Overlanders Way

Devils Marbles

Another BIG drive, from Alice Springs to Townsville which we did in stages. The longest part was on the Overlander’s Way which was the route taken by cattle drovers to move stock from Queensland to Northern Territory. The road is good but the scenery same-same. There are the termite mounds of course, quite a few wore clothes. Some looked almost realistic with hat, hair and tee-shirt. There is also roadkill and the carrion feeders to dodge. We passed lots of dead cows and kangaroos and one dead camel.  Live spotting is a big snake for Stu and an emu for me.

Road trains rocket past in the opposing direction; when it is my turn to drive I get as far over as I can and never stare at them in case I am sucked into their vortex. Mostly 55 metres long to our 7 and standing so high you can’t see the driver easily, they transport all sorts of essentials back and forth across the deserted Australian outback highways. High crosswinds and a rush of displaced air as they pass, has us hanging on to our steering wheel.

There are some cute settlements like Aileron and some not-so-cute like Tennant Creek where Stuart optimistically thought he would find a flat white coffee he could recognise, it all ended in tears.  

We stayed at a place called Devils Marbles with about 30 other campervans, there are huge circular concretions all around us, some balanced on top of others in stacks. This was the snake-spotting venue.

Friendly brolga

The settlement of Barkly Homestead is an oasis, sitting on the Barkly Highway which peels off the north/south Stuart Highway. We stopped for lunch and watched a family of bush cattle make themselves at home on the front lawn. I could almost hear the big bull say “look kids, I bought you and mum to a resort for your holidays, now tuck in at the all-you-can-eat buffet”.

We crossed into Queensland where the roads are poorer. We found another great campsite and were accompanied on a riverside walk by a Brolga, and we took part in a mining experience in Mount Isa where they served excellent sandwiches and pasties for afternoon tea. We missed the first half hour of the tour because we didn’t realise Northern Territories is half an hour ahead of Queensland. The obliging staff equipped us with orange overalls and safety boots, then chased the tour guide before the group descended underground.

We had travelled 1500km by the time we reached Mt Isa from Alice and after spending most of the day there we made ourselves at home at Mary Kathleen, or the remains of Mary Kathleen. It was the site of a uranium mine but all that was left was concrete slabs and a series of little roads where other campers made themselves at home under the gumtrees. (That clicking you hear isn’t a geiger, it is tinnitus!)

On our BIG BIG day we did 750 kms in 8 hours of engine time. We reached the cute town of Julia Creek just in time to catch the dunnart- feeding at the tourist centre. These particular dunnarts were thought extinct but are now being bred in captivity.  The cute little carnivorous marsupials can inflict a sharp bite and have to be kept separate as they fight to the death. We interrupted the wee chap having his workout on the treadmill for a meal of 3 mealyworms. He bit their heads off and feasted on them.

Julia Creek is a town of 400 that is a hub for pastoralists, a contrast to the other towns which have mining based economies. We saw cattle being herded by helicopter which we are told is preferable to the issues of employing men to do the job (HR in the outback!). Farms comprise of ‘downs’ and ‘bush’. Young cattle are grazed on the downs then moved into the bush area to fend for themselves for up to 10 years after they have calved for the first time.

Our plan is to head on to Townsville then down the coast to Brisbane, there are parts we have traveled before so we will visit some other spots this time.

Four tanks plus tractor unit

site of snake-spotting  It was 1.5m long and 90mm diameter

Red Centre in a Roomy Country

Three flights and two shuttles later in the same day we were in Alice Springs. We are embarking on a toe-dipper of a trip to the red centre of a very roomy country.

 My ankle is not up to much walking so we took a taxi from our hotel to the Alice Springs Telegraph Office where a ‘Mcleods Daughter’ look-alike showed us the original Alice Spring. A bit of a misnomer as it was a temporary waterhole and not a spring at all that was named after the original surveyor’s wife. We walked back to town along an excellent cycleway, stopping to return the stares of a couple of ‘roos, (slipping into local lingo here). The nearby sign warning us about dingos being active was a little disconcerting but we pressed on and found the only decent coffee house in town.

Our campervan for this 3 week trip is not nearly as well appointed as our Chausson. I can’t get into the fridge without standing on my head, space being so tight. Never mind, it has its own bathroom if you can fit into it.

The West Macdonnell ranges deserved some attention and we camped at National Park camps. The gorges didn’t exactly flow with water but there were waterholes and the ghost gums overhanging them gave them their iconic Aussie scenery stamp along with the big blue skies and red rocky backdrop. Our fellow campers were very friendly even though we were emblazoned with a Maui logo. Spinifex pigeons darted underneath our feet pecking at the crumbs from our hors d’doeuvres.

We took a trip to “Glen Helen” resort  to look at another gorge but the prospect of having to swim the icy waters to get to the beauty spot stopped that idea in its tracks. Glen Helen Resort looked as if it had enjoyed a previous life as a POW camp.

We called back at Alice on our way to Uluru. A mere 440 km away. We restocked the larder and showed ID at the wine shop, passing the friendly policeman on door duty as we clinked our way back to the van with lovely Aussie Shirazs stashed in our bags.

A bit of a drive but we were rewarded with the sight of a purple monolith rising from the plains in the setting sun. We stopped to take photos whilst enduring a fly-fight. The flies were winning, Stuart was doubled over after swallowing one. They were on my glasses and trying to crawl in our ears.  Retreat back to the van and back up the road to a campsite we passed 5km ago.  No flies! Phew! We researched our guidebook for the next day and discovered the fly battle had been fought while we photographed “Fool-uru”. It was Mt Connor doing a passable imitation of Uluru that was the battle-site.

Uluru itself was just like  the pictures and postcards. Close up it was quite magnificent and there was a serenity about it that the Aborigines must treasure also. There was no rubble around the base, just a sheer pitted rock rising from the graceful gums and greenery that surround it.

The scenery along the roads is ever changing but there is a consistent theme of trees and vegetation specially adapted to life in a dry climate. We traveled through stands of Mulga and desert oaks as well as past wild flowers blooming in swathes amongst the spinifex.

The Olgas (Kata Tjata) are red rounded rock monoliths standing shoulder to shoulder about 50km from Uluru. After an unexpected (for me) tramp around their perimeter we headed 300km to Kings Canyon where another tramp was planned. It was my turn to drive and I took care to return the waves from fellow campers as I drove, these varied from sublime one finger lifts to something that looked like ‘Heil Hitler’.

We stayed at Kings Canyon resort paying $40 to park on an unpowered site surrounded by moon dust, but there is no overnighting in the National Park. The entrance to the shower block has strong high wooden gates and although we didn’t see dingos we saw their calling cards the next morning. I had a shower during daylight hours just to be certain!

The trek around Kings Canyon was a lovely trip and not difficult when fortified with Voltaren, glad I did it. Back in the van with Stuart fussing about solar charging, waste disposal … some things don’t change …. and on our way back through Alice up to Tennant Creek. Timing is crucial though, the wine shops don’t open until 2pm and beer is ‘too expensive”.