on the road again

Time to leave our campsite under the gum tree.

We did actually leave Yuendumu on Tuesday morning and with a blanket tied to the front of Destiny (to help protect against stone chips etc) we headed out to Tilmouth where we gave the van a good washing.  I am sure that there is more topsoil there now than when we arrived.  She certainly was dirty and dusty so looking much cleaner we made it into Alice the next day.

 Our stay in Alice was a little adventure on its own as when we arrived we could not get the air conditioner or electric hot water system to work.  Now this was a little worrying and despite a few phone calls (including to Jayco in Brisbane) we still could not get them working.  With some more investigating we found that there were also power points that were not working!  Now is there a connection?  More phone calls and finally someone advised checking the backs of the power points as one may have come loose (after all we had come along some corrugations).  Halelluah there was the culprit and once reconnected all worked fine.  Had been a worry for a couple of days and didn’t help the blood pressure one bit.  All fixed and our final day in Alice was a little more relaxing.  New windscreen, car serviced and off we set for all points north.

woman and child with goanna statue at Aileron

Our first night was a free camp in a rest stop north of Ti Tree and from then on to Devils Marbles (Karlu Karlu).  We enjoyed a sunset and sunrise there and the photos speak for themselves.

sunrise on the rocks

 a different view of Destiny and Bruiser

The days are starting to warm up so as we are not in any hurry we are planning our driving till lunchtime and then parking up for the rest of the day.  Rest and relaxation is what it is all about and why rush in the heat of the day?  Our next overnight stay was at Banka Banka station where the water is from a spring and rivals the best bottled water.  We took the opportunity to top up our tanks with the good stuff before heading north again.  We encountered a breathalyser check at Elliott where the police had the highway blocked in both directions.  As he informed us this was the ‘full service’ today as licence and caravan rego and tyres etc were checked.  Great to see that happening as we all want to have a safe journey.

Our next stop was again a freebie at Newcastle Waters.  The old township is just off the highway and the next morning as we were away early we called in for a look. 

no fuel from this bowser

 Until 30 yrs ago this had been a staging post and convergence of three stock routes for the drovers with their cattle herds.  There was a general store where new supplies could be purchased for the next part of the trip and abundant water for the cattle.  The store and hotel now have closed but the buildings still remain.  The station is still functioning and the cattle we saw looked in good condition. 

the locals at Newcastle Waters station

Tonight we are staying at Mataranka with a Thermal Pool in the back yard (lovely swim late in the afternoon) and live music (guitar and didgeridoo) being played down at the bar.   The pool is fed by a spring that comes up and tumbles along to join the Waterhouse River.  The pool and its surrounds were built during the Second World War by servicemen and the pool was for the use of officers only.  After the war a serviceman leased the property and developed the area so that it could be opened to the general public.  What thanks we owe him.  The pool can be used by day visitors so you don’t have to stay here to make use of it.  Tomorrow we head on to Katherine and a little shopping before heading off towards Darwin.

the locals here at the homestead

time for leaving Yuendumu

at last the time has come to prepare for moving on.
We are leaving here on Tues 23rd Aug to travel as far as Tilmouth Roadhouse where we plan to stop over so as to give the van and vehicle a really good scrub.  Tilmouth is the start of the bitumen to Alice, albeit single lane for some distance but nonetheless bitumen.  We hope to be able to wash off all the red dust that has accumulated during our 9week stay out here.
We have had a magic time and thoroughly enjoyed our adventure.  Lawrie has seen many wild horses and cattle and even today we went for our last sausage sizzle with the family out beside another water hole and there were two bulls out there and a horse. 
He has been taken to spots around here that very few white men have visited as he was along on a trip where Malcolm took an elder out to visit past camp spots of the Walpiri people.  They are hoping to reopen some of these camps as some folk would prefer to be out there away from any nonsense that might happen in the community.  The main things needing attention is water and electricity supply so grants will be applied for to see if repairs can be carried out.
I have continued to be helping out in the office for a few hours most days and the balance of my time has been spent knitting and spinning.  I have been able to attempt and complete a baby rug using a new kind of knitting (to me) and now it will wing it's way to Brisbane for a new baby due in mid September.

a rug using Entrelac style

Time now to start another project although I have plenty of fleece to still be spun so maybe I should focus on that for a while.

We have enjoyed many beautiful sunsets out here and here is another one taken out the window of our van.  I was just a bit late getting the camera out as the sun had been directly behind the tree in the distance and looked quite special.

Lots of washing to be done tomorrow and packing away of various things that have come out and stayed out during our 9 weeks.

The replacement windscreen has been organised and is booked for Thurs morning in Alice and the service for Bruiser is set for Friday morning.  I hope to arrange a hairdressing appointment for sometime during our few days as I would like to have a trim and colour done before we head out again.  The ears are getting itchy (sign of hair growing longer) and the grey is showing through the streaks done down at Scottsdale in Tasmania.  Gee that seems so long ago but was only early April.

Well I guess it is 6 months since we left home so time is passing.

Now for the next part of the adventure.