged against my credit card (72 cents from a company I had never heard of) so the bank blocked it, they need to issue a new card which I can't do until I get home as I have to pick it up from a NAB branch. They gave me a phone number to call and I can get the card temporarily unblocked (10 mins) to get cash out of an ATM. So I hurry from the phone to the ATM in the pub only to find it out of order, but luckily I could get cash across the counter of the pub, so I have enough cash to pay for fuel for awhile and will have to repeat this in a few days.

 

While this saga was being sorted out we went for a drive out to Lake Eyre, Level Post Bay (about 100 kms there). You could see water in the distance and the occassional mirage which made it look like there was more water than there really was. The road out was pretty good except for corrugations on the last 15 km or so. Also, along this road there is a really nice camping place, Muloorina, which was located around a water hole with quite a bit of birdlife. Then it was back into town, where we organised a flight out over Cooper Creek and Lake Eyre but it left as the sun rose in the morning, so we decided to get a cabin at the caravan park as it would be easier to get going and get to the flight. The thought of a cheap curry at the caravan park didn't tempt us so we set up Brett's grill and cooked some magnificent steaks for dinner. Then after cleaning up we headed for a shower and an early night. I am hoping I set my alarm correctly as Maree is running on South Australian time and I have left my clocks on Queensland time and corrected for the half hour difference.