When on holiday abroad I always suffer from constipation when abroad, except when I am in AU, but since my arrival at Renner Springs I had been constipated till the day I left. Could it have been the result of a very greasy diet for the last 5 days?
The first days back on the road was one of driving from one rest area with dump toilets to another...
Thought I would share that..
When you travel from North to South Australia or visa versa the easiest way is to take the Stuart highway. Along the highway there are many free rest areas some with toilet some without. At these rest areas you are provided with information boards about the history of the highway and the interesting tracks or spots to travel on and visit. I would have loved to take a side road that is a trail following the former Ghan railway tracks, but problems with my van made me stick to the mayor highway.
The first big stop after stocking up in Tennant Creek was Alice Springs. Along. The way I stopped at The devils marbles and Wycliffe Well the UFO capital of AU. Stayed at at rest area called The Tropic of Capricorn.
Driving into Alice Springs is spectacular, you come in from a hill with on you left side a rock with "Alice Springs" cut into it.
Once in the city there is nothing much to see. Maybe it is just me and cities. So after a little stock up on mainly soda's and water I drove on.
I have learned on this trip to have an eye out for interesting places to see, places that I never knew about and did not plan to visit.
Such a place is the Ghan museum just out of the center of Alice Springs. It is free exept for the old timers hangar, that costs $25 and I skipped it.
The museum looks like a private collection that got out of hand and was turned into a museum. Outside there are some train compartments, it made me feel like booking a trip on the Ghan.
Will have to add it to my "to do" list for another trip.
Having passed Alice Springs also ment cooler nights. After 2 months in the heat of WA and the NT a very welcome change!
When I got on the Lasseter highway, the highway to Uluru/Ayers Rock it started getting cloudy. About 90kms from the National Park there is a fuel station/motel/camping ground where, at this time of the year at least (mid November),you can camp for free and have acces to free showers. It is called "Curtis Springs rest are" and mentioned in Camps 7 but without the free showers. This was also the first time in nearly two months I could get a cold shower!
The last kms of the drive up there, the van started loosing power, it started checking as if you are almost out of fuel. When I started it up the next day it was okay again and I put it down to the opal fuel I put in it the other day.
Uluru/Ayers Rock is on of the very few "tourist attractions" that are as impressive as they seem on the pictures. It is the largest monolith in the world and it is simply awesome!
The entrance to the park costs $25 and gives you access for 3 days.
I started by visiting the cultural centre. It is not really a centre. Just some artwork on the walls with text next to it about Aboriginal believes and values. And a TV on which there is a documentary about how the Aboriginal people used to live there and their struggle to get the land back.
There are 5 trails you can take, the one that goes around the base of Ayers Rock is about 10.7 kms and in hot weather (above 36C), which was the case, gets closed after 11am. It will not be a surprise to those who know me that I arrived there after 11am...
So I walked 2 other trails that took me around a part of the base.
At some places there are forbidden to take photographs signs, because the Aboriginals consider them as sacred places. This was also the case in the cultural centre. It was interesting to see how they lived around and under parts of the monolith. There were even some drawings to be seen.
Ayers Rock is also known for it amazing sunset and sunrise. There are two designated places to go and watch them.
On the evening I was there it was getting very cloudy after a nice warm sunny day. The wind started blowing more and more dark clouds our way and then came thunder and lightning and a few drops of rain. The first in also almost 2 months. So even if I was not able to witness one of those breathtaking sunsets at least I witnessed a climps of a storm over Ayers. That evening when I was driving back to Imy camp area the problems with the van got worse. Every 5 to 10 kms it started to loose power as if it would if it was running out of fuel, shacking and eventually stalling. Then I would start it up again drive another 5 kms and the same thing happened. After a long and frustrating drive I reached the camp area. There were no mechanics anywhere near the place so the next day I got back on the road hoping to spot a town where I could get it checked out. You can imagine how much fun that was. After two days I arrived at a town called Coober Pidy, known for its opal mining and the locals living mostly under round. I found a mechanic but it was Saturday and passed 12h30 so he was not willing to have a look. I would have loved to check out the opal museum etc... But my mind wasn't in it. So I continued to the next big stop on the way to Adelaide, Port Augusta. On my way there I passed Pimba, a small place with 40 locals and a roadhouse named Studs. According to Camp 7 the camp area was free and so were the showers so I stopped there for the night. It was a nice place compared to most rest areas, the toilets were flush toilets and very clean, but the showers were $2 for 5 mins. Seeing I am alone and not in a seductive mood I skipped it.
Next morning I had a bit of problems starting the van and I suddenly noticed a car repair place next to Studs. The guy running it turned out to be a Norwegian who has been in AU for 20 years and lives in QLD. The place was his sons and he was filling in for him. He was willing to help me and started by having a look at it after I explained the symptoms. In Coober Pidy the mechanic told me it could be the fuel pump, but it also could be a lot of other things. Now I was told that it could be one of the valves and if it was that would mean a new engine.... Or it could be the fuel filter. Hoping it was the last I asked him to order a new one and I would spent another night at the camp area. The idea of a new engine hit me lick a train on full speed. There was no way I would be able to pay for that so it would mean the end of my trip and instead of going back later than initially planned, I would have to go back earlier.
Next day I went over to see if the part had arrived and it turned out the place where he orders his parts from, Port Augusta, didn't have it so he got one of those plastic bypass ones which were also available at the roadhouse shop. These fit most cars, but....not mine...I needed the real thing. By now nothing surprises me anymore. He didn't charge me and advised me to drive carefully to Adelaide to get it replaced at a Autobarn or Auto one garage.
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