We arrived in Newcastle on another rainy morning but all was good as Vanny passed her inspection, which we were very relieved about. We went for a celebratory swim at the Newcastle Ocean Baths (just me and Matt not Vanny), but don't let the sunny photo deceive you, there was a cool breeze so it was a quick dip. After, we wandered along to Nobbys lighthouse watching the rain clouds ascend on us again. We drove down the coast to stop at Norah Head for the night, but as we arrived in the rain the driverside window, which had always been a bit dodgy, decided to detach from its winding mechanism. We managed to get the glass mostly into position for the night but this was our new next day priority. We woke to a clearer morning by the sea treating us to wonderful rainbow which was a welcome splash of colour! Then we were off to buy some pliers to fix our winding window. It took a while but the window is fixed, we've just got to be a bit gentle with it. We had a campsite booked in P...
We made it out of Croydon the next day! It was close however. The reported level of the river the next morning was 'Water 200mm below bridge and rising. Expected to be over soon'. With the river being about an hours drive away we set off with crossed fingers! When we reached the bridge the water was definitely over, thankfully not enough to stop us, but soon would have been. Back on the road we stopped for a bit of bird spotting at Cumberland Chimney, our only spots being a Australian Bustard and a Nankeen Night Heron, then later on we walked up Kalkani Crater Lookout. The latter is in the Undara Volcanic National Park, which is home to some cool lava tube formations but as it's the low season we couldn't visit these. It's good for us to keep moving anyway! After spending the night for free at a random little spot behind a petrol station in Mount Garnet, we made it into the Atherton Tablelands. There was a relieving drop in temperature and we'd managed to just...
We said our goodbyes to Carlotta the Camel and hit the open road again to Alice Springs. We needed to pop to a shop so headed straight into the Northern Territorys third largest settlement, but definitely most remote, being 1500km from both Darwin and Adelaide. We'd been warned about Alice Spring, the town has recently received negative press due to social issues leading to increased crime rates and violence. However, it's impossible to avoid as you head up the middle of Australia on it's one road. We headed west however, into the West MacDonnell Ranges, a mountain range with plenty of gorges which are great for a swim, before we get into Crocodile country. Ou first stop was Simpsons Gap which is popular with Rock Wallabys but I think was a bit too hot for them so we didn't spot any. We then carried on to Ellery Creek Big Hole, which is a permanent water hole so we were very much looking forward to a dip. We did then see our first bit of rain for a while which we were ...
Fantastic pictures you have a gift Matt.
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