Since leaving Darwin we had travelled 3000 kilometres to Uluru. After seeing the sunrise over Ayres Rock, walking round the rock, going to look at the Olgas, another series of rocks which I did not walk around as it was too hot, we went back to Ayres Rock to see the sunset. The posh tourist groups had people there setting out tables and fine linen so that they could have champagne to drink as the sun went down. I did manage to persuade a young lady to give me a glass of champagne much to the envy of the others on the trip. Age does have it’s privileges! I did think that the sunset was much better than the sunrise.
After watching the sunset we went back to the camp at Curtain Springs. The following morning, the 14 October, and after being woken up at sunrise by the galas birds, it was off to Marla via the Stuart Highway and the Kulgera Pub. For days now we had travelled through the red country where all the earth was red. Trees were growing everywhere but in some places were more scrub than anything. Whole areas were of hummock grasses of the trioden and plectranchne type, very nasty grasses which had thorns and spikes which were able to get through the tent, which I think were the cause of the holes in my inflatable mattress (which has now been given away). The aborigines are able to get a resin from some of the scrub which they use to fix the points onto arrows and spears. The trees were mainly desert oak, ironwood, corkwood, white wood, acacia and malga scrub.
Leaving camp at a later time this morning, the 15 October, at 0800 hours, we headed for Coober Pedy where we arrived at 1130 hours. The Tourist Information Office there had free internet access on their desk tops but only for 30 minutes. 80% of the people here live underground and the main source of income is opals with there being mines everywhere.
A visit to the Old Town Mine and Museum was most interesting. This was an old mine that was changed into a museum and underground house and in the process of digging out connecting passages in an old mine further opals were found. Bizarre in the least!
Scenes from the museum
After wandering round Coober Pedy for a number of hours we went off road to find somewhere to put up the tent only to end up being stuck in the dirt then having to unload the trailer and unhitch it from the bus and then push both onto firm ground before we could camp. We had been stuck before in Turkey but this was the first time we actually had to push vehicles to get them out of a hole.
Prickly grass was everywhere and that together with the red earth did not make a clean and comfortable camp.
On 16 October it was up at 0530 hours to prepare breakfast, hot water for tea and coffee being the most important item, set out muesli, weetabix of the Australian variety, jams and peanut butter with bread, the staple breakfast since leaving Darwin. The evening meal was much better than the slops fed to us by our illustrious leader on the trip to Bali. With her not being there we had a chance to eat a reasonable meal. The intention today was to get to Port Augusta, a distance of 557 kilometres. On the way we stopped off at Glendambo Roadhouse, Lake Hart (an inland salt water lake) and Spuds Roadhouse at Pimba, finally setting up camp at Orroroo.
We stopped not far far from the camp to look at a 500 plus year old gum tree (cannot find the photograph I took of the tree) the following morning then stopped at Broken Hill to do some more shopping. All shopping was only for food though some were buying duvets or blankets to keep warm as the night temperatures were dropping. During the day we crossed from Northern Australia into New South Wales and the clocks went forward by 30 minutes. Travelling along the Barrier Highway we then camped at Wilcannia for the night.
On 18 October, with everyone getting a bit high as we all realised that the trip was nearly over and not believing that it could be so, there was singing and music on the bus with everyone being somewhat happy. We flew through Nygan, Dubbo and Melbourne before camping at Ponto Falls near Melbourne. As it was Derrick’s birthday today he had bought two cakes to be shared around t the evening meal, a gesture enjoyed by everyone.
On 19 October the countryside definitely changed with more grass, cows, sheep and farms to be seen. We stopped near Orange to visit a winery for a wine tasting but I did not like the wine so bought none. From there we did a lap of the Bathurst Motor Racing Course, doing a skidding start from the No.1 spot, not the normal vehicle there as I’m sure that a bus and trailer driving round the course would have looked quite odd to the people working around the track.
We were now getting very close to Sydney so we stopped early in the afternoon at Lake Lyall so that people could sort out their bags for the following days arrival in Sydney and clean out the bus and trailer. We had been told that the internet, laundry facilities and showers were available at the camp site but the internet and laundry facilities were a figment of the imagination and the showers cost 20 cents for one minute, a real rip off as some of the time was used to warm up the water and then it shut down before anyone could get showered properly. Why they were using gas heaters for hot water I do not know when there is so much sun available for solar heating. That could be a general comment for the whole trip from Darwin to Sydney as few solar panels were seen anywhere. There were more to be seen in the UK as far as I am concerned!
On the morning of 20 October we were only 150 kilometres from Sydney and with all the bags packed, everything as clean as it could be considering the red dust we had been travelling in since Darwin, we had plenty of time to get to Sydney for 1400 hours when various members of the group were to be met by family and friends. So it was a short stop at Echo Point, Katoomba, for a walk round the mountains and for coffee and shopping for others. At 1030 hours we left Katoomba for the final part of the trip to Sydney.
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| The 'posh' way |
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| A trainer tree |
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| A road train |
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| Marla Bush Camp |
Leaving camp at a later time this morning, the 15 October, at 0800 hours, we headed for Coober Pedy where we arrived at 1130 hours. The Tourist Information Office there had free internet access on their desk tops but only for 30 minutes. 80% of the people here live underground and the main source of income is opals with there being mines everywhere.
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| Mining Equipment |
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| A normal view from the town |
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| Opal mining eqipment |
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| A derelict underground hotel |
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| The underground Catholic church |
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| The underground Revivalist church |
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| The underground Revivalist church cellars |
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| The underground Revivalist church |
Scenes from the museum
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| Showing a leather bucket |
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| The first woman to live in the opal fields |
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| The first woman |
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| Cuddling the bottle |
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| Kitchen |
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| The main bedroom |
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| Toilet |
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| A child's bedroom |
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| The first post master in the post office |
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| Real or not? |
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| Libby feeding rocks into the suction machine |
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| It was dirty red dust |
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| The bus ran away and the trailer had to be pushed to it. |
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| Libby pretending to be a pack horse |
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| Lake Hart |
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| Lake Hart |
On 18 October, with everyone getting a bit high as we all realised that the trip was nearly over and not believing that it could be so, there was singing and music on the bus with everyone being somewhat happy. We flew through Nygan, Dubbo and Melbourne before camping at Ponto Falls near Melbourne. As it was Derrick’s birthday today he had bought two cakes to be shared around t the evening meal, a gesture enjoyed by everyone.
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| Ponto Falls Camp |
On 19 October the countryside definitely changed with more grass, cows, sheep and farms to be seen. We stopped near Orange to visit a winery for a wine tasting but I did not like the wine so bought none. From there we did a lap of the Bathurst Motor Racing Course, doing a skidding start from the No.1 spot, not the normal vehicle there as I’m sure that a bus and trailer driving round the course would have looked quite odd to the people working around the track.
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| On the No.1 grid position ready to start |
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| Our last camp at lake Lyall |
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| Views from Echo Point |
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