Central Australia Trip 2019 (Part 1)

[jack]

Greetings,

Miss me? well I'm back and already have itchy feet.

Start of the trip was unfortunatly delayed by over four weeks due to a death in the immediate family, hence the trip time was reduced accordingly.
We were away for just over six weeks and travelled about 9,500km towing the Jayco Adventurer. About 3,000km of this was in 4WD and other than some major dust leaks they both performed exceptionaly. Much to my darling wifes chagrin we didn't shy away from any challenge and at one stage travelled almost 600km and saw only one person.
Fuel economy ranged between 13.55 l/hkm to 24.04 l/hkm, trip average was 18.47 l/hkm. Happy with that as we had massive head winds and some dust storms travelling east and south. Most expensive fuel was $2:19 per litre which was a lot better than Cape York six years ago where it was $2:40.

The map only shows the major bits of the trip as I forgot to hit record at times.

I took about 1,900 pictures until the SD card crapped itself in Silverton, luckily I backed up each night to the laptop. Amazing how many people from Ballarat you run into on a trip. We were camped in Palm Valley and a young couple came over to say g'day to another coiple from Ballarat, the guy drives an excavator and recognised my car due to the two aerials as I've driven past his work site a couple of times. At Adels Grove I met another traveller who used to live in Ballarat and I went to school with his brother over 50 years ago. Small world.
We also met another couple of locals and forum members at Adels, Cuppa and Mrs. Tea spent some time there on their way to the Daintree. It was good to catch up with them again.

I've spent the last three days cleaning the van and still need to start on the car.

OK here comes the photo dump.

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Oodnadatta Track

Stone Man Oodnadatta Track

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Marree

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Sculpture Park

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Algebuckina Bridge

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Oodnadatta

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Kata Tjuta

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Uluru

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Kings Canyon

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Kings Canyon Helicopter Flight

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Mereenie Loop

Hermannsburg

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Palm Valley

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Palm Valley

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Palm Valley

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Palm Valley

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Palm Valley

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Magnificent MacDonnell Ranges

Glen Helen Gorge

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Red Bluff Gorge

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Ochre Pits

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Orminston Gorge

To be continued:

[jack]

Spent a couple of days in Alice Springs before heading further North.

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Flynns Grave (they've changed the rock since I was last here)

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Tropic of Capricorn

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Karlu Karlu Conservation Reserve

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Karlu Karlu Sunset

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We hit Queensland, Camooweal

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Riversleigh Fossil Site

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Crocodile Fossil

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Adels Grove

Our campsite in the Grove

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Cuppa and I kayaked both the Lower and Upper Gorges in Lawn Hill NP

We then did a solar powered boat trip on the Lower Gorge, wasn't game to take the camera in the kayak.

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Much as I would have loved to continue North we now start heading South

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Burke and Wills Roadhouse

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Mary Kathleen Uranium Mine

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Mary Kathleen Ghost Town

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Waddi Trees Bedourie

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Royal Hotel Bedourie

[jack]

And we continue Southwards

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Information Bay

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No caption required

Big shoutout to the Remote Area Nurse and the RFDS in Birdsville. My wife was very ill and they sorted her out, three days that we hadn't planned on spending here.

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Burke and Wills Tree - Birdsville Track

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Big Red overlooking the Big Red Bash site

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Big Red, yeap I got bogged and decided that was enough. (Only a couple of tourists there and no one equipped to assist if needed)

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Rainbow Serpent

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Betoota Hotel, had a quick chat with Erol and Clancy from The Betoota Advocate

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Refuel time and we hit South Australia again

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Ruins Cordillo downs

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Cordillo Downs Woolshed (only person we saw in nearly 600km was a Scottish stonemason doing repairs

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Cordillo Downs Woolshed

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Innamincka

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Burke and Wills Dig Tree

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Blue Tree- Old Strzelecki Track

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Skeleton - Old Strzelecki Track

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Cameron Corner, sign the visitors book and see my nephew was there two days before me.

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Local Dog Fence worker put us onto a short cut to Sturt National Park
And we're into NSW

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Tibooburra - some long awaited sealed roads

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Tibooburra Aboriginal Reserve Camping Grounds

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Broken Hill

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Silverton, last picture before the SD Card crapped itself.

[Plasnart]

Great writeup Jack. Love the Betoota Advocate too. You should have seen the front page the day after you left! Haha

[mudski]

Great pics mate. I just came back from two weeks up in the NT. Beautiful country for sure.

[TPC]

Great write up and photos Jack, really makes me visit so many of those places again.

[MudRunnerTD]

Nice one Jack. Looks awesome.

[mudnut]

Welcome back. Thanks for posting all those beautiful pics. I just want to know if the Quolls up there taste better than ours?

[jack]

Great writeup Jack. Love the Betoota Advocate too. You should have seen the front page the day after you left! Haha

Forget the front page, wait till the podcast comes out.

[jack]

Welcome back. Thanks for posting all those beautiful pics. I just want to know if the Quolls up there taste better than ours?

Nah, theirs are a bit drier than our local ones. But the Gulf Snapping Turtle makes a nice soup.

[jack]

Great writeup Jack. Love the Betoota Advocate too. You should have seen the front page the day after you left! Haha

Hey Plasnart check this out!

They told me it would be sympathetic - Bastards

79480

[Plasnart]

Hey Plasnart check this out!

They told me it would be sympathetic - Bastards

79480

Haha your family must have leaked it to the press!

[Maxhead]

Wow mate....so cool. Glad you are enjoying life mate!


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