Central Australia Bound

After our COVID jabs were complete we hit the Stuart highway on our way to the red centre. Our first point of call was Daly Waters. What an absolute cracker of a place this is!!! Aussie character and charm to the max is the only way to describe this place. Check out the photos below and you will understand!

After that we free camped a couple of nights on the way to Gem tree homestead which is 140ks north east of Alice springs just off the Plenty highway which takes you all the way to the Qld border. We thought 2 nights should do it here however we loved it so much we extended it to a week. We caught up on some campfire cooking, reading and family time. It’s a very spacious campground with power and unpowered sites. We went unpowered due to our new mega load of power! Our power never dropped out and we had unlimited electricity because the sun would top it right up before happy hour. We could run everything as if we were plugged into the wall including aircon or microwave and yet no generator to haul around and run.

If you visit Gemtree make sure you try the famous vanilla slice they are to die for. Lyndon reckons they’d be the best in the country. We’ll have to try other competitors to find out 🤤

On our way to Alice Springs we decided to take a section of the Binns track route which is a 4wd track. The track runs from the SA border to Timber creek near Kununurra and is around 2200kms. It was definitely worth the detour the scenery was spectacular. Very rough going and remote. We arrived in Alice at 6pm that evening, definitely a big day for us.

After a quick 2 night stay in Alice Springs to top up, we set off to the West Macdonnell Ranges. It’s got to be one of my top highlights for the NT so far. Stanley Chasm was magnificent you have to pay something like $12 per adult to access the chasm as the funds go to keeping the place in tact. It has a cafe along with a small camping area which we did not stay at. It was an easy walk into the chasm the colours it presents at an hour of each side of noon is best. You get to witness the real raw beauty.

Simpson’s Gap was another easy walk and less commercialised, no cafe or camp ground just the beautiful rock formation with plenty of white gums amongst the gap. Ormiston Gorge was again lovely however not as pretty as the others. Elerey Creek Big Hole is a great swimming spot if the weather is warm enough we didn’t attempt a swim as it was too cold. However it’s a great spot to relax on the bank and take it all in.

We camped at a beautiful rest stop for our first night which looked out over the West MacDonnell Ranges, sunset was amazing see the photos below.

Another place we visited was the Orche Pits it’s an important part of the aboriginal culture and is used in everyday life. The pits are earthy colours ranging from white,yellow,brown, orange and red. The aboriginals use these rocks for face painting for many ceremonies.

For the next 5 nights we stayed at 2 mile camp on the Finke river. It’s a free camp where you can perch up on the riverbed. Not only idyllic but peaceful. You could also swim in the river which was extremely refreshing you could say. We really enjoyed it here especially Lowana she had a ball in the water making mud cakes and homes for her toy animals. It was a great place to enjoy perfect weather right on the water.