Uluru and Kata Tjuta.

Uluru and Kata Tjuta were the next spots Jen and I wanted to tick of our long and ever growing list of place to visit.  I don't think i could write any words that would do this area justice - it is breathtaking!

It is heartwarming to visit a region where aboriginal culture is so very alive.  It is an aural pleasure hearing people speak language.  

Desert blooms.

The road leading to the heart of Australia - you can just make out Uluru 

on the horizon.

About 60 km's out we scored our first stone chip.

50km's from our destination we got our first fleeting glimpse of Uluru between the dunes.

This is what we came all this way to see.

Us and the every growing horde of sunset spectators.

The changing colours of the rock are unbelievable - it happens so quickly.

Another snap for the family photo album.

On the road to Kata Tjuta.

At 600m, these domes stand almost twice as high as Uluru.

A couple of residents we spied on the Valley of the Winds walk.

Another happy snap at the Karingana lookout.

One of the massive domes at Kata Tjuta.

The little bloke and I on the trail.

More to come......

Kings Canyon.

Our next destination was Kings Canyon.  After a couple of hundred km's of bitumen we hooked a right hand turn to take a shortcut between the Stuart highway and the bottom of the Mereenie loop. Our detour knocked off about 280km's of blacktop in favour of 100km's of dirt on the Ernest Giles road.

Airing down and trying to dust seal the van.

Looks promising.

Some random in the backseat pulling faces ;-)

Beats driving on the blacktop any day!

The corrugations claim it's first victim - a nut on one of the spotlights.  

These things will shake your teeth loose!

Our little campsite at Kings Creek Station - Great spot!

It's a steep incline to start off the rim walk at the canyon.

After catching our breath we posed for a family photo at the top of the Canyon.

The views on the rim walk are amazing.

The garden of Eden.

More to come..........

Territory goes off with a bang!

We had planned to leave Alice Springs a day or two before the 1st of July, but after chatting with the locals we decided to hang around to see what this Territory day business is all about.  It helped when I found out fireworks were legal to purchase and use on this one day of the year! Talk about a kid in a candy store - my first fireworks shopping experience was AWESOME.  The variety and availability of these little bundles of fun is astounding, there was a vendor on just about every street in Alice.  After careful consideration the kids and i walked out with a big box of fun and a very nervous Mum in tow.  One quick stop on the way back to the van park to grab some hearing protection for the kids and we were away!

The Macdonnell Range caravan park had set up a bonfire in a spare block next to the park for everyone to come and try.

Now that's a fire!

Caitlin nervously trying her hand at throwing a little banger.

One of our crackers going off!

For obvious reasons this edition of the blog is a little light on pics.  We were having way too much fun to stop and take snaps.  I'm also happy to report the night was incident free, apart from my thumb which was covered in blisters from lighting fuses, and everyone had a ball! 

Definitely a night to remember.

West Macs and Chambers Pillar Pt 2

Ormiston Gorge was our first stop the next day, it's not hard to lose a few days around here - there's that many places to visit within two hours of Alice Springs.

Jen taking in the view from the Ormiston Gorge lookout.

Ormiston gorge.

Serpentine Gorge.

The next day we decided to take a drive out to Chambers Pillar which is in the North Western corner of the Simpson Desert.

Airing down at 430am for the 300 odd km return trip on dirt.

It's well worth the early start when you are rewarded with a view like this at sunrise.

Sunrise team photo at Chambers Pillar. 

Cooking breakfast in the desert.

We even got four double yolkers in a row!

Making tracks.

Alice and the West Macdonnell Ranges Pt 1

Alice Springs was our base for the next few days.  We set up at the Macdonnell Range Big 4 caravan park and opted for an ensuite site - It is that cold out here i thought it'd be a good investment to have endless hot water at our disposal!  The park itself is great - friendly, clean and good playgrounds for the kids.  It looks to be the nicest one in town and we'd recommend it if you're ever out this way.

The town itself has a weird feel to it,  I don't think i've ever seen so many police in such a small town.  They're everywhere - walking through supermarkets, shopping centres, car parks....everywhere.  That said, it's a good spot to resupply but we didn't come to Alice for the town.  The Macdonnell range was what this stop is about and there is so much to see around here.

Simpsons Gap

Palm valley was the next spot i wanted to hit after reading so much about the place.  The sign was an added bonus, it was good to do some four wheel driving after 1700 odd km's of blacktop.

Driving through Cycad Gorge on the way in.

Even the view in the mirrors was good.

We loved the colour of the sand out here - it sparkles in the sunlight!

Some of the sights on the 2 1/2 hour walk around and through Palm Valley.

Team photo in Palm Valley.

Standley Chasm.

The West Macdonnell Range.

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'

After a crazy week from a not so well timed litter, we said goodbye to the last puppy around 1030am. 

We can be gone by midday can't we? - No worries.  After dragging the chain for a bit we hit the road just after 2pm and pulled into the Lakeview Caravan park in Richmond for the night.   The next day we had a quick look at Mt Isa before pulling up at a nice little free camp near Cammoweal.  Up bright and early to hit the road again.

The first of our State/Territory border crossing pics.

That afternoon we pulled up a Devils Marbles, the view from the dining table wasn't to shabby!

At sunset we were all doing our best mountain goat impersonations crawling all over the place to find a good possie for a pic and watch the sun go down.

I tried to sneak out of the van a dawn to have some quiet time snapping away by myself, only to be met  with three faces in darkness.  "What are WE doing Dad?  Can we come?"  I reckon they were reconsidering when we got outside, damn it was cold.

After breakie we headed south and pulled up at the UFO capital of Austrailia - Wycliffe Well.

I had the worst cup of coffee (I use that term loosely) at a roadhouse on the way down to Alice Springs.