Week 74- Monday 30th October- Sunday 5th November

Alice Springs, NT

Star Rating:★★★★

★=Full Star ☆=Half Star

This time around at Alice Springs we spent the whole time in the pool.....again. Whilst there we also went up to a lookout the watched the sunset with some pizza. On the day we left we got up super early to drive 7 hours to Coober Pedy.

On the way to Alice we stopped at Erldunda Roadhouse, there were heaps of emus and we were able to feed them!!

Coober Pedy, SA

Star Rating:★★★★

★=Full Star ☆=Half Star

After a massive drive we finally got to Coober Pedy! It had been a big day and all we wanted to do was relax but as we were only staying 2 nights we needed to start seeing the sights. We first had a look at Umoona Opal mine where we booked a tour for the next morning before going up to the Big Winch where we met up with our friends from Uluru. 

The next day we went and did the Umoona Opal mine tour, it was super interesting. We also got to see what a modern underground house looks like. When the tour finished we went and saw two underground churches. Next we did a bit of noodling/fossicking at the public site, we found some beautiful shards of opal.  By then it was time for lunch so we went back and chilled at the van for a bit. 

That afternoon Mum, Jackson and I went and did a bit more noodling and dad stayed and rested at the van in preparation for the big drive tomorrow. We also went to an opal gallery where I bought a beautiful necklace. That night we went and watched the sunset at The Breakaways, it was lovely. When it got dark we went and did a bit more noodling, this time with a black light.

The next morning we got up early again and hit the road to Port Germein.

The first underground church we went to.

Dug outs-guess which one is old and which is new!!

The Big Winch!

The Breakaways.👇

Black light noodling the night we left.

We took a photo with every single sign Coober Pedy had (even though there was only three)!👇

Port Germein, SA

Star Rating:★★★★

★=Full Star ☆=Half Star

At Port Germein we:

• Walked along the massive jetty.

• Played in the park and skate park.

• Went on a long walk along the beach in the morning.

• Drove to Melrose and had a beautiful lunch at the Jacka Brothers Brewery. I got a pulled pork pizza that was drizzled with spicy honey sauce. We also got a delectable dessert pizza to share, it had chocolate, marshmallows and biscoff on it!!

• Did a few small walks in the mountains near Melrose (to walk off our massive lunch). 

Walking along the jetty.

My delicious pizza.

Week 73- Sunday 22nd - Sunday 29th October

Ormiston Gorge, NT

Star Rating:★★★★

★=Full Star ☆=Half Star

At Ormiston Gorge we:

• Went straight down to the waterhole as soon as we got there, before spending the rest of the afternoon playing in the rocks and chilling on the sand.

• Decided to do the Ghost Gum walk at sunset, but Jackson started feeling sick so only Dad and I ended up doing it. We saw a cute wallaby drinking in the water and Mum came to meet us at the end so she could still see the sunset.

• Did the 9km Pound Walk but as Jackson was sick Mum stayed back with him again (they still did it though, they went with Dad on the morning we left) so only Dad and I did it. We made it to a lookout for sunrise and a snack before powering it the rest of the way and going for a refreshing morning dip.

• Chilled at the waterhole some more.

• Ate dinner down at the Finke River, we had nachos that I cooked on the back of the car.

• Stayed until five in the afternoon on the day we left, we spent the whole day just chilling at the waterhole.

Playing around in the rocks on the day we got there.👇

The smoke drifting up from a distant fire.

The sunset we saw from the Ghost Gum walk.

The sunrise from atop a lookout on the Pound walk.

Some of the beautiful rocks Dad and I saw on the Pound walk.

Where the gorge starts.

Halfway through the pound walk.

The was some beautiful yellow flowers dotted along the Pound walk.

Sitting and cooling off in the Finke River the night we went and had dinner there.

The beautiful Ormiston Gorge.👇

Swimming in the gorge.

Mt Sonder and Kings Canyon, NT

Star Rating:★★★☆

★=Full Star ☆=Half Star

After leaving Ormiston Gorge late in the afternoon we drove to Redbank Gorge. As it was late in the season you couldn’t swim in the gorge (the water had turn all green and manky) but we weren’t there to swim-we were there to hike Mt Sonder, the end of the Larapinta Trail!

In the morning we got up at 4:45am and left for the hike, but we were NOT prepared as we had only dressed on loose, cool clothing. After freezing our butts off for ages the sun started to come up but it wasn’t warming us up as an icy wind was still blowing. We were over halfway to the top but in such cold conditions it felt as though we had only covered 1 km. After lots of toing and froing  we decided to turn back. After making it back to camp we checked our watches and phones- they all said we had covered 7-8 km in the morning, around half of what we had planned to do. As we were still freezing when we got back to camp Jackson and I went back to bed!

After driving for a lot of the day we decided to go and walk Kings Canyon (actually Mum and Dad decided for us). Even though it was very hot it was a picturesque walk. That night we camped at a beautiful free camp 20 minutes out of Kings Canyon.

Views from the Mt Sonder walk.👇

Views from the Kings Canyon walk.👇

Almost getting windswept off one of the bridges on the walk.

Yulara-Uluru, NT

Star Rating:★★★★

★=Full Star ☆=Half Star

Over our three days at Uluru we:

• Went and had a look at the Cultural Centre, whilst there we got to taste a curried crocodile pie! It was surprisingly tasty.

• Did the guided Mala walk in the morning, it was very interesting and at the end of it we left the group and completed the Uluru base walk. There was some beautiful views of Uluru from the walk.

• Went to a didgeridoo (actually called a yidaki) workshop. It was very interesting and cool to watch the professionals play.

• Went down to watch the sunset, we bumped into some friends down there. Uluru changed into so many colours!

• Drove to Kata Tjuta and did the Valley of the Winds walk, the rocks were so beautiful and interesting. Mum, Dad and Jackson did another, shorter walk but I stayed back (I had hurt my ankle). I was glad I did because near where I was sitting there was a water bowl where lots and lots of tiny finches were gathering. They were so cute!

• Went to the yidaki (didgeridoo) workshop again.

• Watched the sunset again, this time we had dinner down there.

• Walked to the town centre and painted small wooden animals, they all turned out so well.

• Packed up and left. We went to a beautiful free camp on some sand dunes where we could see both Uluru and Kata Tjuta

Uluru throughout the day.👇

Walking the base.

From afar Uluru looks really smooth but up close it has lots of holes and is bumpy.

One of the beautiful big rocks at Kata Tjuta.

The beautiful sunset over Kata Tjuta.


Some of the gorgeous birds we saw during the week.👇