Dear Friends,

Well, after nearly six weeks away and having travelled around 12,000 kms, we are safely home. We had the most wonderful trip and the following is a small insight into some of our experiences. My husband Ian and I, also Ian's sister Patti and her partner, another Ian, departed each in our own vehicles on the morning of Tuesday 4th June.

Our first overnight stop was Port Augusta, which proved to be quite a nice little town; in fact, much nicer than I had been led to believe, since living in Adelaide. Next day on to Ceduna, where it was very cold but didn't stop us walking out on the lovely long jetty, early in the morning, before setting off across the Nullarbor for Eucla. On the way we called in at the 'Head of the Great Australian Bight' where from the high rocky Bunda Cliffs, we were lucky enough to spot a whale far below us in the Southern Ocean; a big thrill.

Then on across the Border into Western Australia after stopping at the Border Check, where we had to remove all our tinned food etc from two cardboard boxes and repack them into nice clean cardboard boxes, supplied by the lady on Border patrol who called everyone "Darl". We were informed that OUR boxes were banana boxes and therefore we could not take them into WA (We were not amused)! Patti and Ian waited for us wondering what ever had happened as they got through unscathed.

We stayed the night at Eucla and although there's not much at Eucla, the Motel accommodation and evening meal were both quite reasonable. We forwarded our watches 45 minutes here, as the time difference between South Australia and Western Australia is 1 1/2 hours and we were informed that one adds 45mins at Eucla and another 45mins at Norseman. You learn something new every day! Next morning, before leaving, Patti and I walked for about 1/2 hour, and saw some lovely coastal views.

Fishing in Albany - No Fish Here!!

Norseman was the next o/night stop and then on to Esperance. Although the weather was not very kind when we were there, we loved Esperance, especially the views around Great Ocean Drive. After two days in Esperance, we moved on to Albany where the two Ian's did a bit of fishing, but it was extremely cold and the fish were not biting!

Next day still cold, so we went for a drive to Denmark and had a very nice 'counter' lunch before walking around the shops, the river area and the Mokare Heritage Walk, then drove to see the wonderful coastal views, also Hanging Rock and Mutton Bird Island. The following day we left Albany and drove through lovely grazing country, with lots of new born lambs, to Perth, the Capital of Western Australia. Enjoyed a ferry trip to Fremantle whilst in Perth on the beautiful Swan River, which was so much longer and wider than I expected. Later we walked in and around the City centre and admired some of the beautiful old buildings etc. Also enjoyed a delicious Farmhouse Pie for lunch, at one of the nearby 'pubs'.

Saturday, June 15th, found us leaving the very pretty City of Perth on our way to Geraldton. We called at Marmion where even though it was cold and rainy, we saw kids in their wet suits, having fun on their boogie boards and watched a big fishing trawler come in with their catch of mackerel, sardines and crayfish. We had a quick coffee from the Thermos at Dongera and climbed back into the cars headed for Geraldton. We spent two days at Geraldton, which had a lovely beach but was very quiet in the town on a Saturday and Sunday. At least the weather was a little warmer.

Next day, on to Carnarvon. I was disappointed not to see Kalbarri but we were starting to realise, we needed a lot more time, if we wanted to see all the sights this wonderful and vast country has to offer. Stopped at a lookout near Yaringa, where we could just catch a glimpse of the sea around Shark Bay. Lots of desert and clay pans before reaching Carnarvon, which was a small town, which certainly did not leave a lasting impression. It did have rows and rows of wonderful tomato plants and banana palms though!

On leaving Carnarvon we crossed the Gascoine River, which was very wide, with lots of mud banks after the heavy unseasonal rains everywhere and the water, was the colour of the red desert sand. More flat straight road with lots of salt bush and low mallee type scrub. Floodway signs all the way along the road, in fact, floodway signs prevalent for the rest of the trip.

Morning Tea between Carnavon and Coral Bay

Coral Bay next, which was fabulous. Pretty primitive as far as shops etc and one felt, almost undiscovered. We took a wonderful tour of the Coral Reef, which starts only 300 metres off the shore and saw lots of wonderful and very colourful fish. The two Ian's fished and the weather was beautiful for the four days we spent there, apart from rain one late afternoon and evening, when fortunately it didn't really worry us.

Ant Hills between Coral Bay and Karratha

Between Coral Bay and Karratha, more desert and thousands of red anthills. Over the beautiful tree lined Fortesque River and passed the big flat-topped rocky Chichester Mountain Range. Wattles out and all around generally quite lush. It was evident that there had been lots of rain, as water across the road in a few places, about 40 kilometres from Karratha. Karratha a large town and the Rosemary Road Caravan Park, where we had a lovely cabin, were delightful with beautiful trees etc. Next day, on the way to Port Headland, we took the turn off to Cossack, a tiny ghost town near Roebourne. We struck a Fair being held there to raise money to restore the lovely old buildings. It was a shame, in a way, as it would have been nice to look around the magnificent bluestone buildings without all the other people around. The industrial town of Port Headland next, with huge ships in Port waiting to load the iron ore and salt that is produced there. For that reason it is called 'The salt and pepper town' - salt produced at one end and pepper at the other!

Sunday 21st June saw us heading for Broome. Water lying everywhere, very flat terrain and occasional treeless mountain ranges. Cattle were grazing beside the road as no fences here. The occasional dead cow etc beside the road and wonderful wedgetail eagles hovering around. Such is nature! We stopped for fuel at Sandfire Roadhouse, which was the height of activity with cars and roadtrains etc, also, peacocks and hens, chooks and geese wandering around. It was so funny to come across such a scene in the middle of nowhere.

More straight, flat and pretty uninteresting roads and more scary Roadtrains on the way to Broome, where we stayed for three nights. Broome is a little different to what I had imagined, as I had just read Di Morrissey's book 'Tears Of The Moon' not long before we left, but it was attractive with it's coconut palms and an interesting town and the weather was perfect. About ten minutes or so from Broome is Cable Beach. It is one of the most famous beaches in the world and the stark pindan cliffs, white sands and turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean, makes it a sight to behold. One evening, we watched the most wonderful sun set on Cable Beach - doesn't everyone! What a beautiful part of the world.

Good to catch up with Bill and Kay Satchell from Hamilton, Vic. for dinner one night, friends of Patti's whom Ian and I had met before. They have been on the road for a couple of months in their caravan. Didn't buy any of the beautiful pearls for which Broome is famous but enjoyed looking!

Wed. 24th June saw us on the way to Fitzroy Crossing. We saw several aboriginal stockmen sitting on a fence with a helicopter buzzing overhead, so guess it all had something to do with mustering. Not such a long trip today and we arrived in Fitzroy Crossing in time to do a late cruise through Geike Gorge, with its wonderful high terra cotta coloured cliffs. The weather was lovely and it was most enjoyable watching the bird life, including two magnificent sea eagles, and lots of fresh water crocodiles etc.

Our accommodation at Fitzroy Crossing was different, to say the least and was described as Safari Tents. Big army tents with just the basics and a module type bathroom, tacked on at the back. Glad it was just an o/night stay there, although the Motel type accommodation looked nice and the reception area attractive with some wonderful Donald Green watercolours paintings.

A Boab Tree Lake Argyle

We were particularly impressed with the scenery between Fitzroy Crossing and Kununurra. Wonderful rocky mountains all around and beautiful colours, a few wildflowers, more anthills and lots of the splendid Boab trees. Weather was lovely, especially for me who does not like the heat. Next day, we did a fabulous tour with JJJ Tours to Lake Argyle. We were collected by bus at 11.30am and first visited the original Durack Homestead, which has been re-located, owing to Argyle Downs being flooded as part of the Ord River hydro and irrigation schemes. Visited Argyle Village and after looking around Lake Argyle we began the cruise down the Ord River and Lake Kununurra. We arrived home about 5.45 after the most fabulous day and one of the highlights of our trip. Saw the most amazing scenery, crocodiles, beautiful birds and water birds and a colony of bats. Ugh!

Next day, Sat. 27th June and we were now on our way to Katherine. This time, we put our watches on 1 1/2 hours as we crossed the Border from Western Australia into the Northern Territory. We passed the sign for 'Bullo River' the home of Sara Henderson. (Sara Henderson has written several books on the trial and tribulations of running an outback cattle station). Just before Timber Creek, a glimpse of the Victoria River, where we had hoped to have our picnic lunch but that was not to be, as access to the river was limited which was a shame, as it was quite a big river and looked very pretty.

Katherine is a very nice large town but a bit hot and humid for me. We visited the 'hot springs' where several folk were bathing but it was getting late, so we decided not to test the waters. The air temperature felt about the same as the hot springs temperature! Had a delicious meal of Barramundi (a well known fish in the North of Australia) at the RSL Club. Apart from the humidity, we all really liked Katherine and it was hard to believe floods had devastated it in January of this year. It is a real credit to the residents that everything is back to normal and looking good. Sampled some of the lovely tropical fruits over the last few days - delicious.

Through Mataranka with the giant anthill in the main street and out to the hot springs where the palm trees were absolutely smothered with millions of smelly, horrid, bats! Glad we were not staying there! Mataranka has recovered after enormous floods in January also. Saw the replica of Elsey Homestead which was built for the filming of 'We of the "Never Never," based on a book of the same name by Jeannie Gunn. A little further on visited the bush cemetery and graves of the 'We of the Never Never' folk, which is near the original Elsey Homestead site. A memorial only to Jeannie, as she is buried in Melbourne.

Grave of Aeneas Gunn, husband of Jeannie, who wrote "We Of The Never Never"

Through Elliott where friends use to have a service station. Not much there except three service stations, aboriginal housing, health centre and a small school. Very flat straight, but good road, fortunately, as we passed 34 Roadtrains going the other way between Daly Waters and Renner Springs. Still more anthills, dead kangaroos beside the road and wedgetail eagles circling overhead. Very surprised to find a reasonable Motel at Renner Springs and a nice T-bone steak and salad in the dining room, as we were not expecting much, as we had never even heard of the place! Quite hot and humid though and were grateful for the airconditioning in our rooms.

Rained o/night. Mon.29th June woke to a bit cooler temperature but still moisture in the air. As we headed for Alice Springs the clouds were really low and it was hazy all around. Drove through quite thick fog for about 60 or 70 kilometres, which was rather dangerous, with Roadtrains in mind. Took photos of the memorial to John Flynn who pioneered the Royal Australian Flying Doctor Service, which reminds me to mention that some roads we travelled were marked as Airstrips for the Flying Doctor. I found all this very interesting, as my Uncle, Dr Alan King (Dad's brother) was a Flying Doctor many years ago, but I bet they didn't have beautiful bitumen roads on which to land in those days!

Through Tennant Creek which was a well-kept little town. Passed hills with flat tops like big battlements. After lunch stopped at the Devils Marbles. Hundreds of round rocks some of which were gigantic and it was interesting to read all the information about their formation. More wonderful wedgetail eagles - one guarding his prey on the verge of the road and he wasn't moving for anything! On, forever onward on a road that never seemed to end, to Alice Springs. Found the MacDonnell Range Caravan Park and had another very nice cabin in a very well run Park. After settling in we walked around Alice and along the lovely little Mall with its gum trees outside the Flynn Memorial Church.

the Devil's Marbles

Stanley Chasm

Next day just managed to catch a view of The Ghan, the train that runs between Adelaide and Alice Springs as it arrived in Alice Springs as we were heading for the Western MacDonnell Ranges. Visited - Simpsons Gap - majestic mountains, lovely trees with big rock pool. Stanley Chasm; walked along a very rocky track to the chasm, arriving at 12noon when the sun shines straight down into the chasm bringing out the beautiful colours of the rocks. On to Ellery Creek Big Hole; 2kms off the road on a rough track but well worth it. A most magnificent water hole and a very pretty area. Serpentine Gorge next; but the track was so rough and we were not in a 4 wheel drive, so decided to give Serpentine Gorge a miss. Before the Ochre pits we took in a wonderful view of The Ranges from a lookout. The Ochre pits were interesting with wonderful rock formations showing red, yellow and white ochre that is used by the aborigines to decorate their bodies etc. The drive into Ormiston Gorge was very pretty with beautiful gum trees and the Gorge itself, was just beautiful. It must be a superb spot on a hot day.

Last port of call was Glen Helen Gorge; another pretty water hole with a store and camping area nestled under huge red cliffs. It really was a wonderful day. Before heading for Yulara next day, Patti and I went into Alice, as I was keen to see Panorama Guth. A wonderful panorama of the whole of the Alice Springs by the artist Henk Guth - 60 metres in circumference and 6 metres high. It was just marvellous.

Glen Helen Gorge

More dead flat road on the way to the Yulara Resort, passed wonderful Mt Connor about 80 kms before Yulara, then, lo and behold, a view of The Rock and The Olgas. Not far before Yulara we spied three dingos (Australian wild dogs) playing around near the side of the road. Yulara was a wonderful welcome surprise in the middle of the red sandy desert and much more extensive that I ever imagined. An amazing resort with five hotels, nine restaurants, four swimming pools, tennis courts, putting greens, visitors centre, hairdresser and childcare. Also an observatory, conference centre, amphitheatre, camping ground, (the one where the dingo took Azaria has gone), medical centre, service station, police station, two art galleries, designer shops, post office, bank, bakery, supermarket, newsagent, gift shop, ice-creamery and tour centre!

We were thrilled with our apartment in Emu Walk as we were staying for four days; also it was extremely cold, so it was nice to be so comfortable. It was great to catch up with Patti's daughter and our niece, Mieken and to meet her friend Cameron, who both work at the Resort. Next day saw us investigating all the Resort had to offer and in the evening, we had a beautiful Dinner with Mieken and some of her friends, who also work at the Resort. The following day, after a good look around the Town Square shops, we set off to see the (famous) Ayres Rock or as the aborigines call it, Uluru (oo la roo).

Well, what an amazing sight and the closer one got, the more amazing it seemed. A huge rock in the middle of the desert. It was freezing cold and none of us were eager to climb The Rock, but there were plenty that did climb it. They looked like ants working their way, up, up, up to the top. We did drive the 9 1/2 kilometres around the base of The Rock, stopping to look at various points of interest. As we had a lovely kitchen in the apartment, we decided to cook a roast dinner for tea and two of Mieken's girlfriends came and enjoyed it with us, so it was a fun night. (I think they were missing their families, just quietly too).

Friday 4th July and we were back at Ayres Rock at 10am to do the 'Marla' walk with an aboriginal guide. It was interesting to see, amongst other things, cave paintings, the huge wave rock and one of the permanent water holes, at the base of The Rock and to be told that what we could see was only one third of The Rock, as the other two thirds is below the ground! Amazing!

We then drove the (?) twenty odd miles to The Olgas, known to the aborigines as Katu Tjuta. (Katta Yoota). These are quite different to Ayres Rock and just as impressive or even more so. The Olgas are many great domes of conglomerate type rock, some much bigger than others.

Next day, as we had decided to stay an extra day, we had to move to the motel accommodation at 'Desert Gardens'. We had very nicely appointed adjoining rooms and not at all hard to put up with the lovely view and comfort for one night. After a fairly quiet day, we set off at 5.30pm by bus for 'Dinner in the desert'. What an experience! After about 20 minutes, we alighted from the bus with about eighteen other guests in the middle of the red desert to see a chef, busy at work in his outdoor kitchen, gas lamps burning on beautifully set tables with white table cloths etc Several braziers scattered around and a big pit with a wonderful welcoming fire. We were greeted with champagne and/or orange juice followed by canapes and with Ayres Rock on one side and The Olgas on the other, we watched the sun sink in the west, to the sound of the didgeridoo being played nearby.

We then took our places and the meal started with pumpkin soup followed by a buffet consisting of crocodile, chicken, emu sausages, lamb and kangaroo served with lovely mixed vegetables, tossed salad with macadamia nut dressing and potatoes roasted in their jackets. There were several hot desserts that looked very appetising also fruit salad, which was my choice and good Aussie Pavlova. Cheese and greens with coffee were followed by an interesting chat about the stars and different aboriginal legends, by a fellow who seemed to materialise from nowhere.

Sadly the time came to leave after an absolutely wonderful evening and something very different! Monday 6th July and after saying goodbye to Mieken, we were on the move again heading for Coober Pedy. After a cup of tea, we got away at 7.30am, as we had over 700kms to do today and decided we would try to get 200kms behind us and then stop for breakfast at the roadhouse at Erldunda. After buying fuel and quite a nice breakfast we continued on to Marla. Not much there apart from a Service station combined with a Supermarket etc. Picnic lunch, as was the norm, then with rain clearing we approached Coober Pedy in sunshine.

Coober Pedy is an Opal mining town with great piles of dirt as far as the eye can see. One would not describe it as a pretty sight! One could be forgiven for thinking that some how or other, they had landed on the moon. The accommodation was as bleak as the landscape but we enjoyed looking around the town, especially at the shops that sold Opal, which was most of them! Didn't succumb, although Opal is my birth stone and I do really love them, especially the "fiery" ones.

Many people live underground at Coober Pedy, as it gets extremely hot in the summer and we were interested to experience the shops that were underground, also The Catacombe Church, an underground Greek Church. There was no one in attendance but notice outside invites you to enter and turn on the lights etc. It was a lovely little church, with a very simple altar fashioned from a slab of polished wood. We decided to have a meal out as cooking facilities at the Motel had been misrepresented in the brochure. They provided a kettle and a toaster but nothing else, not even a cup! As for cooking facilities, forget it!

We dined at a nice underground restaurant and enjoyed a nice meal but were amazed, when the proprietor called us "bloody tourists" when we presented our plastic cards to pay! We have since written and complained and have had a letter of apology in return with a cheque covering the cost of our meal. The apology we have accepted and the cheque we have sent back, as we really felt there was nothing wrong with the meal, just the attitude!

Next morning was lovely and crisp but with the sun shining as we left Coober Pedy behind. More very straight flat road with not a tree in sight but a big wedgetail eagle guarding a 'road kill' he had found and he wasn't moving for anything! Past a big salt lake - Lake Hart, I think. Anyway it was a beautiful spot so we decided to eat our picnic lunch and although sunny, there was a cold wind, so we didn't stay there too long. Still very flat with The Ghan railway line running beside us for miles, also glimpses of Island Lagoon.

Arrived Port Augusta around 3pm and booked in to the same caravan park that we had stayed in on the first night of our holiday. A very nice cabin once again, in a pretty setting. We just had time to enjoy a walk around the town and do a little shopping before tea. This was our last night with Patti and Ian, as they were heading back to Melbourne from Port Augusta and of course we were returning to Adelaide. So, next morning it was quite sad to have to say good-bye, as we had enjoyed so many wonderful experiences together. What a wonderful country Australia is and how fortunate I feel to have seen so much of it and still, barely touching the surface!