Month: October 2020

Tuesday, 6th and Wednesday, 7th October

Pulling out of G’Day Mate Tourist Park and it is raining. We are heading for Marla and so are Phillip and Ann.

Rain and cold. Who would have dreamed.

So we get to Erldunda and lo and behold, a notice on all bowsers saying the  border is closed due to an accident 19km north of Marla.

Furthermore an NT lady police officer declares that we MUST complete a border crossing form on the website before we go to the border. If we do not, our number plate will be photographed and we will be sort out and have to explain why we did not stop.

She further said, if we have any problems with the form, the NT Police at the border will help us sort it out.

So we pull out the laptop and take the 45 minutes to complete the paperwork.

We then hear the border is open and we proceed.

At a stop this plucky little guy and a mate front up and look for a hand out. We throw some nuts but they are not interested. Anne thinks he may be a ‘butcher bird’ and hence only interested in insects and meat as in lizards.

OK if you are going to be like that …

on on

 

So we arrive at the border. The promise that NT cops would help us if necessary? there were none there. So pictured are the SA cops. We pull up and are waved on. I open the window and say,  ‘We have our paperwork done!’ another nod and wave on. I am so glad I stuffed about for 45 minutes at Erldunda !!??!!  Block below.

Marla caravan park. They have more patience than me. Wait 10 to 15 minutes for the hot?

Good amenities.

On the way through we saw no evidence of the accident. We did however, see this old valiant a bit smacked up and a police car adjacent. We had picked up that an indigenous person had run into a bush/tree. The driver apparently lived but a passenger did not. I wondered if this was the car on the way to forensics.

We pull in, next to Phillip and Ann’s Maui motor home, cook a joint feast and squeeze in around the Maui table.

Early to bed.

 

Wednesday, 7th October.

 

Up early and on the way to Coober Pedy, both vehicles.

Wrecked neighbours

yet another wrecked car.

Oh. You can’t see him but this is the maniac. This is the guy you talk to. He swung out to overtake and just sat there. He, I guess, was trying to work out if he had enough time to make it in front of me before the road train got here. I felt (sincerely) NO! That is when I ‘talked to him.’ My speech was , ‘Nooooo mate. Nooooo! NooooOOOOO!! He pulled back and overtook in a much safer situ.

We pull up for a breather. Phillip and Ann wiz past and beep.

That’s the last we see of them.

We check in at the prescribed van park. OASIS. Best in town. George is the boss. No Phillip or Ann.

Kill time. Go shopping. etc. They appear. Somehow, we got past them. They waited for an hour and a half while we were waiting for them in Coober Pedy. Antway we get together and they give us a lift back to the park.

90’s movie shot here. Pitch Black with Vin Diesel. This was a space ship built in pieces else where and brought over.

Our lift back to the park …

with me in the back.

Somewhere over the rainbow …

Emergency call out next door.

A group meal. This time a BBQ in a very windy environment and this time in our van.

Another good day.

Tomorrow, we part company. P & A will highball to Adelaide and we will head to Lake Hart. A free camp.

Tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday 2nd October to Monday, 5th October.

Second time to cash in the cans, out near the airport. Last time in Darwin we got $6.50 mad money. This time a line up of half an hour for a tidy $9.60. Who says it doesn’t pay to drink? Did the big sign on the way back.

Then followed, a hot hard day to remember of serious touristy stuff.

Three museums in one. N.B. if you are going to do it, plan for the whole day.

First the Ghan Museum after coffee and ham and cheese toasted in their little café.

See the sign, Stuart below.

N.B. From 1926 to 1931, Alice Springs was the seat of government for the now-defunct Territory of Central Australia. Until 31 August 1933, the town was officially known as Stuart.

Fabulous old train. This was doing it in style with just a hint of basic. Well reasonably basic.

 

Then we move onto the Kenworth Hall of Fame. UNBELIEVEABLE.

The internet is too slow to load youtube so no videos. Too bad.

These prime movers are all Monsters and Heroes. Some are all but new. A truckie who happened to be there said Kenworth put new (er) ones in because it is cheaper than restoring old ones. (Maybe?)

An Emu from car/truck parts.

Then to the Truck AND Car Museum. (a BIG day)

 

This was the worlds first road train. It was developed in the UK before WW2 and brought to Australia for testing for potential war time rough land use.

This is a Ford. It looks like the one in the Movie Paper Moon.

Then a section on the Cannonball Run. The first and last one. One car came into a check point too fast and killed the two occupants and two officials.

There is a memorial on the road side where it happened.

This was the tip of the iceberg for this amazing museum. We have not done it justice here.

On to the next day …

Saturday, 3rd of October.

Slow day. Bit of shopping waiting for Phillip and Ann to arrive after lunch-ish. They are doing an ‘imoova’. That is vehicle relocation. They are bringing a sedan from Adelaide to Alice Springs and a couple of days later, a motor home back down to Adelaide.

An afternoon of menial tasks and a night out with Phillip and Ann to the Confucius Palace Dumpling Restaurant, just out the back door of the hotel they were staying at. Cheap-ish, clean and only $2.50 corkage for a bottle of wine.

Sunday, 4th of October,.

In the mean time on the free day, we take a tour to Hermannsburg, (an eye opener) Albert Namatjira’s house, Ormiston Gorge, Serpentine Gorge etc

Standley Chasm. We saw it about three months ago but this trike wasn’t there.

Memorial to Albert Namatjura.

Hermannsburg.

The old historical zone being upgraded for tourism.

The Cemetery. A history lesson in itself. Lutheran brothers established the mission hence, German names do feature.

General Store.

A previous sign says 3.5 million dollars to ‘Turbo-charging Tourism.’

Here are the public toilets below.

I will respectfully suggest, do not spend one damn cent on building. Spend all of it on education with repetitive, repetitive, repetitive and supervised, supervised, supervised, forced lessons on cleanliness and respect for self, other persons and ALL private and public property.

Until that theme is indoctrinated into the users of these facilities, the place is NO WHERE AT ALL. Just a waste of time, money and effort. The whole town is dirty, shabby, rubbish strewn and wrecked.

Time for someone to grow up and attack the REAL problem with relentless enforcement. (That should bring the do-gooders out of the wood work.)

Believe it or not, this is my positive statement. If all I say is enforced, Hermannsburg can be a show piece. No halfways here. The whole way. No exceptions. If you do not do the hard yards and ‘wimp out’ it will always be an embarrassment instead of a tourism Jewel.

Gentlemen??? My wife told me the ‘Ladies’ were similar.

Albert Namatjura’s house.

Ha!

Wild horses?

Glen Helen CLOSED

Ormiston Gorge OPEN.

This is a great elevated camp area atop a rise. Not one sign telling anyone it exists. A secret place.

That night, we decide dinner should be the closest, cheapest, cleanest restaurant, with low corkage yet again. Dumplings!

 

Monday, 5th October.

Phillip and Ann drop the hire car off at the airport and we pick them up.

A strange event. It s raining!

An easy day and a lunch with friends. To The Gillen Club. Phillip Ann, my Anne and me, Lou and Mick. Unfortunately Rob could not make it due to a home problem. Specifically, hot water service.

Rain!

We happy folk.

This splash skirting is held up in the front left wheel well of my car, with two plastic expanding studs. The significance of this is that Mick spotted it and told me what I needed and where to get it. It was taken care of immediately after lunch. I usually just go home and take it easy after lunch.

Now on our third and last night with Phillip and Ann, we decide to go somewhere close, clean, cheap-ish and have a low corkage. Yep Dumplings.

A good day.

Tomorrow, Phillip and Ann are off south working their way to Adelaide and we are hitching up to head south sort of wandering.

Cheers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday, 29th September to Thursday, 1st October 2020

We are here for a while.

Love the town.

Right in the heart of the city, you can see ANZAC hill.

However, as seen before, you cannot buy booze till after 2pm.

See photo below.

AND … if you want the magic elixir PORT (or any cask) , you can only get one bottle per person  per day and after 6pm with a security check (drivers license) and a police Interview.

Brilliant motor bike trailer camper.

This is a drive away camper on the back of a ute. Clever. That is it is on top of the car but you can jack it up a bit and drive the car away. Sort of like detaching.

Trees. Lots of stuff.

It reads, ‘The BALD and the beautiful.’ True Love.

The OLD Alice Springs telegraph station. Below is a bike tyre repair kit. Tools hanging on cables and compressed air line.

This tree has been here as long as the station.

Just simply amazing. What they went through is unbelievable, and the sad thing is a century of hard work has now been blown away through technology. However, NEVER forget the pain and work and heartache our fore fathers went through to get us here.

Now … we will talk about … be polite? A thoughtless daughter? No. How About A BITCH daughter that made her mum, with walker, hobble SLOWLY for about 100metres in the heat across to where she/daughter had decided they will sit. POOR MUM, crawled along for spurts of 3 metres before spelling and swaying. SLAG BITCH DAUGHTER. After the inheritance perhaps?

of 

On on.

A play with the weigh bridge.

Other stuff. Shopping, Bunnings, drinks with the next door neighbours, for about the fifth night.

Glenn gave us frankfurters with tomato sauce. Smooth caterer. Not bad for a Vietnam vet.

Cheers.