Most of the states have a little bit of outback but I think the Northern Territory has the lions share.
Our interview with the police to “cross” the border (even though we were already 100kms inside the Territory) went well. They didn’t want to see our photos of proof which was disappointing. I’m not even sure if he knew where all the 14 places we had on the form were. I think he was more interested in having a chat. I felt like saying, are we done yet? but of course, you never poke the bear. We were advised not to stay in the Aboriginal community town of Borroloola. No problem, it was too far away anyway, we had to find a campsite away from the road so we didn’t get dusted.
The road on this side of the border deteriorated and was a lot rougher. There were three water crossings, lots of bulldust, corrugations and rocks. Then a few single-lane bitumen sections, which means you have to go off to the side when an oncoming car goes past you. Not everyone slows down unfortunately. Several kangaroos crossed the road in front of us after lunch. I also saw two red-tailed cockatoos, four wild horses and some wedged tailed eagles on roadkill. At about 3:30 pm we started looking for a campsite but didn’t find one until 5 pm. It was still over 30°C and the flies were so awful we had to get the hat nets out.
When panel beaters replaced the rear door they didn’t fit it properly and we had red dust all over everything in the back of the car, including us. We gave the car a good cleaning inside and out. Another couple joined us in our camp area but gave us plenty of space.
Litchfield National Park
It’s been 18 years ago since we’ve been to Litchfield where we camped at Buley Rockhole but that campground was demolished after many years of problems with the kids coming from Darwin. The closest one is Florence; we chose the 2WD campground as it’s closer to the swimming hole. The wind that started ten days ago is still with us. Coming from Darwin we had seen some back burning which is quite dangerous in these conditions. We can see flames in the distance that night before we go to bed. A neighbour who is a volunteer firefighter in SA suggests we put all the important things in the car in case we have to evacuate in the middle of the night. You won’t have time to pack up your camper he said. It has been very humid ever since we got to Daly waters, we are going through an El Nino period and everyone said that the wet season was coming early in Darwin.
As we had been to Litchfield before I wanted to visit places we hadn’t been to previously. It was a hot 43° when we left the campground, so we had to limit the walks we did. I chose Tolmer Falls and the Cascades. Tolmer is a short walk from the carpark. It is a very long waterfall and is probably very spectacular after the wet season. Walking to the Cascades turned out to be a mistake as Lindsay slipped on the rocks, hurting his ankle again and his arm. He didn’t want to sit and wait for me so so we both continued to the end of the lower Cascades, but that was it for walking that day, he was done! Most of the time we spent swimming in Florence or sitting in the water at Buley. The little USB fan we got in Darwin was a lifesaver at night. We heard a few days later that the campground was evacuated the morning we left because of the fires.
This trip has made us realise that it is time to upgrade to a caravan. I can’t believe I’m saying that. We have been talking to many people along the way, finding out what works for them, layouts, sizes and backup service. One of the manufacturers we have on our list is JB and there were three in the campground at Florence, out of twenty spots. They are very popular and everyone is really happy with their service.
Edith Falls, Leliyn-Nitmiluk National Park
The word around is that there aren’t many National Park campgrounds open which would explain why Edit Falls campground was nearly full. Entry to Kakadu is free during Covid apparently but many of the places are closed. We have been there twice, so skipped it this time as it was too hot and humid.
There is one main walk at Edith Falls which goes in a loop. We left early as it was another hot windy day and went up the right-hand side which starts with a straight-up hill climb. Lindsay had forgotten his water bottle after telling me to leave mine behind and I regretted not going back when I realised. At the first lookout, you get to see several other water pools. The next stop is the Upper Pool which is really pretty. The trail continues along 8.6kms, our route took us to the Bemang Lookout which is about a kilometre from the campground. The Upper Pool is supposedly another 540mts after that, but it felt a lot longer on both sections.
The afternoon was spent reading by the pool and then another swim.
After swimming in Daly Waters, Darwin, Litchfield, and Edith Falls, Lindsay had had enough of swimming and didn’t want to stop off at Mataranka. It’s a fair drive to the Devils Marbles so I suggested we did it over two days, which would give us time just to drop into Mataranka for a quick dip at lunchtime. They have done a lot of work since we were here last, I can see us spending more time here on another trip. The water is crystal clear and lovely and warm, just my style.
Devils Marbles Conservation Park
We got in late as we had skipped our transit stop as we were trying to bring our itinerary forward to fit in catching up with a friend in Alice Springs. I thought I could just take pictures in the morning but what I hadn’t counted on was that the area is a lot larger than I had remembered and I didn’t have time to scout the locations I wanted to photograph. In the Northern Territory, you need a permit to fly a drone in a national park, some parks have specific restrictions and many that are completely restricted irrespective of whether you have a permit usually because of cultural considerations. Of course, these are all the ones that we want to visit. They let helicopters fly in these areas, so it doesn’t make sense.
Rainbow Valley Conservation Reserve
Driving into Rainbow Valley takes your breath away when it first comes into view. We have been here but I still love it.
Chambers Pillar Historical Reserve
I’m sure we took a shortcut from here to Chamber’s Pillar last time we were here but it’s not on any map. Therefore we have to go back to the highway and come in somewhere around Stuart Wells roadhouse. It turned into an adventure.
The original plan was to go via the Aboriginal Community of Maryvale before heading into Chambers Pillar. On our Hema Map, we could see the Ghan Railway that took us on a more direct route but the map didn’t show any track or road. When we got to the railway there was a track that ran beside it, for how long we didn’t know but we decided to take it. Would this be a mistake? We didn’t know that either. The track was in pretty good nick but when it left the railway and headed east it narrowed and the branches scratched our car. Then the sand turned to rocks. As the track started to head up a hill we couldn’t see any tyre marks. We drove over a crevice looking for a new track but didn’t find anything. Drove back to the fence line to see if we had missed anything. Nothing. Back over the rocks again going a bit further this time and picked up the track again. Not long after it suddenly stopped. There were bushes and trees in front of us. We could see the road to Chambers Pillar in the distance but had no idea how to get there. We got out and had a look around. There was no way this track went anywhere. We had been driving for more than two hours, did that mean we had to go back to the Maryvale road? We retraced our steps a few hundred metres and found a fork that we had missed as the track we had taken was more prominent. We finally got onto the Chambers Pillar track. As we drove through a closed gate a sign informed us that we should have a flag so that if anyone was coming the other way we wouldn’t crash into each other. We didn’t have one so called out on the radio, not everyone has a UHF radio to hear us and respond but what else could we do?
Probably one of the most remote parks in the Northern Territory. They don’t get a lot of visitors here and many people don’t even know it exists. It is a fifty-metre tower in the middle of nowhere. John McDouall Stuart first recorded the pillar in April 1860 whilst travelling north on his first attempt to cross Australia. Before the railway in the 1920s, the Pillar was a landmark in the desert on the long overland journey from Adelaide to Alice Springs.
There’s only one trail here but it was too hot and windy to do anything, let alone walk. The wind was so strong overnight I thought our awning would get damaged. There were two ways of getting out, the way we should have come and a track south that goes south down the Ghan Heritage Road. We have been on that road before, it’s where they hold the Finke Desert Race. Apart from having deep sand, there are nasty spikes from the old railway everywhere that could easily pierce your tyres. We had a booking at Yulara for that night so we wanted to make sure we arrived that day, so took the safe option.
Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park
There is only one campground in this park run by a commercial operator that also runs the resort. It took a lot longer to get out of Chambers Pillar and into Yulara that we didn’t feel up to do anything that day. With two more days, we split our time for Uluru on the first and Kata Tjuta on the second.
When we got up in the morning we noticed that our fridge was open and some of the food was on the ground. It wasn’t until later in the day that we realised that our wine was missing. While dingoes are very good at opening things, it was more likely an aboriginal. I hadn’t been happy about the location of our campsite being at the very back of the campground but didn’t do anything about it. There are no fences, just endless dunes. Lindsay complained at the office but they seem disinterested, I’m sure it’s not the first time.
The campground isn’t in the national park and even though they have free entry this year because of Covid, you still have to download a permit each and show it each time you enter. During the day we did a couple of walks around the base, but not all the way around. A bicycle would have been a good option to circumnavigate the 8kms.
We had dinner at lunchtime so that we could go back out a sunset. During the afternoon I noticed a piece of trim was missing above the bumper bar and we just assumed it fell off going into Chambers Pillar. We found it in the sunset carpark when we went back that night! So lucky that no one had driven over it as it’s plastic.
The following morning we drove to the Kata Tjuta section of the park. We both did the gorge walk, but only I did the valley of the winds walk. There is a sign at the start that warns you not to commence the walk if the temperature is going to go above 30°C. That’s one tough walk. Just a well Lindsay didn’t come as he would have rolled his ankle. He thought I’d said I’d only be an hour but I had said two hours so he had started to get worried that I was injured somewhere. I never intended to do the whole circuit; I turned back at the second lookout. I hadn’t seen anyone on my return journey, there just aren’t many people around. I got back 15 minutes quicker than that so I made good time.
Our last night at Yulara was awful. The thieves were back and security were searching for them. They had talked to an aboriginal man who had been parked outside the resort who said he had run out of petrol and was waiting for a friend. What a crock, I wonder if they checked his fuel gauge? So many people got hit, people had bicycles, wallets, boxes of beer, bottles of bourbon stolen. And I’m sure it’s not the first time. Having signs warning people to keep everything locked up would be a good start. A fence would be another.
Burra, South Australia
Luminosity Trails 