Desert wildflowers

We have been incredibly lucky with the unusual weather on our trip.  As a result of a wetter than usual dry season and higher temperatures than average,  the desert wildflowers have been spectacular. Local botanists are excited to see flowers that haven't bloomed in 30 years!

We don't have much to compare it with,  but have enjoyed the beautiful flowers in unexpected places. 

Mataranka

Mataranka is in a remote part of the Northern Territory known as The Never Never (after the book “We of the Never Never” by Jeanne Gunn.) It's most famous however, for its hot springs.

There are two hot springs open for swimming in the area -  Mataranka Thermal pool which is a swimming pool, with stone sides and a white sandy bottom. The other is Bitter Springs: a natural flowing creek with submerged logs,  vegetation along the sides,  fish and turtles,  and turquoise blue water. Both are 34 degrees celsius.

We elected to stay at the Bitter Springs caravan park and were extremely impressed with the natural beauty.  Our site was tucked into the rainforest,  so very private but just a short walk to amenities. We had wallabies hopping through our camp morning and evening,  an almost unbelievable amount of bird life,  and were visited every night by fruit bats,  who would squabble noisily for the best position in the tree.

We alternated each day between visiting Bitter Springs (parent's favourite) and Mataranka thermal pool (kid's choice).  A couple of days we even did both on the same day!

Swimming at Bitter Springs involves hopping into the spring at the top area,  preferably with a flotation device (we had pool noodles) and floating downstream in the current,  hopping out at the exit point,  walking back up the path to the beginning and going down again.

Initially there was some anxiety about avoiding logs and wondering exactly what was below the surface but relaxing in the warm water worked it's charm,  and soon we were all floating like pros.

Luka was keen to try out his snorkelling gear and was thrilled to discover the beauty and magic below the surface.  He was lucky enough to see quite a few large turtles.

The thermal pool at Mataranka was originally built by visiting soldiers in World War 2 and has a far more man-made feel.  The children definitely preferred it,  as they could both see,  and stand on the bottom.

Their swimming improved immensely in the five days we stayed

It was a wonderful relaxing time where the kids were bike riding and swimming,  and we all enjoyed the differences between the desert we had recently left and the tropical rainforest. The high temperature and humidity made the swimming even more welcome,  with temperatures averaging 38 degrees celsius during the day and 26 degrees over night. 

Alice Springs

We arrived in Alice Springs looking forward to a longer stay in one place,  with all the amenities we might need and probably won't see again for quite some time!

We decided to book in to a caravan park for 7 days and couldn't help noticing an increasing number of hotrods and muscle cars as we drove in to town. When I casually requested an unpowered site for 7 nights,  the caravan park owner asked if I was aware that Red Centre Nats car expo was starting that evening and the whole town is booked out! Luckily for us,  a last minute cancellation meant we got the very last site! After setting up camp,  we walked down to the highway and watched the car parade.  There were some very impressive vehicles but Stella found the loud revving too scary.

In addition to the mundane but very important jobs such as laundry,  grocery shopping, car servicing, visiting the book exchange and buying some hardware and electronics,  we were able to make the most of our time exploring the area.

The kids were very interested in our visit to the School of the Air,  where we were able to see how children in remote areas have their lessons and we watched a preschool class.

We also enjoyed visiting the Royal Flying Doctor service where we watched a film about the history and current work of the RFDS,  and had the opportunity to sit in an actual aeroplane cockpit.  It's very reassuring to know that even in the most remote areas of Australia there is a doctor and paramedic with a flying intensive care unit only a few hours away.

Father's day was celebrated with pancakes cooked on the gas bbq,  then a trip to the aviation museum.  We all enjoyed seeing the old planes up close and learning how important small planes are to the remote properties.

Our favourite attraction was the Alice Springs Desert Park. We attended the Birds flying free demonstration, where a Ranger showed off the flying and hunting skills of various birds including a barn owl,  kite,  bustard,  falcon and heron. We learned a lot at a Desert Survival session which covered bush tucker,  bush medicine,  weapons,  tracking and local culture. In addition,  we saw many beautiful wildflowers,  colourful birds,  lizards,  dingoes ,  emus and kangaroos.

Our final day in Alice Springs involved a 90 min drive into the West MacDonnell Ranges to Ormiston Gorge. An easy 10 min walk from the car park saw us in the most spectacular rock gorge with a rock pool at the bottom,  surrounded by stunning ghost gum trees. We had a picnic lunch on the bank of the water hole then in the water for some paddling.  A few people were swimming, including a school group,  but it was far too cold for us!

The next morning saw us driving north again,  where we stopped at Devil's Marbles for some photos before setting up camp at a historic windmill and well further up the road. 

Kings Canyon

It was with a mixture of excited anticipation and nervousness that we approached the Kings Canyon Rim walk.  Excitement because of the spectacular scenery and great reviews of the 6.5km moderately difficult walk. Nervous because it would be the longest and most challenging walk we have attempted as a family.

We set off early to avoid the heat,  but the cloudy sky had us carrying raincoats and thankful for the cool change.

The initial stage of the walk is a 600m climb up a rock staircase which is extremely steep. Luka and Freya handled it with ease,  scrambling up eagerly,  not hampered in the slightest by their backpacks.

At the top a misty rain began but didn't dampen our enthusiasm. The track was uneven but fairly flat with amazing views of the cliffs and surrounding areas.

At the halfway point a very steep descent on a wooden staircase takes you to the waterhole aptly named “Garden of Eden”.  A rainforest type environment with lush plant life,  frogs and birds is a stark contrast to the surrounding bare rockfaces.

What goes down must go back up (or something like that!) so we climbed another steep staircase to reach the top of the southern canyon wall.

By this stage, almost everyone overtaking us commented on how well the children were doing or how great it was to see a family tackling the walk together.

By now the misty rain had become a heavy downpour and despite our raincoats,  we were soaked. Stella had prime position in the front pack, tucked inside Mummy's raincoat,  warm and dry,  and slept on and off for the whole walk.

Our descending paths had turned into waterfalls and flat areas into huge puddles,  adding to the challenge. We kept our spirits high by reminding each other what a tremendous adventure we were having. That and plenty of yummy snacks.

After a final rock staircase we made our way back to the car park 3.5 hours later chilly and soaked but justifiably proud of our achievement.

Uluru and Kata Tjuta

Our first glimpse of Uluru was very exciting and prompted a discussion about distance affecting perception of size.  “No,  Uluru is not tiny,  it's actually huge,  but quite far away!” We stayed in a free camp tucked behind some red sand dunes,  which had views of Uluru from the top. The first evening we climbed the dunes to watch the sunset and were rewarded with a stunning display  of changing colour on the rock.

Next morning we set our alarm and set off up the dunes again to watch the sunrise.  The vibrant pinks, reds and orange made the dunes appear to be on fire. After breakfast we excitedly raced to the Kata Tjuta -  Uluru National park and purchased a three day family pass for $65. We drove to Uluru and decided to drive around it first,  to get an overview.  It's sheer size is incredible and difficult to appreciate in photos.  It is even more remarkable when you appreciate that Uluru is not a mountain,  but one single rock (a monolith),  much of which is below the surface of the ground! After driving about two-thirds of the way around,  we stopped at the Kuniya walk,  an easy one hour return which lead to a waterhole.

There were many interesting and informative signs about the trees and bushes (many of which were edible) and the cultural significance of the area.  We enjoyed learning about the training period the young boys would go through and how the grandfathers and older men would teach them hunting skills.

We saw a cave where the women and children sheltered while the men were on their hunting expeditions and had a close look at the cave paintings they left behind.

The waterhole was beautiful,  a small oasis,  and hugely important to the aboriginal people,  as permanent sources of drinking water were rare.

After our walk we visited the Cultural centre to learn more about the history and significance of Uluru.  We had the opportunity to watch some artists creating dot paintings and browse the arts and crafts which were for sale.

Following that,  we drove to the nearby town of Yulara for some cake to celebrate Stella's 2nd birthday and then a quick visit to the camel farm.

That evening we had the pleasure of sharing our campfire with an extraordinary gentleman named Klaus Menzel.  Now 68 years old,  Klaus has been travelling the world (including extensive exploration of Australia) by bicycle,  foot,  and camel-drawn wagon for the past thirty years. He averages 20-25,000km every year. As you may expect,  he had many amazing stories and kept us entertained and inspired.  

The next morning was raining heavily,  so we headed back to Uluru,  keen to see the difference. We were incredibly fortunate to see waterfalls cascading down the rock in every crevice.  Obviously,  in such an arid region,  this is a rare sight and we couldn't believe our good luck.  We repeated the same walk as the previous day but were now hopping around and over large puddles and the dry creekbeds were full and overflowing.

The biggest difference was the waterhole. Yesterday it had been a tranquil pool,  a true oasis in the desert. Now it was a furious churning mass of water,  fed by the myriad cascades,  all desperately trying to escape through the narrow outlet to a newly formed river.

As well as being a truly awe inspiring experience, this provided fantastic teaching opportunities regarding the water cycle,  erosion,  seasons and weather.

We returned to our campsite and the children had great fun digging canals,  moats and dams to divert the water away from our campsite.

The sun returned the next day and even the deepest puddles had completely disappeared. After charging up the solar panels and washing all the muddy clothes,  we drove into the National park again,  but this time turned west and drove the 45mins from Uluru to Kata Tjuta (the Olgas).  Kata Tjuta means ‘many heads’ in the local Anangu aboriginal language,  and looking at the dome shaped rocks,  it's easy to see why.

The main walking track is the “Valley of the Winds” and we set off towards the lookout with the intention of taking it slowly and seeing how the kids managed. We reached the first lookout easily and quickly decided to continue. At this point,  the track changes from ‘moderate’ to ‘challenging’ due to a very steep descent covered with loose rocks.  We carefully picked our way down (with Stella in the baby carrier) and were rewarded with a gorgeous stream at the bottom to paddle hot,  tired feet. The trees were filled with green budgies chattering loudly, while a pair of frogs called to each other with a noise which sounded like knocking on hollow wood “tock,  tock,  tock”. Refreshed,  we clambered back to the top just in time for some beautiful sunset photos of Uluru on our way home to the camp.

Coober Pedy

On arrival at Coober Pedy we set up camp by the creek then immediately set out to sample the highly recommended award winning John's Pizza.  The kids and I really enjoyed ours but Mats was underwhelmed.

Before we could explore the sights,  we had  important house keeping to take care of,  so our morning was spent at the laundromat,  showering at the service station and stocking up on groceries. That taken care of,  we took a picnic lunch to the playground.  It is a fantastic facility, fairly new with three separate areas: a skate bowl,  a playground for older children and a separate playground for small children which had 8 foot high pool fencing and gate.  Both playgrounds were undercover with huge shelter sheds to provide shade. There was also an automated talking toilet,  which Luka and Freya found hysterically funny.

After some play time we visited Umoona Underground Museum and explored their exhibits on the history of Coober Pedy and Opal mining and an impressive collection of fossils.  The kids were astounded to learn that there was a sea in the centre of Australia long ago,  as evidenced by the many shell fossils found in the area. 
We then drove to the outskirts of town to visit Tom's Working Mine.  We elected for the cheaper self-guided tour,  concerned that the hour long guided tour might be too long and involved to hold the kids attention.  The guide very kindly offered to give us a short modified tour suited to kids.  We learned so much about mining (old-time and modern techniques),  geology and how the local underground homes are dug. On our way out we had a lovely chat to the elderly owners who kindly gave Luka and Freya a piece of white opal each and let them fossick through a tray of small chips of coloured opal.  They both loved it,  and Luka especially found it quite addictive! 
After that we quickly raced back into town to Josephine's Kangaroo Orphanage for the evening feeding session. 
We hand fed some former orphans who are now adults and watched a tiny joey have a bottle of milk. Freya was completely smitten but luckily understood that a kangaroo could never be happy as a house pet! 
The following day we visited Faye's Underground home. Faye was a very inspiring woman,  who sadly passed away exactly 12 mths prior to our visit.  As a young woman Faye became disenchanted by city life in Melbourne and moved to Coober Pedy with her friend.  Over a period of 10 years Faye and two female friends dug the entire 3 bedroom home by hand with picks and shovels. They even dug a swimming pool but it was too cold to use as it is not warmed by the sun. 
Coober Pedy is an extraordinary town.  Totally unique in it's geographic features,  lifestyle and culture. In the recent past they have had problems with alcohol,  which has created a negative reputation and,  as a result, have introduced very strict rules concerning purchasing and consumption of alcohol with some success. 
We really enjoyed our stay and found,  without exception,  every one of the locals we interacted with were exceptionally helpful and pleasant.