Lawn Hill to Alice Springs

We got up and left beautiful Lawn Hill at a respectable time of 9.15am and made our way out of the park before turning south. Unfortunately our blog map doesn’t show accurately were we went as poor Google Maps can’t cope with directing us via this very minor road. Along this road there are four creek/river crossings and the Riversleigh Fossil Site, which is Heritage Listed. Our first stop was the fossil site. It had a very interesting information room and toilet block, both made of a fake rock construction (very well done) with a hole in the roof for natural light. We took the short walk around the fossil site and looked at and read all the information boards. We did however notice that this place wasn’t nearly as well signposted as Lawn Hill and nowhere could we find listed how long the walk was. We didn’t know if we were setting out on a 2-hour walk or just a 20-minute stroll (fortunately the latter). The fossils where interesting and the most captivating fossil was of a flightless bird they called Big Bird that weighted in between 250 and 300kg but was only 2 metres maximum tall, you get the picture.

After leaving the fossil site we came to the biggest creek crossing of the four, the Gregory River. We had on good information that it was only about a knee deep but flowing quite quickly. It had a lovely curved causeway so not a great concern until we where just reaching halfway across and I suddenly realized that Tig had us quiet close to the up stream edge of the causeway. As I pointed this out to him he replied ‘Can you see the edge?’ and drop, off we fell with car and van wheels. Thankfully Tig had his thinking cap on and did a fast foot down and dragged us out of trouble. With my heart pounding I nervously look at him as we low ranged it around the corner onto dry land, Maddi piped up from the back seat ‘That was a bit scary’. Understandably I was a little nervous for the next creek crossing and made sure before entering that we could clearly see the causeway.

After finally leaving the dirt track behind us we progressed to the one lane sealed road and then pulled into a rest area beside the Barkly Highway for a very late lunch. Here we had mobile reception so a few phone calls were made to source parts for our weight distribution system that we broke on the way into Lawn Hill. During lunch we had to make a decision on whether to turn west and head to Mt Isa as planned to restock or east and gain a day or two more in Central Australia. Since the part for the weight distribution system wasn’t available in Mt Isa or Alice Springs and would take two days to be posted in and we had just enough dinners for two more nights out we headed west for Camooweal.

In Camooweal we decided to free camp at a beautiful spot on the Billabong with masses of bird life. We even got to enjoy a cuppa before dinner watching our three monkeys climb the rather large gum we parked beside and all the bird life at the water’s edge. Tig told the kids we had to assume there might we crocs in the billabong in front of us and therefore they were not to go anywhere near the water. This made them stay close to the van and their tree and me definitely not going outside to use natures bathroom that night. Lucky we have a toilet in the van.

After a very quiet and enjoyable night we packed up once again and headed west on an epic drive to Tennant Creek. This stretch of road is very boring and Tig told me it was great preparation for the Nullabour. Thankfully it is over now and we said our good byes to Queensland and hellos to Northern Territory on this stretch.


On our arrival into Tennant Creek we drove into the first caravan park (of two) locked up the car and headed by foot into town. We didn’t realize it at the time but town was a little bit further away than we thought and it ended up being a rather long and hot walk. We did manage to find a supermarket for some bare essentials before piggybacking Kai back to the caravan park. The kids were amazed at how many Aborigines there were around the place and I was amazed at how much broken glass there was on the ground. Ella was only in thongs and I prayed she didn’t step on any of it. Maddi was amazed at how many Aborigines were walking around without any shoes on and didn’t seem to step in the glass.

Early on in the evening I thought it was going to be a very long and restless night when the owner of the caravan park started to yell at someone on what felt like the other side of the park about whether they were staying here or not and were meant to be here. Then an argument broke out with the final words being told to some bloke to ‘get out of here before I call the cops’. Thankfully after that it was a very quiet night and no dramas where had.

Next morning after a quick shop for some more essentials (not carrying them home on foot this time) and fuel we headed just a short 100kms south to our overnight resting place of the Devils Marbles. We pulled into the campground earlier than we have left some places previously and set up, which was lucky as the campground filled up by mid afternoon with large vans squeezing into small spaces by dusk. After a bite to eat and a quick clean of the bikes (just a tad dusty) we went for a bike ride around to the information board and the other rest stop. We had a great time with the four kids (Tig, Maddi, Ella and Kai) climbing all over the marbles and into any crack they could find. It is amazing how these rocks where created by weathering and how they are still ever changing. At one of the information areas there was a very relaxed looking dingo hanging out and watching all the tourists while posing for photographs. After returning to camp and a little journal writing for Maddi we took off and scaled the tallest marble stack we could see for sunset. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t in our favour and the cloud cover was too great for any beautiful sunsets today. We did have a great time sitting on the highest rock overlooking the campground counting all of the caravans, motorhome and odd tents below us. I found it quite nerve racking with the three kids who’s bottoms seemed to move closer to the edge if we weren’t looking for a second. Finally convincing them it was too windy and time to head down we headed back to camp for dinner and bed. It was a bit (ok, very) blowy over night so Tig and I made a late dash to put the awning down so as not to experience ‘awning on roof’ again. We decided to take only the canvas down and leave the framework up in case we decided to pull it out again in the morning.







The sun is rising quite late in the morning so I seem to be waking up (7am) before it at the moment. Unfortunately there was still cloud cover so no memorable sunrise on the Marbles photos to remember it by. The clouds even decided to spit on us a little as we finished packing up. The day turned out to be sunny but a little cold and we even managed to find a play park at Ti Tree for the kids at lunchtime. After a hasty departure from the play park due to a stray dog we headed a few more hours south into a very cold and rainy Alice Spring. On arriving in Alice (3pm and 8 degrees) we happen to drive past the shop we needed to pick up our ordered weight distribution part from, so had a quick stop before continuing onto the Big 4 MacDonnell Ranges Holiday Park for 3 nights. So here we are with extra blankets on our beds and ugg boots back on our feet as it is so cold. As Tig commented earlier this evening it feels like we are in Jindabyne, in winter, not Alice Springs.

Till next time …
Thea

Heading West & Lawn Hill National Park

We have started our journey West, into the dry centre of Australia heading to Alice Springs via Lawn Hill National Park. Not far from our overnight stay just west of the Great Dividing Range at Forty Mile Scrub National Park was Undara Volcanic National Park. We opted for a walk around the rim of Kalkani Crater over the guided tour of the lava tubes. It was fascinating to see the landscape dotted with volcano craters from the top of the rim.




We had booked into Lawn Hill National Park for 3 nights starting Friday so continued our long drive west with only 3 days to cover the thousand odd kilometers with varying road conditions . There are very few camping spots at Lawn Hill National Park and especially one that can fit in our size caravan. By booking only one week in advance we were fairly limited by our choice of dates and had opted for this weekend rather than next weekend as it was fully booked mid week.

We are traveling on ‘The Savannah Way’ which crosses from Cairns to Broome and the further west we got, so to the more variable the road conditions, from excellent sealed two lanes to the single strip of potholed bitumen down the middle. Lunch was in Georgetown and for a very small town they had a great playground and a shady picnic table.

With not many good camping spots available we pushed on through Croydon to Normanton arriving just on sunset with the last hour or so being very hard driving west into the sun. Earlier the caravan in front of us had collected a kangaroo and they did not even know that it hit the side of their caravan.

The caravan park in Normanton was lovely and we got to enjoy the State of Origin second hand from the pub across the road. Given the amount of cheering by the locals the game obviously went Queensland’s way.

The reward of our long drive the day before was a late start the next day. We enjoyed a walk around town where the kids found Kry, the largest crocodile ever recorded in Australia, or at least a life size replica which was very impressive at 8.63m long and a mouth that Maddi could lie down in.


Further through town we found the Visitor Information Centre complete with Normanton library. The lady behind the counter was extremely helpful and the kids were kept quiet and entertained in the children’s corner of the library.

After a quick stop at the local bakery, which had the best sausage rolls so far, we headed out of Normanton continuing on the Savannah Way, which is now a good dirt road. We swapped drivers near Burke and Wills Camp 119, their most northern camp, and the road conditions deteriorated for Thea.

A late lunch was had at Leichhardt Falls, a spectacular set of waterfalls complete with helicopter perched right on top of the falls. From there we headed down on a road less travelled through Augustus Downs Station. We saw only a single car in the hour or so drive south but saw thousands of cattle mostly standing on the road. The kids all had a great time cow spotting.



Back on the sealed road and yet again heading west at sunset we drove into Gregory Downs as there was no suitable camping spots along the road. At Gregory Downs there were a few old camp fire places so the kids suggested that we have a campfire too. There was just enough light left in the day to collect a little amount of firewood and get a fire going. While dinner was being cooked the kids enjoyed a marshmallow each, just in case the fire was out after dinner. The kids ate dinner well that night as we sat around the campfire and they couldn’t distinguish what was in their bowls.

With only a short 100km to travel the next day we set off on the good quality dirt road which deteriorated after a turn off to a local mine and then got even worse with some road works. The other upside of the mine was some patchy mobile reception to shoot off a couple of quick emails. A highlight was the road train coming towards us, which looked spectacular with the cab and front half of the cargo sitting out in front of a cloud of dust. Visibility however was non-existent for a good 30 seconds after he passed us. It has also surprised us how very few people slow down when passing oncoming traffic on dirt roads.


It was nice to arrive at Lawn Hill for lunch, set up and have a quick dip in the river complete with tyre tubes. While we were swimming a family with two girls came back from canoeing up to the falls and joined us for a swim and we made some new friends.


Over our three days at Lawn Hill National Park we spent our time walking the well-marked tracks, canoeing up and back to the falls, swimming in the river and around the falls, and spending time with our new friends.

Lawn Hill is the type of place you need to spend a number of days at so to enjoy the relaxed and remote atmosphere and take in the many walks and look outs. Even though it is a dry and weathered landscape it has a very magical and peaceful feel about it. Particularly when up on the escarpment that surrounds the gorge. We were surprised how everything was in such close proximity to the campground. Even Kai, with a little jelly snake encouragement, was able to tackle the walks.





Swimming at the falls was a family favourite, we paddled the canoe up there on Saturday, and amazingly did not lose anyone over board as we had 5 in the 3 man canoe. On Sunday we then walked up to the falls and met the Derrick family for lunch at the falls after lots and lots of swimming. On the way back to camp after lunch Thea had the luxury of a few hours away from the kids and walked the grassed and wild flowered rim of the gorge and took her time at the lookouts. Many photos were taken to try and capture the beauty but they do not do it justice.






The kids were sad to say farewell to their new friends as we are traveling in opposite directions but hopefully we will get to catch up with them again as we pass by their home later in the year.

From Lawn Hill we will travel a little south and then a bit west to restock before heading into central Australia.

Till next time…
Tig and Thea