We continue our 11 week journey through the heart of Australia. I last left you as we had finally settled into some free “camping” at Redbank Gorge in the West MacDonnell Ranges. From here we continue south, but we took the scenic routh! For some context, our journey looked something like this:
Day 52 – Mereenie Loop
Today was a travel day from our beautiful campsite at Redbank to Kings Canyon. And although it was only 250kms, it took probably 4.5 hours because 200 of these ks is via the unsealed Mereenie Loop. This is a notorious drive known as being pretty hairy in parts, depending on how it has been maintained. It was quite corrugated in parts, bouncy in others, but then smooth enough to do 90km/h in others. Between the low speeds, stopping to put 8 tyres down to a lower PSI, then pumping them up again at the end, we didn’t get to our campsite until 3pm.
Then the damage assessment began. I focused on setting up outside while kynie and Brooklyn cleaned and tidied the inside because one and a half cupboard doors had some off the hinges and so all our things had been sprayed all over. The bottom fell out of 2 drawers and we also damaged 2 stabiliser legs that will need replacing. We also lost a tub of yoghurt, a jar of salsa, several avocados, and a few other things in the fridge. So an eventful day!
After all of that, and skipping lunch, no one felt like cooking so it was cheese and crackers followed by dinner at the kings canyon resort bar and grill.
Day 53 – Kings canyon
Kynie and I woke up early as today we’d hike the iconic Kings Canyon Rim Trail. The sun was rising as we got ready and was still low when we started. It starts with a steep rise up the side of the escarpment and then you walk around the top of the canyon. There’s a reason this is an iconic Australian hike and a reason there is so much infrastructure built in the area to service this one hike: it is an absolutely unreal experience.
We walked through cracks in the rock, around large domes weathered by millions of years of erosion, along the edge and peering down into the canyon, and of course, the view from the top was exceptional.
Once back at camp, Matt expressed interest in going for a run in the heat of the day so I expressed my own interest back. There aren’t many decent flat tracks to follow so it mainly consisted of running on the main road which thankfully is not very busy.
We took it easy through the afternoon and did some jobs, and late arvo we walked up to the sunset bar, except we didn’t really watch the sun set as usual, as the deck faced the canyon, so just watched the colours of the canyon and sky change, plus we were treated to an exceptional full moon rise over the canyon, which preceded the blood moon that would occur early in the morning.
Day 54 – Uluru
In the morning we slept in and packed up camp while Matt and Bel took their turn to do the hike, then it was on to Uluru. Thankfully this drive was much less eventful than thr last as it was bitumen the whole way. We stopped at Mount Conner (also known as Foolaru) for a quick photo, and I fully understood why people often get it confused for Uluru on the drive in. An hour later we got our first glimpse of the rock as we approached the campground.
After setting up we drove over to the sunset viewing area and looked at the rock for an hour. We didn’t get much of a sunset as it became cloudy but still very cool first experience seeing such an icon. First impression was that it is so, so much bigger than I ever imagined. I have no reference for how big something this size should feel like, but the thing is so huge. It is 2.4km across, 3.6km the other way, and 350 metres high, which is higher than most of the canyon escarpments we’ve been seeing over recent weeks.
In the photo below, you are viewing the shorter, 2.4km side.
Day 55 – Uluru
Bucket list day!
We got up promptly for our bus transfer over to the rock where we picked up bikes. Brooks had his own and the girls had tag-a-long attachments onto my bike and Kynie’s. We started from the cultural centre which makes it a 15km round trip. It was a lot of fun and the kids on the tag-a-longs had an absolute ball. We weren’t sure how they go but balance was not a problem, evidenced by them going no hands!
The biggest challenge was keeping in mind where you were in relation to sacred sights, which are not allowed to be photographed. There are signs with arrows but it can be still unclear.
We were all astounded at the details of the rock up close as this is something not easily seen in the iconic photographs you see. The surface is largely very smooth but there are many features on the rock face such as holes, patterns, lines from waterfalls, wave-like features at the base, and even caves. From a distance you get scale and grandeur, up close you get details and also more grandeur.
We came back for lunch and had an easy afternoon before heading back to the sunset spot for happy hour. This time we had clear skies with the classic orange and blue, fading to pinks and blues. Absolutely magic.
It is absolutely mind boggling how big these things are. On the way back to the caravan we had a wonderful distance view of Kata Tjuta/The Olgas with the sky lighting up oranges and reds silhouetting it from 50km away. It really is special being able to both of these giants simply by turning your head.
Below is my attempt at a timelapse. 300 photos over about an hour at one photo every 10 seconds.
Day 56 – Uluru
Once around was not enough for Matt and me so we set off early for a sunrise run around the rock. We got a quick snap first from the sunset viewing spot with sunrise colours and Uluru as a silhouette. Then we did our best at a pre run warm up, made very difficult by the 8° temperature and blistering wind over the desert floor. That wouldn’t detract from a magnificent sunrise and simultaneous moonset.
We took it easy, making sure to take it all in and look up occasionally to absorb the fact we were running around the world’s largest monolith. An absolute bucket list run for anyone that runs.
After that we went back to pick up the families for a visit to Kata Tjuta. There are 2 main walks at Kata Tjuta: a shorter easier one and a longer, more challenging one. We opted to take the kids to Walpa Gorge, which is 2.5kms and fairly flat. The trail leads you between two of the large domes’ sheer walls to a point that you can’t really go much further.
On the way back we stopped in at the town centre for some souvenir shopping for Brooklyn and a visit to the Gallery of Central Australia, which has some more incredible Aboriginal art.
Day 57 – Kata Tjuta
It was another shift day today as another iconic walk of the area was going to be too big for little legs. The Valley of the Winds walk is 7.4 km and takes you up, over, and through some of the largest domes of Kata Tjuta. Matt and Bel went first in the morning while I got a haircut, did some some washing, and the kids played. By lunch time it was our turn.
It is such a beautiful hike. The domes are massive and truly other worldly. It’s a completely different experience to Uluru. Firstly, Uluru is one monolith, this is many, and we are walking in, through, around and behind them. Unfortunately, you are not allowed to share photos from most places on the hike, so here’s one from right at the start.
Day 58 – Leaving the NT
Kynie and Bel took their turn to walk around Uluru this morning. It was an early start for them, but could have been later, as Matt had his van booked in to have two rims replaced because he had cracked his on the caravan. He took them in to Ayers Rock Mechanical on our first day here asking them to find and fix a leak in the tyres but they came back and said your tyres are fine but your rims are cracked.
Anyway, the rims arrived from Alice yesterday so he took the van in to have them fitted. What should have been a quick job – even being second in the queue – took until 1pm to have it ready. The bloke even took lunch before finishing the job when all he had left to do was mount the spares on the back. This all meant that I spent the morning slowly packing down our caravan and watching the kids. When that had run it’s course, we all enjoyed some time in at the town square where there are shops and cafes.
We left at about 1 and made it to a Roadhouse in Marla for the night at about 7pm for our first night in South Australia of the trip. We made it safely but had an extremely close call with a cow darting across the road on approach. People, this is why you don’t drive at dusk! I hit the brakes hard and thankfully showed enough to miss it but it certainly is and it a fright. It was a beautiful drive Infor the last 30 minutes, despite the constant threat of death by cattle.
Day 59 – Coober Pedy
We only had two and a half hours driving to get to our next stop, which meant we got to our accommodation by about lunch time. We had picked an Airbnb that had been dug out of the side of a mountain like a cave. It had a door and windows at the front and that was it for natural light! No backyard obviously. And the walls and ceiling was just red and brown rock. Considering it had been dug out of the mountain it is a fair size: it had a kitchen, dining, bathroom, large living area plus 3 bedrooms.
We had lunch at a nearby cafe (well, Coober is small so all cafes were nearby) called CKs, which was a great mix of Asian and French bakery (again, small town, you have to wear multiple hats!). I had pork belly bao buns, a berry smoothie, and a cheesecake tart, Brooklyn had a saudage roll, the girls had a toastie, and Kynie had a salad! And of course it was underground as well.
Coober Pedy is a really quirky town and most attractions are attractions because they are quirky. Fayes Underground House was no exception. Faye moved to coober Pedy from Queensland during the opal craze in the 1960s (a craze that feels like it never ended). She tried opening a cafe to serve the miners but that failed. So she tried her hand at digging herself. Faye and 2 friends dug out this house while simultaneously mining for opals in the plot out the front. It took them 10 years to dig out the house, then they lived in it for another 10, and when she’d made her millions from opals (literally), she up and left with 2 suitcases full of cash back to Queensland where she bought a pub.
The house consists of a kitchen, a bedroom that goes down to a further bedroom which had a walk in closet. There was also a fairly generous living room with a bar and a wine cellar. The living room also had a fireplace, but apparently they only ever lit it once because it got so damn hot – the cave actually keeps a very moderate temperature of 20-21°C year round. We then had a tour of the now abandoned mine from which Faye and her pals mined opal. It had several tunnels about 1.5m in diameter. Brooks especially was fascinated by the opals and loved digging around for some.
So much so that when we drove back to the main Street he wanted to look in all the things. We tried to go into the Opal Cave, which Faye also operated when she was here to sell her opals. But couldn’t exactly fine the entrance and ended up just walking up the hill on top of it, because it was dug out of the hill. It still operates in a cave, sells opal jewelry, and has a bit of a Faye-related gallery.
We then walked into a store called “Star Opal”. This was the most random shop. It had Aboriginal paintings, souvenirs with very 80s vibes (like the whole town), opal jewelry of course, and painting supplies (not of course).
The whole time, since we entered the town, I have been so confused and fascinated by the whole vibe. It is clearly a desert town, dominated by stone colours and no grass. All the architecture looks like it hasn’t been updated since the 80s (because it probably hasn’t been), but also that it hadn’t been refreshed since then either. The town also gives off real Israel and middle east vibes because of the stony desert landscape amongst the town but also the buildings and signage that also needs a refresh (the naming conventions also followed a similar pattern). It’s all very bizzare and eclectic and interesting.
Back at the cave, we cooked up a Mexican feast with burritos and tacos and then we were served margaritas from señor Matt at the cave bar.
Day 60 – Coober Pedy
Matt and I have been doing Parkruns whenever possible but we missed yesterday’s event because we were only arriving Saturday afternoon. Anyway, we still wanted to get out to today we ran the Parkrun course (ish) on our own. We kept a good pace and we’re happy to get the legs moving again.
On the way back (remembering we drove from one end of the town to the other in 4 minutes), we stopped in at a cafe called Didgeridoo Underground Cafe. In this town, how it appears is if you don’t have either “Opal” or “Underground” in your business name, it isn’t a viable business. This one has the added benefit of also allowing you to browse didgeridoos while you have your breakfast or coffee. Genuinely, the didgeridoos looked very rad and we’re excellent artworks. As per the shop yesterday, there was also an inexplicable assortment of other goods and trinkets on sale (or not, genuinely not sure!) such as a framed toy Leeland titan bus deconstructed, statues, lamps, teapots, and collectable antique coins. It felt like a garage sale with exquisite art pieces plus a cafe. Oh and it is underground.
Mid-morning we headed out for a tour of Tom’s Working Opal Mine, run by the owner, Paul. It was fascinating going down into the mine which has been worked for decades and is now on its 3rd owner. Though we were all very unsure when he has time to do any mining when he runs so many tours (all of which run overtime). We learnt all about how opal is found, what clues they look for in the rock (never look behind the slide, and you want to skip the first and second levels, the third level is the business).
He gave a demonstration of how their blowers work, which suck the rock and dirt up to the surface as they are digging and excavating. These are the trucks that have an elevated bucket that looks like it is hooked to a ladder with pipes on it. They are all over Coober Pedy.
Have you ever heard of a large opal mining company? There are none on the ASX. No opal company is ever acquired or makes the news. It’s because it is such a bit part operation. Mines are quite small and are called “claims” and are generally run by a partnership. One will own the claim and one will own the machinery. As we approached the town yesterday we saw piles and piles of rock dotting the landscape. These are piles of rock and dirt that have been blown up from a mine being explored. It seems like most of the town is into mining or buying or selling opals.
Although it took Paul a long time to land the plane on some of his stories, eventually he got to the bit where the kids get to go look for opal in the mine. Clearly they had lots of little, probably worthless, pieces, but they had fun running around the mine, 20 metres from the surface, shinging their black light on them to see if they glowed, which is the sign it is coloured opal and not “potch”.
After the 10am 90 minute tour finished well after 12, they provided scones and Paul setup a buyer’s stand and had the kids negotiate with him to seek the rocks they found. Each got a few dollars, a couple of chocolates and a couple of lollipops. We then left even more confused about the whole thing. We had fun though.
On the way back to the Airbnb we swung by the Serbian Orthodox church, a church that was cut into a sandstone hill in 1993 as there were a lot of Serbs, Yugoslavs and Croatians in the area then. Not so much now and the church is just maintained for visitors. It is beautiful though.
We went back for a bit of lunch, though most were being held over by the scones. Brooks though, had the bug and was keen to go looking for more opals. Most people needed a nap or some down time, but since I don’t really nap on holidays (or in general) unless I’m very unwell he and I went back into town. We came upon the Old Timers Mine, which was an old mine but now is just used as an exhibition. We took the self guided tour and afterwards we sat in the pit of rocks out the front and went “noodling” for opals. That is the term they use (not fossicking for some reason) for searching for opals in areas that have largely been discarded by the pros.
We poked our head into the second (of three) churches that are underground. This was a Catholic church and was a little smaller but of course, as a Catholic church, it was still shaped as a cross. Interestingly, both churches were completely devoid of staff but left completely open for visitors to come and go as they please.
Dinner was at Big Winch 360, the highest place in town so we had a great view of the surrounding area. It was also a great spot for sunset. It also has the only grass in town. It was a great way to end the day.
Alright that’ll do for this one. Tomorrow we are off to the Oodnadatta Track!
