Big: Jumping Crocodile - Adelaide River, NT

Day 148: Sydney - Darwin

A frantic last dash around Sydney before Rob dropped us off at the airport.

Oh well, back to the roof tent.

We loved Sydney...

Emelie

Day 143: Darwin - Sydney

We caught the 1:30AM Qantas red eye to Sydney and arrived really refreshed with our red eyes hanging out of our head around 6AM. We were not sure if we would make it as Sydney had "cyclonic" weather and it was touch and go that the flight may be cancelled.

Upon arrival we hoped into a cab which buzzed us across the city in the wind and rain to Darling Point which would be our home for the next 5 days. We hadn't seen this much traffic since leaving London.

We're staying with friends of Oly's family (he knows more people in Australia than I do!) and lucky for us they have a spare apartment we can use while we are here. We are in heaven.

Resisting sleep we set off into the morning like true tourists... I just know this is going to be fab!

Em

Day 141: Howard Springs - Darwin

Darwin is quite small, and we haven't had a good look at it yet. Our first priority when we arrived was (apart from the yellow light bulb) to get the flat tyre replaced. We spent a good hour waiting at the only place that we could find to do Cooper tyres.

We had and early lunch at Buzz Cafe in Cullen Bay and chuckled to ourselves when a guy from another table opened a fake door to reveal a painting of a person sitting on the toilet, he got a bit of a fright. Also, according to Oly, in the men's toilet (the real ones) the urinal is a one way mirror so you can see everyone in the restaurant while you are urinating. I guess you could even aim for someone's drink...

Will have to go back and get some pictures!

We are staying overnight at a friend of Oly's family as tomorrow night (actually 1:30AM on Wednesday) we are once again jetting off... this time to the big smoke.

Emelie

Did I mention it is Darwins DRY season and it won't rain for another 3 months. Well you guessed it, we brought the rain with us...

Big: Termite Hill - Mataranka, NT

Day 131: Townsville - The Lynd

It was raining too hard yesterday so we didn't leave until today. The sun was shining in the glorious morning sky. Typical.

First stop, Charters Towers, and it was back to school for me. We stopped for a coffee on the High Street before walking to St Mary's College where Sam and I boarded for several years. We lived in Bougainville where there was not sufficient schooling for children of our age so we had to fly down to Queensland. I was there from the age of 11 until we moved to Perth at the end of year 9 (14). I have very fond memories of that school and it was nice to go back. I do have a few cringe worthy photos of my time there on Picasa if anyone wishes to indulge.

	St Mary's College Photo Album

Next, and final, stop the Oasis Roadhouse were we camped for the night. The roadhouse is said to have Australia's smallest bar. We didn't' actually see it (not because it was that small it was unable to be seen by the naked eye) we just never ventured into the main building as we got there quite late.

The camp site was very basic, no power and ponies grazing around us. When the sun went down we scampered up to our roof tent and watched the incredible display of stars in the sky, it was stunning.

Em

Day 25: Townsville

At 9:30AM we said goodbye to the nice comfortable apartment that made us forget all our Henry troubles and set off to find a camp site with available space.

We settled into Rowes Bay with our little tent and inflatable bed and wondered where we would fit everything else we had.

There are quite a few long term residents here and a lot of children. The only space for our tent is opposite the children's play area. Thank god for earplugs. Some people are so established they have plants growing up their caravans and tents and have even made gravel paths with borders to their front door.

I hope it doesn't take that long for Henry to be fixed...

We dashed off in our hire car to get last minute provisions, as once we returned the car at 4PM it would be pedal power for the rest of the week.

After all our chores were done we walked from the airport to Henry and cycled back to the camp site.

Being a bit rusty on the bike I slowed down to have a drink of water and Oly ended up about 50 metres in front of me along a stretch of road near the seafront. A magpie swooped down from a tree and lunged at the back of Oly's neck... I couldn't believe what I was seeing, Oly flinched and I peddled as fast as I could calling "watch out!" as the bird did it again. At this point I was screeching "go, go, go!", this bird wouldn't leave him alone. We were trying to get away, I was behind Ol who was yelling "it's coming again!". I have never peddled so fast in my life, I was terrified!

All the way back to the camp site we couldn't stop laughing. We think the top of Oly's bike helmet, which was black and reflective white, may have caught the birds eye. Even if I have to cycle an extra 5km there is no way I am going down that road again!

Its started raining so we hope we have repaired all of the holes the tent got in Kings Canyon when the wind turned it over. It is very humid here but it is a nice change from the heat of the outback.

Em

Temp: 29c

Day 22: Barkly Homestead - Cloncurry

We have been saved!

Oly got up at 5:30AM to catch the early morning trucks that would be outside Barkly Homestead waiting for it to open for breakfast.

When I woke up I tidied up Henry and spent an hour plucking up the courage to go into the ablutions where a dozen hornets were waiting to ambush me. Good job I googled hornets and it said if you kill one close to the nest the whole clan comes out to defend it. I had emptied a can of Raid into the crack of the door (my fire fighting training wasn't for nothing!) prior to the googling, but I don't think any died. When they started to come towards me instead of flying away in fear I knew I was not going to shower that day.

Finally around 11:30AM a road train pulled in going in the right direction with room for Henry. Plus the driver, Steve, said he could take us too. Townsville here we come!

I quickly showered in the hornet free gents. Even I didn't want to travel 100's of kilometres with me in a close confined space.

Henry was forklifted onto a trailer, we climbed up into the cab and didn't try to hide our excitement being in a road train. There were only two seats so I perched on the bed behind them.

Road trains are pretty cool. They have high ceilings so they are really roomy. It was a surprisingly bumpy ride, however even at 90 km/h you feel like you are only going at 50.

We are staying in Cloncurry tonight and tomorrow we will arrive in Townville. Hopefully we will be able to sort Henry out.

Em

Miles: 600km
Time: 8 hours
Location: Click Me!
Temp: 35c

Day 21: Barkly Homestead

:(

Henry didn't start.

Henry is most likely buggered.

I am in the bar of the Homestead and we have been sitting here since about 11AM watching out for trucks going east.

This morning several tinkering and helpful people have had a look at Henry. Sean, who works here, helped "tow start" him... sadly he spluttered and cut out in a billow of white smoke.

I don't know what else to say.

We are hoping a truck will pass through on the way back to Brisbane from Darwin and will have some room for Henry. We will have to get the Greyhound bus which I think takes around 3 to 4 days.

If we don't get Henry on a truck tonight then there is not another Greyhound until Thursday. Its now 23.15 and this places closes at midnight, the Greyhound comes 5 minutes after that.

As Elvis once said... "It's now or never"

We have excellent internet access with our laptop card so we don't feel too cut off, however neither of us have mobile access. I was starting to feel this place was like the Bermuda Triangle (where's Wonder Woman when you need her?).

On the plus side, Ol and I are good and taking it all in our stride... what else would we have to write about eh? Well Mount Isa, our next planned stop, would have been nice :)

We are fine, a bit tired of hanging around, but fine nonetheless!

Em

P.S. If Henry doesn't buck his ideas up he might be getting a new brother... http://www.volkswagen.com.au/california/features.asp (bring on the air-con!)

Temp: 39c

Day 20: Tennant Creek - Barkly Homestead

Where do I start...

Oh Henry!

We visited the cultural centre in Tennant Creek before we headed east to Barkly Homestead.

Henry felt a little sluggish and we put it down to having a few days of cold and now it was heating up again.

There was a moment of worry a few hours into our journey when we both noticed a distinct burning smell. It took a while but it finally dawned on us that we were running along side a bush fire. I just thought it had gone a bit hazy.

Half an hour later Oly shouted for me to stop and pull over as there was smoke filling the inside of the van behind us. We turned off the engine and had a look, couldn't see anything obviously wrong so we thought Henry needed a rest.

He wouldn't start up again.

Oly suggested one of us cycle the remaining 30km to the Homestead and get help. I just replied with "Urban Myth". I could see it now, he cycles off, it goes dark, he still hasn't returned. Hours later there is a banging on the roof of Henry, 10 police cars rock up and get me out of the car saying "don't look back", I look back and there is some psycho with Oly's head banging it on the roof. It was too hot to cycle and there was enough traffic on this road. We would be fine. Its a good job I haven't seen the movie Wolf Creek yet.

It was two hours and 30 cars/road trains later before anyone stopped for us. Luckily for us Todd and his father Alex pulled over to see if we needed any help and towed us to Barkly Homestead.

We spent the rest of the afternoon in the bar talking with them. Todd is a tour guide based in Alice Springs and his father lives just outside of Sydney. Alex had flown up to Alice to join Todd for the long drive home for Christmas. Todd has recently adopted a beautiful 10 weeks old puppy called Knuckles who was so cute, he fitted perfectly into a small round washing up tub. We had a great time and they certainly kept our mind off Henry. We were very sad to see them go.

We are hoping tomorrow Henry will be well rested and raring to go...

Em

Miles: 200km
Time: 5 hours
Location: Click Me!
Temp: 39c
Music:
Audio book - Artemis Fowl - The Arctic Incident, Eoin Colfer

Day 19: Alice Springs - Tennant Creek

Two hours out of Alice, a hop, skip and a jump over the Tropic of Capricorn, we passed a hand written road sign:

"Mango Ice Cream, Yum!"

Even if it was only 10:30AM, we thought it would be rude to pass it by. We stopped at Red Centre Farm and picked up some hot mango chilli and, of course, a teeny tub of mango ice cream... yum YUM! It was delicious and so is the chilli. Who said never trust advertising?!

A few km further up the road, we went to the Red Sands Art Gallery where we spent two hours browsing and then trying to pay for the two pieces we chose (there was a problem with the debit card swipe). The gallery is wonderful and definitely the best indigenous art we have seen, I would love to go back one day and buy some more.

Oly was having a nap in the passenger seat when I noticed aliens running towards the road. We had arrived at Wycliffe Well, the UFO capital of Australia. We popped in to have a nose, under the guise of buying a drink. Oly blew our cover as soon as he walked in and said... "so when was the last time you had a UFO here?" the man in all seriousness said the 1st of October was the last time they had extra-terrestrial visitors. Now that was one weird place.

Our intention was to stay at Barrow Creek. Ol took a quick picture inside of the bar and left, we just didn't fancy it. About 10km north of Barrow Creek is where Peter Falconio went missing. It was very quiet for the next 30km.

Our next stop was Karlu Karlu, the Devils Marbles. These formations are over a million years old and were once a solid mass of coarse grained granite caused by molten magma. Over time they have cracked and then eroded to form round and oval balls. There are so many strange rock formations in Australia and these are just as fascinating and awe inspiring as Uluru and Kata Tjuta. We did the short 400m walk around a cluster of them and moved on to Tennant Creek.

And here we are...

Em

Miles: 500km
Time: 8 hours
Location: Click Me!
Temp: 36c
Music:
Red Hot Chili Peppers - By The Way
Audio book - Artemis Fowl - The Arctic Incident, Eoin Colfer (We like the narrator)

Day 18: Alice Springs

It is freezing!

There is no pleasing some people...

The weather is still overcast and has had another burst of rain. I am wearing a fleece and we will have to get the duvet out tonight. Last night we huddled together under the sheet. The duvet was in the tent and it was pouring down. We chose to suffer instead.

We are still in Alice Springs as we were a bit lazy yesterday and did not do the things we had planned. Those being the Flying Doctors visitors centre, the reptile centre and the School of the Air.

The Flying Doctors visitors centre was not very exciting... we walked through it and didn't wait for the tour. The reptile centre, on the other hand, was fantastic. We couldn't have arrived at a better time, they had just finished the informative talk on reptiles and were up to the handling part, so Oly dived in head first and I tentatively petted from afar. Then it was time for the feeding of Terry the Northern Territories crocodile. We stayed there so long we didn't make the school.

Tomorrow we are off again and we doubt if we will get internet or mobile access for the next few days. We won't be travelling on any unsealed roads and there should be plenty of roadhouses on the way. We are carrying spare fuel, water, food and a new jack... don't worry, (you know who you are and your not the only one!) we are taking precautions and will be safe...

I think its more worrying that tomorrow night we are stopping over at Barrow Creek...

Em

Temp: 30c

Day 17: Alice Springs

We stayed in today and did huge amounts of blog stuff. I got a bit behind after Kings Canyon and have to make sure I am all up to date by the time we leave here as it is unlikely we will be online again until we get to Mount Isa, and even that's not certain.

The highlight of our day was the incredible thunderstorm that brought with it copious amounts of rain. Fortunately most of our things had been put away in the tent. I did contemplate going outside and dancing but when I felt how cold it was I quickly changed my mind!

Oh, just to clarify, Henry is not parked in front of a beautiful picturesque lake, that is the road...

Em

Temp: 36c

Day 16: Alice Springs

After having a bit of a lazy morning we went to the Alice Springs Desert Park. We were very impressed at how well it was organised and presented. The park is set in three different enviroments, desert rivers, sand country and woodland habitat. You learn about the enviroment through an audio guide as you pass through the areas. As well as detailing the flora and fauna and recreating each enviroment you learn how Aboriginal people utilise the plants and animals of these habitats.

Once again it was a meltingly hot day. Afterwards we treated ourselves to a cold drink and a butter cookie in the shape of Australia in the park cafe, taking care not to get too comfortabe in the air-con.

Yesterday there were some frantic emails flying about regarding the whereabouts of my Aunt and Uncle who are currently touring Australia. I was told they were in Uluru and we had just missed them. I sent my Aunt an email and she replied to say they were in Alice Springs and were going to Uluru on Friday... how weird is that?! Oly and I went to their hotel and we had a wonderful time, and a wonderful meal. I still can't get over the coincidence.

Em

Temp: 46c

Day 15: Kings Canyon - Alice Springs

Up early again for the five hour drive to Alice Springs.

We did have to go back on ourselves at first to avoid the unsealed road that would have saved us around 200km. We did think about it for a few minutes as we approached it, and then thought "Nah!" and flew past in case we changed our minds.

We made sure we changed drivers every hour, whether or not we felt we could carry on. It did make a huge difference and kept us quite fresh. Good practice for the final slog over to Queensland.

Somehow, by the time we got to Alice Springs I was one thong (flip flop) down... it must have fallen out of the van on the last change over of driver. There is some one legged emu out there sporting a very fetching green gold Haviana.

We met a Dutch couple that we had seen in Uluru. They were making their way to Cairns a few days ahead of us. We looked longingly at their camper van with its air-conditioning until Sylvia explained she had caught a cold from the constant changes in temperature getting in an out of the van... we were more than happy to go back to sweating it out in Henry after that. It's good to hear we aren't the only ones that are suffering with the heat.

Oly and I went into the town centre and had a walk around. Alice Springs is large town in the centre of Australia. It is home to The School of the Air which is a correspondence school catering for the primary and early secondary education of children in remote Australia. The Flying Doctors also have a visitors centre here.

We had a quiet night in trying to catch up on the blog as we had a communication blackout in Kings Canyon. Its nice to have a break but its like putting off homework.

Em

Miles: 441km
Time: 5 hours
Location: Click Me!
Temp: 42c (still)
Music:
Manu Chao - Clandestino
Coldplay - Parachutes
Eminem - Curtain Call
Lisa Loeb - Tails

Day 14: Kings Canyon

Up again at 5AM. Today we visited Kings Canyon and completed the rim walk.

This walk begins with a 100m steep climb to the top of the canyon which the locals call "heartbreak hill" or "heart attack hill". I know what it felt like to me... then a 7km walk with a gradual decent back to the bottom. Climbing up I had to use my hands as blinkers so I would not see the bottom. Once at the top I kept my eyes firmly away from the sheer drop edge. I don't know how people can stand on the edge, it scares the life out of me!

It was very eerie, there was no sound or animals except for the occasional bird. Even the insects were in very short supply. The birds showed no fear, I guess up there they have no natural predators.

The rim is littered with strange beehive domes of rock and enclosures that make you feel like you are in an amphitheatre, this is known as The Lost City. It was not until after our walk we found out the name of these formations and suddenly it all made sense.

Half way through our walk we descended to The Garden of Eden, this is a waterhole with lush vegetation and very brave swimmers... Oly being one of them. After seeing him surrounded by yellow water it made me even more determined not to go in. The only down side to this oasis was the climb back up to the rim.

That afternoon a wily-wily picked our tent up and rolled it over. The tent was ripped and a mess. We had to hold it down whilst trying to empty and dismantle it, during which storm winds decided to build. I wouldn't mind if it brought rain!

We are getting a bit braver at night now and letting a few toes poking out of the back door curtain. One day we are really going to regret it when some eagle eyed bird thinks they are worms.

Em

Temp: 42c

Day 13: Yulara - Kings Canyon

Oly woke me at 5:30AM and asked if I wanted to get up to go to Uluru to try and catch the sunrise or would I prefer to stay where I was, the later was more appealing. I spent the next few hours rolling about in the back of the van trying to sleep while Oly drove.

We set off for Kings Canyon where we would be staying for the next two nights. On the way is Mount Conner (Artilla), the third of the great monoliths and home of the Ice Men. By now I am sure they have melted in this heat.

The camp ground we checked into for two nights turned out to be the wrong one, there is one 4km from Kings Canyon and we were still 36km away... "no dramas" it was beautifully quiet here, apart from the 18 - 30 tour bus, we almost had the place to ourselves.

They had some amazing lizards that reared up and ran on their back legs like a cartoon character. They were so quick Oly had loads of trouble getting a good running picture of them.

There was also a slightly confused magpie, that we nicknamed Harold, that repeatedly jumped from Henry's side mirror to window, back to side mirror. This went on for hours and at first the window was closed. We tried covering over the stuff we had on the seats in case it had taken its fancy, we tried feeding it bread, giving it water, we opened the window to stop it hurting itself. It was very persistent! Hours later I had a brainwave and covered the mirror. The magpie spent 10 minutes looking around, flew off and never came back.

A storm had been threatening to begin. It arrived around 5PM and for the rest of the night we had thunder, lightening, hot bursts of wind (make up your own mind on that one!) and 8 drops of rain.

We still enjoyed the change from hot, sticky, sweaty, close heat to the anticipation of a refreshing, soaking wet downpour, even if it never came.

The evening was spent sitting on Henry's step, massaging each others weary shoulders, watching the lightening. Oly set up his camera on the tripod but unfortunately which ever way he pointed the camera the lightening appeared somewhere else.

We slept with the side and back curtains open so we could watch the storm, it didn't help with the heat but it took our mind off it for a while.

Em

Miles: 264km
Time: 3 1/2 hours
Location: Click Me!
Temp: 42c
Music:
Soul II Soul - Keep On Movin'
Gilles Peterson - In Brazil Da Hora
Audio book - Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer

Day 12: Yulara

Not wanting to miss the sunrise for the 3rd day running Oly got up at 2:30AM.

We were booked on a helicopter flight with Ayers Rock Helicopters at 5:15AM to watch the sun rise over Uluru and Kata Tjuta. I have never been in a helicopter before and I must admit I was petrified. Helicopters seem to go so slowly, judder and feel so flimsy. I sat in the back on my own and Oly sat in the front next to the pilot. I don't like heights at the best of times and I get an urge to jump, which really isn't good! I may try it again, maybe its something you just have to get used too.

Oly and I went back to Uluru to do the Mala walk at 8AM. We joined what we thought was the ranger tour and it turned out to be a tour group whose guide was Italian and was really hard to understand. We were quite relieved when she said she wasn't the ranger. The tour was really good and the aboriginal ranger was knowledgeable and had a sense of humour too. By the time that had finished it was too hot to do the base walk.

The nights are pretty bad here. The temperature is still in the mid to high 30's past midnight and there is no air, any breeze there is its hot. We sleep with the slide door open and the fly net curtain up, plus the back door open and drift in and out of consciousness in our pools of sweat. It feels safe to leave the doors open here, people in tents have less security. I am going to try sleeping the other way round tonight with my feet out of the back door...maybe that will be cooler! I can't wait to get back to the coast, cool sea breezes... its only 25c in Cairns!

Em

Temp: 42c

Day 11: Yulara

Missed the sunrise again, should have woken up at 4:30AM to go to Uluru but as the night was so hot we had terrible sleep again. We also got up to late to take the Mala walk at the base of Uluru so we went to Kata Tjuta, The Olgas, to do the Valley of the Winds walk.

We started the 7 1/2 km walk around 9AM. The walk goes between the mounds of Kata Tjuta so this involves a lot of climbing up and down on loose rocks and some of the climbs were pretty steep. By the end of it we were both bright red and knackered. We took plenty of water but after walking for 2 1/2 hours in the baking sun our water was hot and therefore not very refreshing. I got to the last climb, stopped halfway and sat down to try and subside the sick feeling. I think at that point I had drank the water instead of sipping and it was sloshing in my stomach. Everyone on the walk was really struggling towards the end, we gave each other moral support as we passed or stopped to catch our breath.

They have accommodation here at Ayers Rock Resort ranging from 5* hotel to tents. We treated ourselves to a meal at one of the restaurants in The Sails in the Desert. It was delicious. I had veal and Oly had Angus beef, we even stretched to sharing a desert of deep fried chocolate balls in a light batter with creme anglaise, yum!

Em

Temp: 43c

Day 10: Yulara

We woke up around 9AM and didn't do an awful lot today... we really do deserve this day off.

Up went our rickety tent and we chucked our clothes, bikes and tools into it. I made a fly screen for Henry's slide door which is pretty nifty and it means we can sit in the van at night with it open (curtains drawn) and no bugs should get in.

For dinner we had delicious Nando's marinaded chicken and snow peas. We have been trying to make sure we are eating something nutritious each day. It's too hot to eat or cook but we have made the effort and alternated between scotch fillet steak and marinaded chicken each night with a small portion of vegetables. The fridge we have installed is a blessing. I still have chocolate in it that I have not even considered eating, and I am a chocoholic... Oly keeps checking my forehead to see if I am unwell!

I realise that there is a lack of pictures of Oly or myself, the problem is I don't really like having my picture taken and Oly always groans when I say I will take a picture of him. He explains our feelings well, we are living in a van and its bloody hot and as we are touring round we are not primped and preened every day and really don't look our best. I KNOW you all don't care what we look like, but we are vain! Having said all that... I will try harder and get us in the pictures.

Big day tomorrow, must get some sleep.

Em

Temp: 42c