Monday 21st June 2010
Phoned round mechanics early morning and asked if any had alternators? All said they would probably have to order in from Darwin, so Tall and Small probably faced a long stay in Katherine. Small remembered the Elliot man mentioned a wreckers to try for parts in Katherine and we phoned them. They said he had one and could fix it all inclusive for $190. Drove to him and he was a bit of an arsehole but after an hour or so (while Tall and Small wondered around the very bare industrial estate reading advertising) he fixed it and all seemed good.
Drove on heading to Darwin by lunch time. Through Pine Creek and Adelaide River which all seemed to be set on fire by the council, and was still charred and smoking. Arrived in Darwin to find it still had a very humid, tropical heat in winter at 30 degrees. The caravan park ended up costing $72 for two nights? It was a strange caravan park with a lot of tropical trees about, and a man standing by the gravel road who seemed to be hosing down the gravel (saw him doing this at 4pm and later at 9pm?). Caught the bus to the centre as the park was still 8km out. Driver could not change a $20 so let us on for free. Had a meal in a bar and a drink and had planned to meet German Tino from Tauranga, Just the Ducks Nuts hostel. Noticed the last bus back was 8pm, and we could not find the bus stop. After asking a petrol station for directions to the bus eventually we found it when a tramp stopped us and asked if we were lost. We tried to get rid of him but finally he told us where the bus stop was. Got the bus back to the park (as we got off the bus and said thankyou to the driver the woman getting off the bus responded by saying 'thats okay?) then we drove back to town in Tony to meet Tino. Met him for one drink in the V Bar which was riducously noisy upstairs. The town seemed full of only three types of people, young backpackers, aborginals and middled aged Australian men walking about on there own. Went back to Tony to drive back to the Caravan park just in time to see some automated sprinklers on the green come on and suprise two couple who were sat on the grass.
Sunday 20th June 2010
Car started alright at rest area and headed on towards Katherine. Halfway there stopped for petrol at small place called Elliot. The van wouldn't start. Roadhouse owner told us a garage was down the rooad and phoned him to be told to call him through the NRMA to avoid call out fee (as it was sunday and he was shut). That went well having to walk between phone boxes as there was no mobile signal. While we waited for the mechanic to come went into the other roadhouse and brought a magnet and posted postcards, noticing the two rough middle aged men behind the counter sold Shirley Temple DVDs and Will Kits.
The mechanic turned up, he limped very badly and even had crutches on the back of his truck. He was an old boy who every time he bent over revealed this hideously, pale wrinkly arse. He swapped the battery for a new and chargedus $150. Then told us the battery was probably fine, it was just flat.... it was actually the alternator broken as was not re-charging the battery as we drove. We followed him to his garage which was covered with (victims'?) number plates from across the world. He told us there he could not fix it but said we may have enough battery to get to Katherine where they'd be a better chance of getting an alternator. Managed to make it to Katherine where we booked into a caravan park run by a very slow talking man who gave us directions to mechanics. Had a well needed shower and some well needed laundry was done. Went to bed planning to phone round early tomorrow morning.
Saturday 19th June 2010
Stopped in Alice Springs and paid $88 for the chip on the windscreen to be glued and filled. Then went to another garage to fix the horn where a very old, disheveled man in a moth eaten leather jacket lay under the car mumbling for five minutes until the horn started working and he didn't know why, and asked for $25 minimum payment. Left Alice quickly stopping to look for the famous original Telegraph Station that started it all? Couldn't find it and didn't try to hard and left heading north. Had battery problems all the way up, car very slow to start and battery light on then off then on again, then clicking very loudly on off on off! Bit worrying, but mad eit to Three Ways road house where it would not start again after filling up. Got a jump start from a shaved headed man with two dogs in cages in the back of his yute. Wasn't sure whether to go forward or back on the trip, if we'd make it Katherine (a bigger town) to get the battery fixed, or if we should turn back to the small and rough Tennant Creek. Went on heading north but had to keep the lights off to save battery, which got a bit of a worry as we raced againgst the sun set. Finally (after driving 750km) stayed at the Stuar/t Rest Area and were on some road we had not been on before after doubling back all that way from Uluru.
Friday 18th June 2010
Woken up at Curtin Springs by a father shouting out his son 'BENJI Get out of that car don't you touch it till you've done the washing up... BENJI!'. Left heading towards Kings Canyon behind a road train which was dropping plastic buckets off the back all over the road but never stopped. Heading up the Kings Canyon road had a stone fly up and chip Tonys windshield. We then stopped to put in oil as the light had come on and smoke bellowed out once we put it into the hot engine not knowing your supposed to wait for it to cool down. The battery had also started to play up with slow starts in the morning as well as this same day the horn stopped working and the rusty holes got worse above the drivers head, and started flaking all over the steering wheel.... Tony seemed ot be falling apart.
Made it to Kings Canyon (Watarrka) however, and it was very impressive, different to Blue Mountains. Big loop track round the top, starting with a very very steep climb which killed tall and small. Overtook an old couple, then another old couple from Coober Peedy who had to rest for half an hour, then over took a young family arguing that the wife didn't want to detour to a lookout when it all lookd the same, past another old couple on a bridge over the Garden of Eden. The Garden of Eden turned out to just be a few ferns and some stagnant looking black water. In the end over took 9 different groups of people and got round the 6km track in an hour and a half when it said 3-4 hours. Though it was not a race we had won.
Leaving Kings Canyon saw loads of Camels just roaming free by side of the road and past a group of Aboriginals camping round a fire who all cheerily waved. Stopped at the Kings Canyon and Uluru road junction to hang some old boxer shorts on a tree alread covered with some. Stayed at a rest area back on Stuart Highway heading north again. A lot of these free 24 hour rest areas don't have toilets and so we had to watch out for all the shitty screwed up toilet paper blowing round in the long grass and any suspicious holes. We lit a fire for the first time since blue mountains, which turned out very good considering there was only small thin bushes about to burn. A Belgium girl joined us from the car next door while her boyfriend stayed in the tent. She told us about here travels down south, and how at these rest areas she had previously had a poo in a hole and buried it only to find a kangaroo had dug it up over night.
Thursday 17th June 2010
Drove down to the Olgas (Kata Tjuata) which were this impressve heap of huge rocks (taller than Uluru), but were not quite as impressive close up. People were out with their bee keeper hats on, and we saw hy when all the flies landed on our faces. Walked up the gorge track but stopped halfway as it seemed to go nowhere. Asked a woman coming back up the track if there was anythiny worth seeing down the track, she said 'sure! Wildflowers! Loads of wildflowers!' wasn't what we were expecting her to say in a huge valley of impressive rocks.
Then over to the base of Uluru itself where people were climbing up to the top despite the big sign saying please do not climb as disrespectful to aborginals who hold this rock as very very sacred. For some reason the national park still maintained this (still somewhat flimsy and unsafe) walking track despite it being disrespectful. Tall and small did not go up, but they did the loop track. It was advertised as 10km to take 3.5 hours, it only took 2. Ten minutes into the base walk they came ot a sign saying 'sacred site please do not take photos' Tall one though fair enough and put down his camera. Then 20 metres later another sign, then another then another then he didn't bother holding back the photos anymore as every part of the rock seemed sacred.
Left Yulara after that, only having paid for one nights after finding out it was $47 a night! Stayed at the free camp ground at the Curtin Springs among the free emus where there seemed to be three other Mitsubishi camper vans around us.
Wednesday 16th June 2010
Headed off early to Uluru and the Yulara Caravan Park / Resort. Driving down Lasseters highway past red sand dunes and driving smack into flocks of little green parrots that just seem to fly infront of moving cars. Nobody seemed to wave on this highway either.
Tall and Small were keeping an eye out for Uluru from a distance, and thought they saw it and stopped to take photos. Turned out it was Mt Conner? Stopped at Curtin Springs roadhouse where an emu roamed free among the petrol pumps. Continued up the highway and past the large 'No Alchol or Pornography past this point' signs.
Arrived at Yulara resort where they had once applied for work and failed. Dotted around in a circle around a lookout hill was various hotels and campsites and restaurants of different standards and a little shopping courtyard which wasn't all that expensive. Drove into Uluru to see the sunset on the rock and stopped at the Uluru Cultural Centre and Aboriginal gallery/shop. A woman seemed to be walking around the gallery talking to herself saying 'and then there's these ltitle red birds that seem to go home to their little nests just here....'. Not sure if she was describing the paintings or what? In the shop itself Tall one brought a dodgy wobbly lizard and a colourful beanie both hand made by aboriginals. It keeps them busy at least as the majority of the ones they had seen so far were lingering around in dodgy cars with smashed windscreens (seemingly cars they just abondon all up the highway when they break down). When tall one brought the wooden lizard the old lady behind the counter wrapped him up and said i'll put this list of instruction in with him telling you how to look after him? Did I need to feed this things? At least it only cost $30 as looking at some scraggly child like art work on a piece of loose canvas the price was $800??
Stopped at Uluru Sunset lookout and watched as more and more people gradually turned up to block our view of the rock, including a mini bus of ginger and asian people who should have been at the bus lookout. As the sun went down the colours of the rock changed from brown to sandy to bright orange and red then to dark brown, so did the ginger guys hair as well for that matter.
Back to Yulara and went to the Pioneer BBQ Bar where you pay ridiculous prices for a piece of meat and BBQ it yourself, but at least get free all you can eat salad bar. Small one cooked a chicken breast for $25 and Tall one had a $27 Aussia package of Emu sausages, Beef sauasages, Kangaroo shish kebab and Crocodile shish kebab. To get their moneys worth they stuffed four jacket potatoes into their pockets, and took too much bread and butter pudding and custard which they weren't too sure if it was included with the free salad bar or not.
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