Ross River Resort 7th June to 31st June

Monday 9th


Look Dot, a boy, can we go play?

     Had a great experience this morning while walking Dot and Yip. Standing in the little bit of sun I found ( trying to get warm) when the pup's alerted me to something behind me, I looked back to see a dingo, (looks just like Yip) It is a wild one!! a male, just a few feet from us. Well - I sat down on the edge of the road to see how close it would come to me, it seemed to be looking for a mate, maybe. Yip was going a bit crazy with excitement wanting to play with him and Dot wanted to growl and scare it away.

This is the wild dingo,
sitting only about a metre from us

  

     We spent maybe half an hour just watching, he wasn't afraid of us at all and came pretty close and didn't seem to be overly cautious, just relaxing beside us for a while. Actually I don't think really gave a sh#*t about me being there, as this picture shows.

Eventually I thought I better head back, He followed us, playing in front of us at times and just wanting to be with Yip and Dot it seemed. I was amazed at how much like Yip he looked, he being only slightly bigger with a lighter muzzle.
     When I got back to camp I thought he would shy off, but no, he came all the way to the bus with us. He hung around for 4 days, we have named him Dusty.

"dusty" the wild dingo

Finally he found that he wasn't going to get his way with either of our girls and hopefully will find himself a mate in the wild. What a great experience that was, at no time was I concerned that he would attack me or the pups or anything else in the camp area at any time.
     While in the camp ground he became quite an attraction for all to see and his photo was taken over and over again.

     One of life's greater occasions for me.

Tuesday 10th
     Found this odd plant this morning.

It is a cute purple flowering weed which there are plenty of here, only this one is covered in the fluff from the water reeds in the river bed. (I used to call them bull rushes when I was a kid)

Makes for an unusual and very pretty plant.



Thursday 12th

Alice Springs

     We all went into Alice Springs today, shopping and touring. This photo is taken from a hill called Anzac Hill with 360 degree views of the town.

This is one direction, with the MacDonnell Range in the background

Friday 13th to end of June
     We are going to be spending some time here at the Ross River Resort, so to save from repeating myself or something, I'll not be blogging much, unless something crops that is more interesting than simple every day camp life.

     'Til next I blog, chow for now.

Ross River Resort 1st to 6th June

Sunday 1st June
     What a beautiful place the MacDonnell Range and Ross River Resort is. We have been here only a week and have seen so many different types of hill and rocks and plants everywhere we go. Not a lot of animal life but plenty of birds.
     I have put all these photo's in to show how different it is here.

This is the Sphinx
Can you see it?

Over hang rock Note the huge
boulders on right that fell
out of the cliff

Furrow mountain maybe?

One Tree Rock or what!

The Great Wall of China
(Australia's version)

Peep holes in the Wall of China

Piled up like Pancakes

The Pup's and me at the start
of the Wall of 'China

The Great Wall of China makes
the Jimny look tiny

These were all taken when we went for a drive out the back of the resort property which is not accessible to every-one. Makes me feel kind of special and privileged to have seen and photographed it. Some of the formations have been given names as I put on the photo's. There were so many fantastic formations once again my camera went into overload almost.
     We had happy few hours 4x4 driving, following any track that bobbed up. Had a ball and made it back to camp safe and sound.


Monday 2nd
     Jim had to go Alice Springs today do some business. We have been kept busy doing a bit of work around the camp area and Jim doing maintenance of chain saw's and other small machines etc.
    



     Here is another  great sunset for you, gee! it's tough when you have to look at such things from the comfort of your camp chair.






Wednesday 4th
     Before taking our walk, Dot and Yip were having fun outside the bus.


     After that I introduced Yip to the piglets down at the Homestead. I don't think she knew what to make of them and thought they were a bit strange to start.

Yes Yip! they call them pigs

 Dot wanted to have them for dinner!! Oh!

Friday 6th
    
     Thought I would try out my climbing ability again and shot up the hill behind camp to take this photo.



     This is the Ross River with the MacDonnell Range in the background.
Good stuff eh?


Ross River Resort 27th to 31st May

Tuesday 27th May
     Awoke to a glorious day. Took the puppies for a walk, sunrise doesn't appear until nearly 7am, a bit cool but really nice. Jim went to the homestead last night to have a look around and to sus the place out with who's who and that sort of thing. Someone told him that if you pay for 5 nights you get stay a week, I said "did you pay the extra?" Nah! - He wanted to check with me first. I reckon I could spend some time here without a problem, so I went to the office this morning and paid for another couple of days which gives a week here to start. you beauty.   
This photo is of the cliff face behind the camping area. Pretty neat eh?
They have discovered that Jim is a small motors mechanic and it is like "you are not going anywhere! we could use a guy like you if you have some time to spare" So we have agreed to stay a while as Jim does some work around the place for them.

Jim has changed the wheel on the trailer and I spent a lot of time just looking around. it is a fascinating place and the range and rock formations etc are astounding, I haven't seen anything like it before. A great day had by all. The evening bought out the special highlights on the area with these couple of photo's to show you, the first one on the left, I took while walking with Yip and Dot down the road to N'Dahla Gorge by the
 river crossing, which looks pretty deep. The next one while sitting in my camp chair watching the ever changing spectacle.
       We had a great day

Wednesday 28th
     WOW!! this place is nice. Had a restful morning and Jim decided we would take a drive. We went to N'Dahla Gorge. It as an 11km drive.(4x4 only - lucky us, we have the Jimny)  The road is pretty corrugated and rough. First up is the water crossing over the Ross river where I was last night. The river isn't flowing at the moment but there is seepage which keeps the river going. It wasn't too deep and we had been told to keep to the left, there wasn't a problem. We took it nice and slow. There is plenty to look at on the way. There were 3 water crossings and the first was the deepest, the rest were a breeze.
     The cliffs and rocks and everything are so unreal, I couldn't stop the camera. It is all too fantastic, as you will see in the photo's I have put together for you to have a gander at.

These hills look like a sideway
plantation



Having a rest at the head of the gorge

Looks like the Sydney Opera House
maybe they got the idea from here!!

Dry Ross River with mound hill at back

I hope you can see what we saw. At the end of the gorge there is a walking track of 1+1/2 km which has some Aboriginal sculptures and paintings, but we didn't feel up to the trek so didn't get to see them.

     We got back to camp after about 3 hours of looking aground and took the rest of the day off. A happy day!.

 

Thursday 29th

     Shopping day for me today. I drove into Alice Springs in the Jimny and spent the day catching up on the things I missed on Monday. Waited until 2pm to purchase the necessary drinks, still a problem!, can't buy fortified wine until 6pm - WHAT!! - sorry Jim, I'm not waiting around that long. A funny thing at the bottle shops - outside them all is a member of the police force making sure every-one knows the laws of N.T.  alcohol purchases and consuming. There you go, must do the job right. I drove back to camp after getting what I could. I had a nice day.

 

Friday 30th and Saturday 31st

    

 Spent these couple of days at the camp area just having a good look around. Woke on Friday morning to this great sunrise.

     Later in the afternoon while walking Dot and Yip I decided to climb the hill behind the camp area. Quite a steep track up and very shaley type of ground making the descent very hazardous for me, had to make sure that Yip didn't pull me down too fast. I made it back to camp safely.

 

The view was great and not to be missed. I'm glad I made the effort to get to the top.

   

      That's the month of May gone. Catch you in the next instalment in June.



Alice Springs and Ross River Resort - 26th May

Monday 26th may

     This is the view of the MacDonnell Range as we departed the Tropic of Capricorn this morning, where we are headed, eventually, to the Ross River Resort, 85km east of Alice Springs
which is a bush style camp, sounds nice.

     We stopped off in Alice springs to replenish he larder and fuel etc. but had a small problem with the drinks department, with the Aboriginal drinking problem, you can't buy take-away alcohol until after 2pm, bummer!!, it's only 11.30am, never mind, we will look after our non reflective brothers of Australia and come back next week to purchase our drinks, we have some to keep us going for now. We left the shopping centre after this wondrous news and finally found our way to the Ross Highway, the path to the camping area.
    
     We stopped for a while at Emily Gap, (picture on the left) which is a gap in the MacDonnell Range with cultural significance to the local Aboriginal People with some art work to be seen. We spent a few minutes checking our email on the Internet as there won't be any coverage at the resort, no mobile phone either.(Buggar!! out of reach again)
     Onward we went, the road is good but we managed to sustain a blowout on the trailer, (S#&t!!) Oh well, get out and change the wheel. Problem !! can't undo one of the wheel nuts!!, thank goodness for Jim's ingenuity, he managed to rig the wheel so that we could continue without ruining the wheel completely.
    
     We travelled the next 30-odd km at about 20km an hour, stopping to admire the scenery at one stage with this beautiful sight of the MacDonnell Range, the hills and rock formations are something to be seen so far and looking forward to seeing more when we get to where we are going.

     Finally we arrived at the Resort about 2pm. The manager very nicely pointed out that we had a flat! very considerate of him, but he seemed more concerned about the flat than we were, He took us inside for beer, very much appreciated too!!

     After enjoying a nice cool beer and a chat and paying for 3 nights accommodation at the camp area, we made our way to the site and set up camp. Another day tomorrow when we will worry about fixing the wheel on the trailer and sort out what we are going to do from here.
      When taking Yip and Dot for a walk, this photo opportunity of our rig on the first day here presented itself and I couldn't help it. I think I am going to enjoy the East MacDonnell Range, lot's to see.
     Catch you later.

Aileron and the Tropic of Capricorn 24th + 25th May

Saturday 24th May
     We left Ti Tree this morning and drove a little way down the Stuart Highway as far as Aileron. A tiny place without much there except for the road house and camp ground.  This Statue of  the Giant Anmatjere Man is on the hill behind the road house. It is MASSIVE!! standing maybe 60 feet, it can be seen from some distance before you get to Aileron. An art gallery full of Aboriginal art is for sale is here also for all the budding artists and tourists who have money to spend.

A quirky little place in the middle of nowhere with a great sense of humour and friendship. There is also a giant woman and child at the entrance to the roadhouse and a statue of a couple of Goanna, a man and a girl goanna (the girl has a bikini on) called the desert mermaid and her lover outside the door of the roadhouse. Inside the bar area is this sign to tell the way to the lavatory, Ha! who would have guessed eh?
     Anyway we spent a very entertaining night at Aileron, with a great nights sleep as well.



Sunday 25th May
     After a neat day at Aileron we continued on our way to the Tropic of Capricorn, only 30km north of Alice Springs which is where we are heading - when we get there.

     The Tropic of Capricorn is the line between warm and cold (apparently) being that, on the north side it is warmer than the southern side. (I don't really know!!) but we camped here for the night and in the morning took this neat photo of the monument and another of the sun coming up, beautiful.

     That's a small piece of our journey and we have a great time coming up next which I will regale you with when next I have Internet connection.


   

Over the Border to Northern Territory 15th to 23rd

Thursday 15th
     We crossed the border this morning at 8.30am. Now 8am as we are in the Territory, 1/2 and hour behind Qld.
     Spent sometime yesterday enjoying the last of Queensland at Camooweal billabong, where we have been for 3 days. I collected some neat rocks but can't take all of them with me so have taken this photo to remind myself and everyone of the beauty that they are.

 There was a full moon that night and we took time out to enjoy it, had a couple drinks to depart the state of Queensland and watch this view of the moon coming up through the trees as we sat in front of Dilligaf admiring.


Any way you want!
as long as you want straight

   We travelled about 20 minutes before crossing the border, there is not much to see on the way, just more of those long straight roads again, as this shot shows really well. We came across Vince, the bike rider again, at one of the rest stops we had along the way, man!! he is making good time.
                                      We went about 200 km today to the Barkly Homestead Van park, a bit too far compared to the normal travelling k's we do, but found an oasis in the middle of nowhere, a very nice place to spend the night. This photo is of the original homestead, the van park is behind it.

     Friday 16th

Hey Yip! another great place
to explore eh?

     Moving on, 117km today to a free camp called 41 mile bore, stacks of room here, Dot and Yip thought it was pretty neat, lots of walking space. Dot seems to be enjoying herself, making friends with all who come our way. Yip is travelling really well, getting used to the new places everyday and meeting people all the time, she gets quite cheeky at times and gives the people she thinks are O.K. little nips on their fingers, the folks love it.

           Saturday 17th
     Made Stuart Highway this morning at Three ways. Turned left at the intersection on to Tennant Creek,( have decided to give Darwin a miss, too big and crowded for us, Cities! Yuk!!). Travelling down the highway and look what I see  out the window! HILLS ! well -  where did they come from? long time since have seen any of those things, (Ha Ha ) there are a few of them here and all along the way to Tennant Creek.

Remnants of Bonney Well

      Stopped long enough in Tennant to restock the larder with a few things and went looking for a camp site 11km east of Tennant Creek. Couldn't find the place so turned back and headed south along the Stuart for 87km to a rest area called Bonney Well. There is a water course near so went to check it out with Yip and Dot. We found a nice sized billabong about 100mt upstream of the bridge and Dot couldn't wait to go in for a swim, had a ball splashing and carrying on. Yip was not so keen to jump in but enjoyed being splashed and went for a paddle." Oh, I enjoy swimming" I reckon Dot said. Spent an enjoyable evening and lazy morning the next day at Bonney Well rest area.

             Sunday 18th

C'mon Devil play marbles
with me! (the devil won)

     To Wauchope (pronounced war-hope) today but first called into the Devils Marbles. An aboriginal Sacred site with a fantastic display of naturally occurring boulders of all shapes and sizes stacked precariously one atop the other.

     Could have camped here overnight but the dogs weren't allowed out of the day car park, so I took these photo's and we continued on to Wauchope.

     At Wauchope there's not much to see. Only the Pub and the van park behind the pub which is where we camped. There was the publicans dog, a red cattle/dingo cross, a great looking male with a red mottled coat and very bushy tail, anyway Yip and him had a ball, playing with each other for a couple of hours, and Dot thought he was pretty too.

NOTE- the sights!

    

     Inside the hotel was this (Presumably Aboriginal) Spear and boomerang with built-in telescopic sights. Very funny.

      

Next morning while walking Yip and Dot this neat sunrise over the hotel was something I thought worth a photo.
   
A very nice interlude at the Wauchope Hotel.

               Monday 19th

Wycliff Well Roadhouse
inhabitants

     15 minutes down the highway today we came across Wycliff Well, the U.F.O capital of Australia, (so the sign said).

Not much here, the roadhouse with all sorts of U.F.O collectibles and a big4 caravan park. Had a look around then went on to a road-side rest area called Taylors Creek where we spent the night.



                      Tuesday 20th

The interior of the Barrow Creek Hotel

After a good nights sleep we moved on to Barrow Creek. A run down hotel with a bit of character on the inside. We stopped here for breakfast 'cause Jim can remember stopping here over 30 years ago (before we met) and getting very inebriated, oh happy memories!!.
Maybe one the signatures is his, he can't remember if he did or not!! and the ceiling is covered in money of all kinds, Jim reckons one of them may be his, who knows?


Overland Telegraph Station
Barrow Creek

     There is a great set of buildings here which is the remnants of the overland telegraph station.
The stone work is something to be admired and was probably gathered from the surrounding area.




      On the highway just before entering Barrow Creek the rock formations are very impressive and the hilly country is like this photo.


We travelled a bit further to spend the night at John McDouall Stuart Memorial rest area.
    Next morning while walking Dot and Yip up a track running parallel to the highway we came across this huge nest on the ground. An ant nest, I guess, although there was no evidence of any insects at all. The outside measurement of this nest like structure had to be about 18 inches around the base, made of the red dirt which is in abundance here and then overlaid with grasses and sticks. A strange thing to see, is all I can say.
               
                  Wednesday 21st

Ti Tree roadhouse

     On to Ti Tree today. Drove around the streets then crossed the highway to a sign that read -
 "Store - Free camping", had a look but elected to return to the roadhouse which has a van park behind it. Set up camp for a day or three, just to chill-out for a while. The area is nice and quiet with green grassy sites for only $20. per night.
                 Thursday 22nd
      Staying at Ti Tree until Saturday, there are plenty of places to walk the pup's and we are enjoying the relax.
We had a few spits of rain today, just enough to dampen the ground.

Yip and Dot relaxing outside the bus

     Yip had some fun with a group of three young brothers, camping with their parents aged about 7 to 12 or so, she was playing with the youngest of them, growling and darting back and forward at him, being very cheeky. The older boy was also treated to some cheek from her.


    
             Friday 23rd
     Another great day is had by us all. We will head off tomorrow, toward Alice Springs with a couple of stops on the way. Life is good, see you.