Category Archives: Australia

Day 51 – The tropics

We got on the road in very good time, around 9am. Which was well and good, since we had 560km to go *sigh*.

Heaps of memorabilia

Heaps of memorabilia

I wish I could report anything of the trip, but really, there was very little besides refuelling and brief breaks. That is probably the main reason why two otherwise unremarkable pubs have become somewhat iconic roadside attractions. We had an ice cream at Renner Springs and a couple of cokes at the more prominent Daly Waters Pub. Filled with all sorts of memorabilia left by travellers coming through, it has sort of developed into a go-to place. As I said, in the end, what else would you do?

So we had plenty of time to talk, muse and most of all listen to audio books along the way. The landscape changed rather abruptly at Newcastle Waters. Temperatures go up again, humidity increases and all around trees and shrubs have replaced the arid plains of the centre. A more subtle change is the constant rise in height of the termite mounds, of which some are now taller than we are.

Why?! 30 Minutes without shade ...

Why?! 30 Minutes without shade …

One last annoyance was a red lollypop on a construction site about an hour before our destination. We were the first to be stopped, so for the next 25 minutes we had front row seats to observe how roads are re-sealed. Thank you incompetent stick lady for no info at all and not waving past the only vehicle without AC to come through in 3 hrs …

But the light shines bright at the end of the tunnel. And it came in the form of the Bitter Springs, a ‘thermal spa’ stream in the bush. We arrived just in time for one quick swim before sunset. The perfect way to end a sweaty long day in the saddle. We swam along in the stream for a couple 100m. The water is actually ground water, leaking from an aquifer. Where the water flows, it is perfectly clear and has a lovely 34°C.

Day 50 – The road goes on and on

Yummy!

Yummy!

Leaving Alice Springs, we decided to wave good-bye to Claudia one more time. So we pulled up at her work place, the Water tank cafe, and had a coffee and a ‘Chunky Nana’: A banana, milk, honey, pistachio and chocolate bits drink. Luckily, she was able to have a 15min break so we could talk a bit more before leaving.

The Stuart Highway continues on to Darwin now. Today, the plan was for a longer ride. 510km to Tennant Creek which is the next town after Alice Springs.

We stopped shortly in Aileron to take pictures of the larger-than-life statues there but then continued on. A forced break at a road closure and a couple of refueling stops were the only interruption of the monotony.

The road closure took 20min and we were told that it was due to “a movie being shot”, or rather a commercial for a car.

Marbles ahead!

Marbles ahead!

Lunch was at one of the roadside rest areas and the most exciting thing that happened was that a poor dingo nearly got run over.

In the afternoon, we reached Devil’s Marbles. . Many people had told us to camp there as Devil’s Marbles the marbles are best seen in sunrise or sunset. The late afternoon light made them look pretty already. The main reason that we drove on to Tennant Creek is that tomorrow is another 500km day which would have become a 600km day if we had camped early.

Going towards Tennant Creek, the landscape gets greener already and is dotted with big termite mounds. Flo liked them and we tried to take a picture of them. Most were right next to the highway though without a good place to stop nearby.

Day 49 – Encounters

We ended up staying alone on the bluff campground in Trephina Gorge. At least counting other humans. There were things going on, for sure. The “rain” tree, for example. Half the campground was cordoned off, because of a precariously leaning red gum tree as it turns out. The tree was marked “cracked or termites”. The eerie sound coming from it at night left little doubt which of the two was the case 😉

The ross highway along the eastern MacDonnell ranges

The ross highway along the eastern MacDonnell ranges

We stayed longer, not having much else planned and only 90km out of Alice Springs. Even on our way back, we stopped often and took some “dream roads” photos. So in the end, we made it back to town around lunch time.

First thing on our first stop, we checked our phone for emails and texts. Through our encounter with Georg yesterday, we got handed a mobile number with the comment “Werner and Claudia, they live in Alice now. Met them in Ushuaia, they are real travelers.” Since we count ourselves among this illustrious group, we gave them a text last night.

Nice bikes, nice people

Nice bikes, nice people

Well, it turns out they were not over advertised and after helping us out to find a supermarket instead of a kmart, Claudia had lunch with us in town. All plans of touristy stuff were soon abandoned and when she dropped us off at a campground in town to get around some chores an invitation was extended for tonight. This would give us a chance to meet hard working Werner as well.

In the end, we had a lovely night in town. After more than a month without meeting other motorcycle travelers, it was just what we needed. Swapping expat stories was an added bonus. Thank you, Claudia and Werner, I am sure we will meet again somewhere, some time.

Day 48 – East MacDonnell Ranges

Obligatory tigerpose at Alice Springs

Obligatory tigerpose at Alice Springs

From our roadside camp in Desert Oaks, we continued further up towards Alice Springs. Distance-wise, we had to cover another 200km to reach Alice Springs.

At a gas station, we had a chance meeting with two other travellers: Georg (worldbiker.info) and Jazek. Georg, at least, has started this part of his journey in Switzerland and, after Australia, there is only New Zealand left to explore. We exchanged blog address and wished each other safe travels as you do. 🙂

We arrived in Alice Springs around lunch time. I was getting warm on the bike (29 degrees) and started disliking cities again because you have to go so slow, when we managed to sit down in the Page 27 Cafe for a lovely lunch and a large chocolate brownie as dessert.

Alice Springs is surely a city that you can explore for a day but we decided to head out again into the East MacDonnell Ranges.

Emily Gap in the East MacDonnell Ranges

Emily Gap in the East MacDonnell Ranges

The MacDonnell Ranges are divided into West and East by Alice Springs itself which lies in a gap of the ranges. The East is the less popular side for daytrips but I had read about Trephina Gorge and wanted to camp there.

Heading east, we first came to Emily Gap which is a natural gap in the region. The local people believe that a giant caterpillar has formed this gap. We skipped Jessie Gap as we thought it would be quite similar and instead stopped at Corroboree Rock. As a formation, it is quite peculiar. Just a freestanding rock with much meaning to the indigenous people. Here, for the first time, the info sign asked tourist to treat the place as they would treat a church.

The last stop was Trephina Gorge itself where we set up camp in the Bluff Campground and so far, we are the only ones here. But there are two more campgrounds in close proximity with people on it.

As the end to the day, we went on a 2km loop walk through the gorge and up on the rim which was amazing. The gorge itself was already in shadow but the higher walls of rock were glowing in the red evening light.

Day 47 – Dingoes ate my baby

Last night was a bit later than usual. First, because my kangaroo skewers took forever to get served, but more importantly because we had a beer and travel talk with Thomas from Berlin. He is the first motorcycle traveller that we met since starting this trip, at least for a longer chat.

Human added for scale (top of the ridge)

Human added for scale (top of the ridge)

That, plus a couple of urgent emails requiring my attention in the morning meant that our plans for the day started with a delay right out of the gate. Not that one item makes for a very long list, but we also wanted to get some good distance in afterwards back to the Stuart Highway and north if possible.

That one item? The King’s Canyon rim walk, a 6 km walk (plus some detours along the way) was marked with a whopping 3.5 hrs. We got there around 10 with the bike fully loaded. That always makes for a bit of an awkward change from biking to hiking mode, but nowhere nearly as hard or annoying as in our early travel days.

Nina was ok with most of the walk, only my brief explorations of the edge off the 50m sheer cliffs was met with little enthusiasm.

This is called Garden of Eden

This is called Garden of Eden

Although we took every detour, had lunch at the Garden of Eden and took way too many photos, we were back at quarter past one. Are we actually getting fitter? Either way, we were changed and back on the road by 2 pm.

I was keen on some bush camping, but from 4 pm onwards, the roadside was all fences, or desert plain without a single tree. So we pushed on a bit longer, on to the Stuart Highway and made camp at the Desert Oak rest area (Overnight camping is allowed here). I even found some good fire wood nearby. Thus, the day ended with a cup of tea next to a campfire on red sand.

Not too bad for a day to end.

Day 46 – Mala Walk

We decided that even though we packed up at the Ayers Rock Campground, we would still go on the free ranger guided Mala tour today. This tour starts at 10am every day and is obviously quite popular.

Good sport, funny

Good sport, funny

We got there with the necessary 15 min head start to change out of our gear and into our hiking clothes.

The track leads along the base of Uluru and there are many stops at caves so that the ranger can tell the story of this particular place (as far as it is okay to share). Clinton told us about the Mala people who used to live around the rock. We even got to see rock paintings of a school equivalent.

Flo and I were really glad that we decided to ride into the park again (for the third time now) as this gave us another perspective on things. Right at the end of the tour Clinton spoke about the climb up the rock and how the indigenous people work towards having it permanently closed. The local people call the climb “the scar” and if you look at it, you see why. At the moment 32% of tourists climb up but there is hope that the track might be closed in 2020. These free Mala walks are one mean to educate the public and give the indigenous perspective into consideration.

Shade and a chance of food, here I come!

Shade and a chance of food, here I come!

At noon the tour finished, and we started our way towards the next attraction in the area: King’s Canyon. On the map, it’s just go straight and then take a left turn but in reality, it was a 350km ride today. So we took another break at one of the rest areas and were surprised by people taking pictures of a dingo that was lying on the table in the lunch area. It then nearly gave me a heart attack as it started straight towards us, probably smelling the food.

We hung around to get some good shots (it was the first dingo we saw) and then headed off again in direction of King’s Canyon.

Arriving at the campground, I then realized that dingos roam here quite freely. Let’s see how this works out tonight…

The bar here had a live musician tonight, so Flo had a beer and kangaroo skewers from the BBQ.

Day 45 – Valley of the Winds

The alarm clock went off at 5 am, supported by weird mobile-phone-like birdsong. We packed all necessary components for our breakfast, including cooker and water for tea / coffee and arrived at the viewing area parking space in good time for the 6:48 am sunrise. But alas, it did not end up being at all like what we were expecting from the sunset area.

Too many ...

Too many …

A lot of desert oaks around left a raised viewing platform as the only obvious spot, but it was already well full and only got more crowded as busloads of day-trippers with doggy bags arrived. All thought of a cozy sunrise breakfast were abandoned at this point – one of the slogans of the resort here is “experience the silence” – yeah, right!

But then, the first light had hit Uluru maybe 10 minutes ago, as if on a gong the show seemed to be over and everyone rushed back to their cans. We liberated a nice bench and table and even got a milk pack off one of the doggy-bag-carriers, with a bit of jealousy in his eyes seeing our apparent lack of any haste. So, 7:00 am, in the silence promised and with the morning light’s shadows creeping over the rock, we had our imagined breakfast.

from a viewing platform on a sand dune

from a viewing platform on a sand dune

Once we were full and happy again, we made our way out Kata Tjuta, another beautiful rock formation 50 km out from Uluru. After a photo stop on the way, we were ready to tackle the 7.4km Valley of the Winds walk. It was the perfect morning for it: Sunny, with an occasional cloud lending shade and not too warm. This track is closed when the temperature exceeds 36°C, or about 11am in summer.

We finished pretty much on the spot at 12 noon and headed back for a light lunch and to make the best of our $38 accommodation: Sleep in the shade, hop in the pool and have a nice barbie to round the day off.

Day 44 – Uluṟu

Rest was needed

Rest was needed

The 508km from yesterday took a toll on us and we decided to sleep in and take our time in the morning. We shortly considered to have a rest day in Curtin Springs but it was only 86km more to get to the Ayers Rock Campground which we classified as a short “hop” and did around lunch time.

We both dreaded the campground a bit, given how indigenous people are treated in Australia and the fact that the local Aboriginal tribe asks tourist to honour the sacredness of Uluru and not climb it while the government does not want to close off the track because it fears a decline in tourism. Talk about being disenfranchised.

Red indeed ...

Red indeed …

The earth turned even redder on our short ride and then Uluru was visible on the horizon. It is quite the sight even from far away. Getting to the campground which is on the expensive side with $40 a night, we were prepared for the worst…and were positively surprised.

The resort is made for different kinds of tourists: The ones with money go into the hotel rooms with Uluṟu view, the others have a choice of the Pioneer Hotel and the campground. The campground is definitely made for A LOT of tourists but it still has a nice character to it. Checking in, Flo got a whole handful of information sheets including a booklet of the resort and its history. (Knowing Flo, you will realize that he read the entire thing). The land was given back to the Aboriginal people and is leased to the government for 99 years. Slowly but surely, the local tribe also got involved in running the Ayers Rock Resort. You can feel it in the respect that is shown towards the Aboriginal customs and stories. Started in 2013, there is also an effort made to have indigenous staff and a trainings program for indigenous people. The campground offers free classes in things like “throwing a boomerang” or “playing a digeridoo”. There is also a free guided tour around Uluṟu . I would think that this is the reason why the campground is rather pricey.

We decided to keep taking it slow. Heading into the resort’s shop, we bought more fresh fruit and vegetables. This is when we realized that we had skipped lunch…and had coffee instead. Well, Flo had coffee and I had an iced chocolate. It was the best thing ever. 🙂

Decorative clouds

Decorative clouds

 

Around 4.30pm, we headed out to the viewing area to see Uluru in the light of the setting sun. From this area, you look onto the mountain rather than into the sunset so you can see the colours change.

The sun set at 6.39pm. We filled the time between taking photos with talking to the people around us which was lovely.

Many, many pictures later it was 7.15pm and we decided to head back to the campground instead of hanging around until the stars come out. The moon was spectacular tonight tough.

Day 43 – highway life

Road is in top condition, we can concentrate on our books ;)

Road is in top condition, we can concentrate on our books 😉

508 km … *phew* – I have heard so many riding tales of bikers having had a +1000km days. I will make a call now and say: never! I have done it in a car for sure, but 2 up, on our bike, +10 hours in the saddle … just no. Plus, alth

ough the days are getting rapidly longer now (spring coming and moving towards the equator) but daylight is still a limiting factor for us. So far we were successful in avoiding Australia’s most deadly animal, the Kangaroo, and I’d like to keep it that way.

So what happened today? Not much, really. First and foremost, we have learned that the reboot of the Perry Rhodan series, called Perry Rhodan Neo, has a much darker tone than the original series at that point.

Another border, last one in Australia

Another border, last one in Australia

… oh, you want to read about the country? We passed into the Northern Territory, the last Australian state on our route. This enormous piece of land is only home to between 180k and 250k (varying sources, no internet to check).

The landscape has changed after Coober Pedy, for the arid desert type to a more typical outback setting. Red sand, green shrubs and bushland left and right of the road. A lot more hills, mesa and cliffs than I would have expected.

The most important change in wildlife for us is seeing these enormous eagles for the first time. Sitting on roadkill till the last second, they reach to about my hip sitting on the bike, so up to 1m tall. Beautiful birds. In other news, flies are still annoying. No one tells you about them before going into the outback (at least not us), but they are everywhere. At least we found out today that they don’t like fire. As soon as we put water on the stove, they left us in peace. A little bit of Shellite is a small price to pay for not being pestered …

A mesa is a flat top mountain ... I have read ...

A mesa is a flat top mountain … I have read …

With a last push, we arrived at Curtin Springs. It is free camping within 100km of the rock, so we did not look twice. It has a nice view of Mt. Conner, a mesa often mistaken for Uluru. We both like it in its own right.

We’ll move to the Ayers Rock Resort ($36 for an unpowered campsite) either tomorrow or the day after to do the sunrise / sunset thing for Uluru and go hiking around Kata Tjuta.

Day 42 – Gravel and tarmac

It was the first really warm night we had. Too warm for a sleeping bag in fact. Getting up, however, we noticed that it is significantly cooler than yesterday. A southerly brought colder air and made the whole affair much more bearable.

Rocinante seen through a burnt out truck at the road side

Rocinante seen through a burnt out truck at the road side

We continued on the Oodnadetta track for another 6km before taking a turn onto the gravel road to Coober Pedy. With the wind being fresh and cool and not a blow dryer to the face, I enjoyed the 166km much more than yesterday.

Also, for quite a while, we followed the bed of a creek which meant trees and much more vegetation than yesterday. Flo even mentioned that he’s a bit disappointed with how green the desert is.

Part of the scenery was covered in stones. It’s a weird event that happened just naturally: Soil kept flying away until a layer of stones emerged which now stops any further erosion.

Huge fields of these red rocks cover sections of the desert

Huge fields of these red rocks cover sections of the desert

We still had a couple of fun stops at the road side to rehydrate and take pictures of burnt out trucks.

Around lunch time we arrive at tarmac. Flo felt the need to kiss the first strip of proper road after 450km of gravel. Coober Pedy is a real town but completely depended on opal mining. Coming into the town we took the obligatory “Cooper Pedy” picture. We also got the information that it was only 22 degrees in Coober Pedy which is really not hot.

Since it felt as if we had been out of civilization for a while, it was pizza for lunch. Flo, again, didn’t feel too happy to be in a town and around tourists again. We checked out a church which has been hewn into the earth which was quite cool. After that we pressed on.

Clearing from the opal mines

Clearing from the opal mines

Coming into or leaving Coober Pedy shows you the mining aspect of the city. There are dig sites everywhere. It looks like big mole hills; one right next to the other. The picture doesn’t show it too well, unfortunately.

About 25km north of Coober Pedy is a lookout over a very cool valley. Breakways is a valley that has a lot of meaning to the local tribe. It has many different colours which makes it significant in the dreaming but European came in and named the place ‘salt and pepper’ because it looked most like spices to them. If you are a fan of Mad Max III or Pricilla Queen of the Desert, you might recognize the place.

Stuart Highway was a nice change of pace for the first while. Cruising along at 110kmh is different to the bumpy ride over corrugation we had for much of the day. But then, it is still about 2000km up to Darwin so I might get sick of it again. 😛

We had one more pause along the way before calling it a day at Cadney Homestead. Off to new adventures tomorrow.