2014 Red Centre Trip - Daily Diary!!

[JCOJ]

June 28th:
This is the day that the 2014 MySwag Red Centre Trip officially begins and thankfully all of us had arrived to the MacDonnell Range CP in Alice Springs from all corners of the country all safe and sound.  Having said that, there were some that were thankful of the two days we had here to complete a few minor repairs to their cars (back window replacements), and campers (leaking water tanks etc)!!

We had the Meet and Greet BBQ in the large camp kitchen at 6pm where we all met eachother for the first time, and the awesome polo tops (Thanks Jillsy!!) were given out, along with the Participant's Handbook!!  We all sat around for a while and had a good chat to eachother while eating dinner, eagerly anticipating what the next few weeks will bring.

It very cold here in Alice as soon as the sun goes down, so it wasn't too long before we all started retreating to our campers and a warmer environment!

June 29th:
Today was an informal day to do whatever you liked.  A few of us endured the long queue to enjoy the free pancakes that the CP put on every Sunday morning. They average 600 each time they do it, and the record by one camper is 14 pancakes!!  That is a mighty effort considering they come in plate size. They also lay on the maple and golden syrup, lemon juice, and sugar - a great way to start the day! 

Some went off exploring far reaches of what the area has to offer (450km of exploring for one couple!!!) while others stayed at camp getting final things attended to like shopping and repairs.  A few ventured into Alice and did the sights including the School of the Air, RFDS, Transport Hall of Fame, checked out the view from Anzac Hill, found the 2,000,000 geocache hidden, or went a  little further afield to the sights of the West MacDonnell Ranges including Stanley Chasm where there were examples of real dot paintings!!!

These included Simpsons Gap, Standley  Chasm, Ormiston Gorge, Ellery Creek Big Hole, as well as others.

Late in the afternoon a few arrived at JCOJ's site for a happy hour and to take a viewing of their new 'glamper'!!

Final preparations were then made for our eagerly anticipated departure from Alice Springs tomorrow when we head towards Chambers Pillar!! (and also when the photos will start too!!)

[Terry W4]

Thanks for the update. Keep them coming - with pics.

[Bookleaf]

Yep, keep the updates coming. 
Missed out on this trip, returned from a smaller trip a few days ago (around the west of Alice)
Guess updates will come spasmodically, as there is not internet coverage consistently on your route. 
Will wait with anticipation (and drool)

[rattrodeo]

Hi John. Wishing the best for you trip. On the edge of my seat again! Safe trip... Dean

[JCOJ]

June 30th:
Today was our first travelling day of the trip and our designated departure time was a relaxed 10am.  lindamc and Blueroo were keen so they decided to head off an hour earlier, while others took the advantage of either having a little extra sleep in, a more leisurely pack up, or take the opportunity to do a mad dash into town for a last minute supply.

We all departed pretty much on time and headed south of Alice Springs.  It was less than 10 minutes before we had left the bitumen and hit the dirt roads.  A little later down the track, KingBilly called over the UHF that someone was losing fluid and leaving  a trail along the track.  We had planned to stop at the Ewaninga Rock Carvings in any case and it was there that we discovered that JCOJ’s new caravan was the culprit.  A stone had hit a piece of pvc pipe leading to the central water tank and split it.  Some tape from Jacko, and some help from DanAdelaide saw the problem temporarily fixed for the time being.

The Ewaninga Rock Carvings had a 650m trail that led you around to each of the informative signs that made you appreciate the surroundings and Aboriginal history of the area.
Back on the road and we were dodging rail spikes left over from the old Ghan railway.  They were very common so we were all keeping a keen eye out trying to avoid them as best as we could.  Thankfully, no tyres were casualties today!

We made our way to Maryvale where we stopped for lunch, then continued on toward Chambers Pillar, stopping along the side of the  road on the way to collect firewood.  The road in was slow, corrugated, washed out in parts, and also took you by surprise in some parts.  There were a couple of gates that we had to get through, with some mysterious lollies that were somehow waiting for the Tail End Charlie to collect once they had closed the gate.

lindamc and Blueroo contacted us over  the UHF and told us which campsite to come to and luckily we all managed to squeeze in.  After setting up and paying our camp fees ($3.30 per adult, $1.65 (5-15yrs), or $7.70 family), many headed to do the walk around the pillar.  A site was chosen for the communal fire, then many made their way back to the sunset viewing area to watch the magnificent colour changes on the Pillar.

The evening was spent around the large campfire, cooking marshmallows, chatting, discussing tomorrows route, and getting close enough to stay warm.

[JCOJ]

Some more  photos:

[JCOJ]

July 1st:
Today is Territory Day where they celebrate being in the Northern Territory – but more on that later.  Today was going to be our longest travelling day in the trip so we had a relatively early departure time of 8.45am.

Some made the most of getting up early by witnessing the sunrise over Chambers Pillar – an event sure to be long remembered!!

Everyone managed to get packed up on time and we left exactly on time on our way back to Maryvale.  The track was quite rough and corrugated, but we made the 43km journey unscathed.  Here, some topped up with fuel, made a toilet stop, or bought an ice cream.  It was also here that Mandrake left us as he was travelling an easier route and would meet us at Ayers Rock Resort tomorrow afternoon.

The rest of us made our way onto the Old Ghan Track, which was no where as rough as expected, however there were railway spikes all over the track – millions of them.  It wasn’t long before we had our first tyre casualty, JCOJ has spiked one of his rear wheels. While stopped some went looking for spikes and they averaged 8 spikes every metre – and we had 131kms on this road!!   With lots of people chipping in to help, it wasn’t long before it was changed and we were all underway again.

The conversation over the UHF for the next couple of hours was ‘Spike here’, ‘Spike there’ etc etc.  We stopped for lunch at the Endooringa Ruins which had some informative signs on the Ghan Railway, and the siding itself.

We made our way again towards Finke, and we spent the next few hours concentrating hard dodging spikes.  Thankfully we had no more punctures and all were relieved upon our arrival in Finke.

JCOJ led us on a round trip around the town, unintentionally, and some then filled up which the rest continued on.  20kms down the road was the turn off to Lambert’s Centre of Australia – the geographical centre of Australia.  The road in was quite corrugated and with several washouts so care had to be taken.  We had the obligatory photo taken, then made our way out again.  A call then came over the UHF from Brickiematt saying that a U bolt on his camper had snapped.  It was decided that DanAdelaide, Jacko, lindamc, and shrek4 stayed behind to come up with a patch solution and the rest of us travelled on towards Kulgera.

The first group arrived at 5pm, checked in, set up, then several went looking for a nice hot shower, only to find that there was no hot water!!!!  Some braved it and had a cold shower, but most thought they would just wait another day.  A couple of hours the second group had thankfully made it, with a temporary solution which got brickiematt to Kulgera and will be sorted out more thoroughly tomorrow.

That evening the Kulgera roadhouse put on a fireworks display out the front.  IT was obvious that OHS safety was a low priority with the fireworks being lit with a cigarette lighter, and a few stray ones flying in the direction of the crowd too!!  As MrBitchi said – only in the Territory would you get a fireworks display out the front of a petrol station!!

Once that was over, we retired to our campers and had an early night after the long day we have just had!!

[ehsc]

Great Report JCOJ keep it up and safe travels  ehsc

[oldmate]

Nice report mate.

[Supersi]

Sounds like fun, looking forward to the next instalment.

[Black Diamond]

Great stuff mate look forward to the next update

[lino6]

Mixed emotions, glad to hear the about the travels, but spewing we're not there....

Hope you all are having fun!

[Marcus73]

Sounds great apart from the casualties.


Sent from your iPad using Mental telepathy

[Glenno]

Enjoying the report, and love the country your going through!!

Enjoy.

[RedDmaxxx]

Loving the reports mate

[GU_Thomo]

Great stuff,
Keep it coming.

Cheers
Parry

[JCOJ]

July 2nd: Kulgera to Yulara:
Today was an easy run on the bitumen of some 318kms so no convoy was needed and people could do their own thing.

Brickiematt had to sort out his u-bolt issue and was getting help from the local mechanic at 9.30am, lindamc was having a sleep in and a relaxed pack up, and others were doing the same.  At some stage we all aired up and filled up at an expensive $2.19/L for diesel!!

There were four of us that left at 9.30am and made the leisurely drive on our way to one of the highlights on the trip - Uluru!  Not long into it, Blueroo flew past us (the advantage of not towing anything!), and our first stop was made at the Mt. Connor lookout.

A little further up the road JCOJ, DanAdelaide, and Jacko stopped at Curtain Springs for lunch.  Their bar area has some interesting articles on the walls which made for an entertaining read.  However, Jacko and ourselves were waiting nearly an hour for our lunches, only to find out that our orders hadn't been taken to the kitchen!!!  As soon as the mistake was realised, our food was out to us within 5 minutes.

Soon enough we were on our way again, and arrived at the Ayers Resort Campground where we checked in.  Although booking back in August last year, they had a group of us in one powered section, the unpowered people at the opposite end of the planet, and both Darren253 and Mandrake were in a site by themselves???  Apparently another family had booked, had their confirmation e-mail on them, only to be told that their site had been double booked and they couldn't find a spot for them as they were booked out!!!  Not sure what the eventual outcome was of this, however, probably a good idea if you are coming out this way to phone a week before to confirm your booking exists and isn't double booked!!

The late afternoon was spent setting up, relaxing, and some went to the Uluru sunset to view the ever changing colours of the rock, then most retired to their campers for the evening.

[Pog]

Great Report so far. Looks like an awesome trip.

[JCOJ]

July 3rd: Yulara

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MRS SHREK4!!!  Being polite we won't say how old she is but let's just say that Life Begins from here!!

YAY - a day where we don't have to pack up, however that didn't mean a sleep in for some as they arose to take in the magnificent sunrise spectacle over either Uluru or Kata Tjuka.  For Uluru, you can drive out to a dedicated sunrise area, or alternatively sleep in a little and just walk up the hill here at the CP.

There are so many activities and walks to do here that you could easily spend a week here and not do all the activities and walks that are on offer.  Today I'll concentrate on Uluru and tomorrow Kata Tjuka, but some did it the otherway round.  However for brickiematt, it was mostly a day spent under his camper trailer just making sure the temporary fix done at Kulgera turned into a permanent fix and took the opportunity of using the repair shed here at the resort.

With the weather being so perfect (18c-20c everyday and we haven't even seen a cloud since leaving Alice Springs!!), the climb was open to those that wanted to do it.  It is very steep in the first section where the chain is, then once you reach the top of the chain, there is another approx 1.5kms to go until you reach the marker at the very top of the rock.  Overall it is quite a difficult climb and descent, and one person in our group ended up doing the full climb twice (but not by choice apparently)!!!

Other things that could be done were join in the Marla Walk which was a 1.5hr ranger guided walk,
walk the 10km around the perimeter of the rock, visit the Cultural Centre and enjoy a beverage in the kiosk, or even hire a bike to take yourself around on.

The sunset viewing area carpark filled up very quickly once 5pm came and it was brilliant to see the changing colours of the  rock and the surround sky too.  Overall an action packed day with so much done yet still so much to see.

[Marschy]

Looks like your having a great time John, the lads have grown heaps too I see. Keep the photos coming.

Cheers, Marschy

[JCOJ]

July 4th: Yulara
Kata Jutka (The Olgas) is a little further out from the campground than Uluru so those that want to do the sunrise viewing have to to get up that little bit earlier.  After the approx 50km journey there is a dedicated viewing platform.  The good thing about it is that you also get a great view on Uluru and the sun comes up right next to that and then shines onto Kata Tjuka.

It was cold to begin with, but as soon as the sun popped over the horizon, the temperature just seemed to drop and we were almost running back to the car so we could turn it on the heater!!
There are two walks that you are able to do, one is the longer Valley of the Winds and the shorter Walpa Gorge walk.  The former was beautiful with two lookouts, and after that you had the option to continue on and do a circuit, or go back the way you came.

The shorter Walpa Gorge walk was quite scenic, but you had to scramble over rocks until you got to the end.

After that it was pretty much free time for everyone.  Some went to the supermarket to restock before we head off tomorrow, others starting packing a few things away, and others took the opportunity to do absolutely nothing!!

That evening after dinner most of us gathered around and had an impromptu drink andchat in a spare area between the powered campers, although with no fire as we didn’t have any wood!
Once again the evening was quite chilly, so it wasn’t too long before people started retiring to their own campers and getting an early night.

[JCOJ]

July 5th: Yulara to Kings Creek Station
HAPPY BIRTHDAY brickiematt!!!  Once again we won’t divulge his age but he still has a year to go before his Life Begins!!

We had  a departure time this morning of 9.30am, and we met on the highway once we had filled with petrol/diesel. It was an easy run today – 269kms all on bitumen.  Nearly everyone stopped at Curtain Springs where we were slugged $88 for a slab of beer, and $17 for 3 ice creams.  We then  continued on non stop until we reached Kings Creek Station.  There we met Desert Lover from the forum who is currently working here, and she lead us to our campsites which are very scenic under the trees.

Once set up, a few left and did the walk at Kathleen Springs. It was a very nice walk with the reward of a waterhole at the end.  The walk info sheet it ways it would take an 90mins, however, the path was asphalt and relatively flat.

Once back at camp, people prepared for the shared dinner.  The shared dinner is where a whole lot of rice is cooke up, then each camper prepares a sauce to go on top, and we line them all up and have a little taste of everything.  Some of the choices were chilli con carne, honey mustard chicken, rogan josh, mango curry, beef stroganoff plus others.  They were all delicious, then we finished with dessert being camp oven cooked dumplings with maple syrup. 

Shek4 set up the outdoor for the cinema for the kids while the adults sat around and chatted around the campfire as the fire was stoked up well as we had heaps of firewood after collecting some on our way up as well as the station dropping us off some too.  We all had a good chat and yarn, while some enjoyed some beers from their $88 slab!!  Overall it was a great night!

[JCOJ]

July 6th: Kings Creek Station
KingBilly rounded up the troops this morning for an 8.45am departure to head towards Kings Creek Canyon for the 5kn rim walk.  The walk is a 5km walk starting with ‘Heart Attack Hill’ and then following the top of the canyon from one side to the other.  Apart from the start which was a steep climb to the top of the canyon, the walk was relatively easy in comparison.  There was a lovely detour to the Garden of Eden where there was a waterhole surrounded by the canyon walls.

The  walk took three and a half hours and was definitely a highlight of the trip so far.  Another easier and shorter walk is the Canyon Walk where you walk down the base of the canyon, and in itself is a very scenic walk.   Once completed, most made their way up the road an extra 6kms to the service station where we could top up with fuel to save a bit of time tomorrow and also purchase the Meerenie loop pass for $5.50.

Once back at camp, some gathered around kingBilly’s campsite, sat around and chatted and drank, some had a shower, some went on a quad bike ride, and some took refuge in the café for a coffee and try and get internet access – unsuccessfully!

There was more sitting and drinking before dinner, then the campfire was started again so we all gathered around that for the evening and again shrek4 set up the outdoor cinema for the kids!

[JCOJ]

July 7th: Kings Creek Station to Palm Valley
We had a different kind of start this morning with those that needed to get fuel or purchase the Meerenie Loop Pass leaving a touch earlier than those that were all set to go.  36kms up the road was a Shell service station where the tanks were topped up, and luckily the pass could be purchased here as well for the $5.50 that was charged.

As some were taking longer than others, it was decided that as it was a relatively easy trip to Palm Valley, all could make their own way there.  There was the Rainbow group (the first group), three were in the next group, then all the rest were all somewhere behind.

lindamc decided to head into Hermannsberg to have a look around while the rest of us headed straight into Palm Valley to find somewhere to set up – the campground was packed!!  Eventually we all found a place, then headed off towards the Palm Valley walks, of which there were two.

On the way, DanAdelaide heard a loud bang only to find that he had broken a shock at the weld.  A temp fix got him back to the campsite, and then it was onto the Rangers Station to call for the tow truck.  After the kids had finished their ‘Rock Art’ those that had remained headed to where the walks were, then and did the short one hour walk.

We drove back to camp where we had the news that the tow truck would be out first thing in the morning to collect DanAdelaide’s Pathfinder and his camper and take them all into  Alice Springs.
That evening was another spent around the campfire before heading to the comfort of our campers.

[JCOJ]

July 8th: Palm Valley to Owen Springs Reserve
Today was to be our longest day travelling through the Finke Gorge National Park past Boggy Hole.  We were all ready to go by 8.30am, and while waiting for people to get organised for the group photo, Blueroo was talking to a guy who did the Boggy Hole route the day before and advised against JCOJ taking the new van in there saying it was overgrown and very rough.

After the photo, JCOJ broke the news to everyone that they wouldn’t be going on that track, and it was decided that all but three weren’t going to do it either.  The three were MrBitchi, brianm, and Blueroo, so they left, and then the rest of us left and decided to spend some time in Hermannsberg.  Mandrake decided that they were going to stay at Palm Valley and extra day, and the two truck had arrived for Dan Adelaide to take them into Alice Springs.  While there we visited an Heritage Centre where some purchased some genuine Aboriginal dot paintings, visited the servo for some fuel, purchased some supplies from the supermarket, and one got warned by the local constabulary for doing 47 in a 40 zone!!

Soon we were on our way and we headed along the bitumen hwy before we turned off towards Owen Springs Reserve (we were doing tomorrow’s track today!)  The Owen Springs Self drive took us along a dirt track which had many historical artiefacts along the way. At one stop JCOJ’s TPMS was beeping alerting that another tyre was losing pressure, so a few chipped in to quickly change it (it’s handy having three spares, two of which were easily accessible on the back of the van!!).
We continued on and had no further mishaps and found the Redbank Waterhole campsite.  We found a large open area where there was plenty of room for us all and all the firewood we had collected too.  As it was only 2pm when we arrived, we had a very relaxing afternoon sitting around the already made campfire.

The three adventurers arrived at about 5.30pm and their summary was that it was a very good decision not to travel that track.  They said that they hardly stopped at all and with only the three of them it was a very long day – had it been the 11 of us, then we would still be out there somewhere.

That evening we had a ripping fire with a million stars to view – absolutely magic!!