Uluru to Alice

Well, so much for blog posting every day! Life is busy on the road and there is not as much free time as you would expect, although in reality, all our time is free time so I guess I've just been slack- or getting used to the rhythm of travel. We've had a great week travelling from Uluru to Alice Springs via Kings Canyon and the West McDonnell Ranges.

It was fantastic to see the girls again a week ago after the 4 days on our own.

 

Our family of five back together again

Thanks to Mum & Dad for taking such good care of them and flying with them to Uluru and spending a few days there with us. It was an action packed time with walks around the Rock, a trip to Kata Tjuta (the Olgas), astronomy tours to learn more about the amazing stars, spear & boomerang throwing, lots of cheese & champagne and yummy dinners out.

Sophia & Chris managed to walk the whole way around Uluru. We had all planned to do it but after an hour or so we decided that it was a bit much for Caitlin (and probably Sam as well) so Chris & Sophia continued. The walk is over 10kms and after a few extra diversions to see waterholes etc, they walked over 12kms which is a great effort from Sophia at 9 years of age. Uluru is a lot bigger and more diverse than I expected. There are caves, waterholes and even trees growing in places.

One night we all went to a 'family astro tour' to look through telescopes as the stars are so clear out here. The girls learnt about galaxies, star clusters and got a great view through the telescope of Saturn and it's rings. They were so keen Chris took Sophia & Samantha back the next night for the regular adults astro tour. They apparently asked lots of sensible questions and as they had been the night before were able to tell the other guests what some of the constellations were. Budding astronomers! The tour guide said they were welcome to come back free of charge for the rest of the stay but we were leaving so two tours had to be enough.

Walpa Gorge at Kata Tjuta is well worth a visit if you're in the area! It's a short 2km walk so very manageable for the kids with great views.

 

After 5 days at Uluru, it was time to make a move and start our trip as a family of five. It was great hanging out with Mum & Dad (not to mention the fact that they were staying 5 star while we were at the camp ground so we fully utilised their bathtub, free laundry facilities, air conditioning and pool!). We headed out for the two hour drive to Kings Canyon.

We stayed at Kings Creek Station. It's a working farm and dust is everywhere. They have a calf that thinks it's a dog, lots of camels and a freezing swimming pool. It is run by the Conway family who raise money to help educate the local Aboriginal high school age kids as they only have a primary school. He was the subject of Australian Story which I watched when I was there. http://www.abc.net.au/austory/specials/unfinishedbusiness/

I walked around the rim of Kings Canyon.



Chris's photo from the Rim Walk- we didn't take the kids up here!

After a great two days at Kings Canyon it was time to head to the West McDonnell Ranges. This is a scenic stretch of road heading into Alice Springs with lots of gorges, waterholes and chasms. We had been recommended a camp ground from another blog of a family we have been following. It was a great recommendation. Finke River Two Mile was isolated and had beautiful 360 degree views. It was by the river so the girls had a great time trying to perfect their rock skimming skills. There were even more amazing stars and lots of wildlife. We could hear dingos howling so we locked up all the food in the car or trailer. We managed to damage a tyre on the Prado here so thankfully we could hop into Alice Springs and have it replaced.



Fun by the River



View from our campsite at Finke River

Night time at Finke River and another of Chris's great star photos

The gorges in the West McDonnell Ranges are spectacular and we discovered the water at the base is VERY cold.


Ellery Creek Big Hole



Our gorgeous Sami

So that brings us to today. We've had a couple of days in Alice to give us time to catch up on life like hot showers, washing, shopping and we've been staying at a Big 4 campground which is tailored to families with jumping pillows, playgrounds and a great swimming pool area. The girls have made friends with a family who are travelling for 6 months. They are going in the same direction as us so with any luck we will see them again. Today's we are heading north to Devils Marbles. See you next time!