Sat, 22nd June, 2024 Bush camp at SA-NT border, SA to Gravel pit on Stuart Highway, south of Alice Springs, NT (Henbury Meteorites & Rainbow Valley Cons Park)

6.7 degrees in camper as the sun starts to rise. Definitely felt colder outside when I put my head outside to take a photo.

Put the heater on at sunrise and got back into to bed till it warmed up.

Packed up and headed back onto the highway and into Northern Territory under bright blue sky.

Passed the turn off to the start of the Len Beadell’s Gunbarrel Highway that we took in 2018. We did what we were allowed to do of it, that is.

Boulder covered hills along here. The red sandy soil, cream grass and green shrubs and low trees continue. Saw a few wedgies and crows having breakfast.

Passed the turn off to Ayres Rock - good to see it is still called that on the sign as well as Uluru.

Had our cuppa with friends at Erldunda Roadhouse. Going down then back up when others came over. They were making their funny calls. Interesting watching them drink.

I think I took all these mural photos in 2018 but the info is good so I took it again.

Great map in the info booklet.

More desert oaks and bigger trees now and a few hills as we continued northward.

Across the dry Palmer River which when it has water flows into the Finke River which is further north.

No big signs about the stations now we are in NT but I saw a sign saying we are on Palmer Valley Station. Lots of interesting shaped hills around here.

The grassy country continues with flat topped hills now.

Turned off onto the gravel Ernest Giles Road to check out Henbury Meteorites on Henbury Station. 11km along we turn off to travel another 5km through a long line of hills to where the meteorites crashed into the earth.

Checked out the information. We visited the Boxhole one last year when we did part of the Binns Track.

Through a gate then we followed the track up the big one, which is actually two.

Continued around the top edge. The spurs that had divided the two craters.

Around the edge to one that holds water after rain.

Down the wall between that one and another crater.

There are more smaller ones but they aren’t marked for us to see. The wind still has a cold bite to it even with the warmth of the sunshine.

Back through the hills - better view this side. Then the view along the edge of the long one.

Spotted cattle around a water hole that looked like it was a crater!

Back to the highway and then across the Finke River to stop for lunch in the rest area. Just a bit of water upstream.

Still slowly climbing, 470m elevation.

Passed the Cannonball Memorial. Don’t think we will be getting the truck wound up like we did with ‘Pat’ when we came onto the straight. Allowed to do 130kph here but we will put along at 95 - better fuel economy.

Passed Stuart Well Roadhouse and camel farm. None in the front paddock this time. Through the gap between the hills and we climbed to 530m now.

Turned off onto a gravel road for 22km drive into Rainbow Valley Conservation Park. There is a long range over to our right - James Range. Lots of green ground cover from recent rain.

The red soil section was quite corrugated and rutted in the middle where people have driven on it when wet. The white road base section was very smooth. The breakaway comes into view.

Read the information in the hut.

Walked up the matted path to the lookout.

Followed the path down. Lots of white caves in the other hills.

Bit of info and pretty flowers as we head down to the edge of the claypan and end of the hill.

I love how nature creates such pretty artwork in the sandstone. What animal do you think this looks like?

Interesting ‘art’ on the other hill.

Around the end of the hill to Mushroom Rock.

The other side of the breakaway. It is fenced off so can’t continue around the breakaway.

Huge melon on the track though it looks more like a water melon then the bush melons. Steve found a few more further around.

More interesting weathering. Steve found the grinding hole. No rock art under here.

Walked back in the sand around the edge of the salt lake. Nice photo from here.

The wind has stopped so we had to take off our coats as it was getting hot in the sun.

Found who is making the little tracks in the sand - a little bug but his 6 wheel drive was getting bogged getting up the little rise.

We could hear some birds in the tree ahead. Green budgies who didn’t fly off so I could get a photo for a change. Then a pigeon arrived scaring off the budgies.

Finished off with another info board about the grinding stones.

When we got back 10 vehicles had arrived. Chatted with one of the ladies. They are family and friends from Brisbane doing a 3 week trip and just came up from Finke on the Old Ghan Railway road. They had a few vehicle issues but otherwise have been having a ball travelling together. We had a cuppa and Steve chatted with the guys parked beside us, about their vehicles of course.

We headed off before they all got underway. A flock of light pink galahs took off in front of us but then zoomed across in front of the truck. Luckily we didn’t hit any.

Back to the highway and continued northward. Over a rise and we reached 590m elevation and the Waterhouse Range comes into view. Our Hema 4WD maps are great for information about the hills, bores etc.

Passed the turn off into Owen Springs Reserve. We noticed a gravel pit off to the right but continued on to find where we camped by the road in 2018. There is a rest area but it is very small. Couldn’t find our last camp - the grass has grown up over the track. Decided to go back to the gravel pit to get further away from the highway.

Pulled in and it is a big area so we chose a spot and set up.

The warmth disappeared quickly with the lowering sun so got the heater going for drinks inside.

Another traveller pulled in and parked up further along from us.

The wind has picked up again.

 

 

Fri, 21st June, 2024 RV Park at Old Timers Mine & Museum, Coober Pedy to Bush camp at SA-NT Border, SA (Anthony’s birthday)

Overcast, min of 12 degrees in the camper.

Our middle son’s birthday today - I still remember this birth and passing like it was yesterday not 33 years ago.

Packed up and headed out past the Big Miner opal shop for a photo of the big chap. The stone mason must have been busy back in the day.

Around to the dump point and water station. Huge queues of RVs waiting to buy some water. It was $1 for 40 litres in the van park.

Back to the Stuart Highway. The Anne Beadell Highway (another one of Len’s that he named after his wife) heads west from here. Will have to do it one day. This time though we are continuing northward.

More opal mines on both sides for a long way up the highway. 23km up we spotted a big open cut operation with huge mullock heaps.

Back to the open country with grass, shrubs and low trees and up and down rolling hills. 32km north, another big open cut mine. Amongst all this is a pastoral station. Across the grid and into Mt Willoughby Station. The sky is still grey clouds but you can see blue sky behind it - bit like the foggy morning we had before. A few spits of rain hit the windscreen as we come parallel to the Central Aust Railway line.

The sky is clearing ahead of us. Stopped for a cuppa at a rest area. Each one has had the same info but one different panel of info about the immediate area. We loved doing all this area.

Sad to see a wrecked Landcruiser then a cow about to explode on the other side of the road - it didn’t happen to long ago.

Topped up with diesel at Cadney Park Roadhouse ($2.31/L) as it just gets dearer along the highway until we get to Alice Springs where we can get it for just under $2.

Still driving beside the rail line. Across the grid into Wintinna Station. It’s a long stretch of road without too much to see but we do it with ease now with air conditioning etc compared to not so long ago when it was dirt and before that when it was horse and cart.

The clouds have thickened up again. Into Welbourne Hill Station. A least the signs give us something to read along the way.

Into Marla for lunch so that finishes the section of the Stuart Highway that we hadn’t driven before as we turned off here in 2018 to do the Oodnadatta Track etc.

Mintabie Opal Fields is off to the left as we head northward again but no signs about it as there is no public access onto the Aboriginal land which goes from here up to the NT border and west to the WA border. More blue sky appearing and a few dead vehicles along the side of the road.

Long low hill range to our left and flat topped hills here and there break up the grassy views.

Another big flat hill as we cross into Granite Downs Station.

More hills appearing in the distance then we cross the rail line - view looking south.

Into De Rose Hill Station - the same type of vegetation as all the others.

I checked the elevation on the Hema and we have been slowly climbing, now at 420m. We are going up to NT, haha.

Next station is Mt Cavanagh. No road kill or birds so far, just a few more trashed vehicles that had graffiti all over them.

A Nissan passed us then he called up on the UHF to have a chat about our set up.

Clearer sky as we reach the SA-NT Border at 427m elevation. Grabbed a photo of our new home at the border - last time we were just in ‘Pat’ the Patrol. Shame about the graffiti and all the stickers all over it. The other side says South Australia of course.

Pulled into the carpark - there are overnight parking bays further over that a few travellers have stopped in for the night. We had a cuppa and chatted with a couple who came in with a huge rig with a huge 5^th wheeler. I asked if he was a truck driver but he said no, just wanted a big set up and only stay on the bitumen. Shame there is so much of Australia to see where there is no bitumen. Got one foot in each state/territory.

We drove across the road to the bush camp area.

We stayed here last time. Spotted the couple we met at Kingoonya. This time we introduced ourselves - they are Pat and Joylene.

We set up a bit further over and realised we have driven back into SA. Someone had left a note in the dirt.

Still a cold breeze even with the sunny sky. Steve got the fire pit out and I worked on my blog for a while.

We had drinks by the fire. Pat came over for a chat but they had Starlink set up so they could watch their football game shortly so didn’t stay for too long.

The temperature dropped with the sun so inside for dinner and a movie. We still have heaps on our hard drive and a lot of TV series to work our way through too.