Billy's Camps No. 12, 13 and 14, In The Red Centre.

9/05/2012

Camp No. 12, Watarrka Nat Park, Kings Canyon Resort Caravan park.

I left Uluru on 30th April and traveled back along Lasseter Hwy and turned onto Luritja Road, a drive of about 300k's, no towns.
Stayed in my first ever powered site !!
Kings Canyon, like The Grampians, is hard to recreate with a camera, so I havn't posted many pics.

This is Hiro from Japan, I met him at Kings Canyon, although he posted this pic as being at Uluru in his blog called Greengreenboxes. It is interesting and WELL worth a look

These guys come and go as they please, they are wild.

Quite majestic, I think.

This is the start of the walk, again the pic dosnt tell the story, its a heart starter. If you zoom in you'll see other walkers half way up.

Deceptive eh !

Would have been a good pic

The Garden of Eden, more permanent water.

This slip looks like it could have just happened, but it was in 1932.

This Cycad is about 400 yrs old.

This is a code....."great view nearby, the closer you get to the cliff edge the better the view "

Kathleen Springs

Sturt Desert Pea, growing on the side of the road.

The seed pods.

Camp No. 13 Finke Gorge Nat Park, Palm Valley

I left Kings Canyon on 2/05/12 and traveled via Mereenie Loop road. It passes through Aboriginal land and a permit is required. Not sure why. It was about 200 k's of dirt and I enjoyed the change. Again the camper was good. A light smear of dust was all that was inside, and it handled the corrigations and dust well. This led to Hermannsburg, Albert Namatjira's birth place. The turn to Palm Valley is just before Hermannsburg and the road is 4WD and suitable campers.

Mereenie loop signage

Tick off wild horses, but no camels yet !

Albert Namatjira's House

The road in

Electric grid

The camp site

Another Billy sunset

The road from the camp to Palm Valley, bent the Hilux's running boards :)

Looking down on Palm Valley

Red Cabbage Palm and Gum, side by side.

The next ones of these guys growing naturally is in QLD 800 k's away.

Black Flanked rock wallaby

They rely on their rock hopping skills to escape the dingos, great to watch when they are on the move.

This story was on another walk near Palm Valley

If I remember from Uluru correctly these guys are poisonous to eat.

...flowers of all sorts and sizes, this one is about 10mm wide

The view at the end of the story, looking towards Palm Valley

Camp No. 14
West MacDonnell Nat Park - Ormiston Gorge
I left Palm Valley on 4/05/12 and backtracked slightly to cross over to Namatjira Drive, a short drive of 130 k's, but it takes time to get out of Palm Valley.
Ormiston Gorge is part of a walk called The Ormiston Pound walk, the pics below are of the gorge area and mainly of ghost gums and the rock formations. The gorge was facinating to sit and look and listen.

On the plains leading to the gorge

Sooooo many boulders just sitting, waiting...

Spinifex Pidgeons

To put things in perspective, this ghost gum would be 15-20 m high....

...this is the same tree on the ridge

Ochre pits on the way to Alice Springs.....

Ellery Creek Big Hole

Ditto

Well, I'm now in Alice Springs and I am going to hang out here for awhile and contemplate the next step, just bought a map, and I can see water on it, The Gulf of Carpentaria to be exact......mmmmm....maybe.....

Oh, 9,500k's traveled to date and 10 weeks is up. Petrol is at $1.68/l in Alice, I paid $2.16 at Kings Canyon and I now dont gaf :) 

Ooroo,

Bill(y)