July 9 - 14

Day 99 – July 9 – NT / SA Border -> Coober Pedy

We saw lots of wedge tailed eagles beside the road – still following the Stuart Highway south. Back in South Australia again, driving through the SA Outback.

The countryside looks like a lunar landscape – desert plains and mounds of white rubble from the opal mines. It was so windy – tumbleweed blowing across the road!

Arriving in Coober Pedy it felt like we were on the movie set of Mad Max – corrugated iron houses, rusty old utes, dust and not a blade of grass or tree in sight. We went to the most helpful Visitor’s Centre in Australia – not only did they have good maps and information on local accommodation and attractions but they managed to find us the last underground accommodation available in Coober Pedy for the night – the ‘Underground B&B’. We were lucky that they had a cancellation, so we stayed in a luxury, cosy, modern B&B built underground in the side of a hill. No windows and the ceiling and walls were just the bare rock, painted white.

We went to the Old Timer’s Opal Mine where we went on a self-guided tour of an old 1916 mine shaft which had been deserted and then rediscovered in the 1960’s when someone was extending their underground house! We saw a demo of a rock ‘blower’ (which actually sucks dirt out of the mines) and went ‘noodling’ through some rock remnants and found some tiny slivers of opal.

We had dinner at the famous John’s Pizza Bar – awesome pizzas and we bought some yummy deserts to take with us to have at home. We relaxed in our cosy B&B, had a spa (luxury!) and watched DVDs. Feels like a holiday from our holiday!

Day 100 – July 10 – Coober Pedy

Day 100! How about that – 100 days on holiday. It’s almost over now – we’re sad but looking forward to getting home.

We love the B&B so much we have decided to stay in Coober Pedy for the day and have another night here. The rooms were pitch black when the lights went out, and the only noise we could hear was the wind (quite strong outside) whistling down the pipe vents. Easy to sleep in here, as there is no light to come in through any of the windows!

We did some more noodling but didn’t strike it rich. We then did an excellent tour at ‘Tom’s Working Opal Mine’ – for two hours they explained the mining process from the start – pegging a claim, drilling the holes, mining underground and finally the sorting and selling of the stones. We got to use diving rods which they use to locate the seam of rock containing the opal (we were very sceptical but it actually works!), the kids got to ride on a winch partway up a shaft, and we even learnt how to make explosives! Apparently making explosives has become a lot more difficult and costly after 9-11 – probably not a bad thing…

We saw the Coober Pedy golf course – not a blade of grass in sight. Apparently the course has reciprocal rights with St Andrews in Scotland – quite different courses! We went into an underground church, and went to a little indigenous art gallery where we bought a small painting of Uluru as a memento of our trip.

Luke lost his second tooth for the trip! The tooth fairy will be busy..

We had a great BBQ back at the BBQ and watched DVDs again.. Onwards home tomorrow.

Day 101 – July 11 – Coober Pedy -> Woomera

The ‘Lonely Planet’ says of Coober Pedy “…with swarms of flies, no trees, 50 degree C summer days, sub-zero winter nights, cave-dwelling locals and rusty car wrecks in every second front yard, you might think you’ve arrived in a post-apocalyptic hell hole.” But nonetheless we found it to be a fascinating and intriguing place and the people to be very friendly, generous and funny. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay here.

Before we left the B&B we visited Ken’s opal shop and bought a few colourful samples, ane he generously threw in some freebies. He also showed us some magnificent black opal that he just found a month ago – very rare – that would be worth about $30,000!

Driving south through the Woomera Prohibited Area we passed a road train which had jack-knifed and the 3rd carriage had rolled onto its side. Unfortunately a dozen cattle carcasses were strewn across the road.

We visited Woomera – an almost deserted little town, population 300 with a pool, a theatre and a bowling alley - the site of the rocket testing facility from 1947-1980. We visited the interesting rocket museum and saw displays of original rockets, missiles, bombs and satellites.

We stayed the night at a roadside stop in a huge dusty area on top of a hill where you could see for miles over the lunar landscape. The kids played AFL while we prepared dinner. We ate outside in the dark and watched the road trains approach from the distance and roar past. Then we sat and watched the stars in the huge sky – we saw three planets, half a dozen satellites as well as a couple of shooting stars.

Day 102 – July 12 – Woomera -> Silverton

We continued driving past landscape that looks more like the Nullarbor than the Nullarbor does! We saw sheep, lambs, emus and flocks of galahs. We drove into the lush pastures and rolling hills next to Port Augusta – but then moved quickly into the flat arid land of east South Australia, and on into NSW.

We drove over the 39 dips between Broken Hill and Silverton (only 20km away!), and on another 5km to Mundi Mundi lookout, which has views so expansive that you can see the curvature of the earth. We had a quick look around the old mining ghost town of Silverton, and camped for the night at the local campground.

Day 103 – July 13 – Silverton -> Cobar

We were woken by a strong gale blowing, along with rain. Luckily we were nicely cocooned in Winnie!

We had a look around Broken Hill in the morning at various mining sites, art galleries (including Pro Hart’s art gallery – great art), and mineral museums, finishing with ice cream spiders and warm milkshakes at Bell’s milkbar.

We drove through continuous heavy rain along the Barrier Highway and stayed in a rest area 50km west of Cobar.

Day 104 – July 14 – Cobar -> Sydney (HOME!!!)

We left before dawn to cover the last 800km to Sydney – keen to get home! A much better day for driving today, lovely and sunny. The kids spotted kangaroos, goats, sheep and cows. There is a lot of water lying on the flat lands and flowing through the creeks after yesterday’s downpour. We finished off the spelling homework – and tried to teach Erin to say ‘aich’ instead of ‘haich’.

In Bathurst we detoured briefly to Mount Panorama – and drove Winnie around the racetrack. Bruce even stopped the motorhome on pole position and revved the engine a few times! It was a struggle driving up the motorhome however, and we certainly broke no speed records.

We finally arrived home at 6:30pm, in the dark after striking various traffic jams through Katoomba. We felt strange and nervous to arrive home – we even contemplated bypassing Mosman and continuing onwards on another adventure…

One day we’ll definitely go on another adventure to see the parts of Australia we didn’t get to on this trip. Stay tuned for the McKinnon’s next adventure…

July 4 - 8

Day 94 – July 4 – Curtin Springs -> Yulara

Leaving Curtin Springs we saw five camels in the wild – appropriate because Ben’s camel in Broome was named ‘Connor’ after Mt Connor where he was caught – maybe this was Connor’s family?

We saw our first glimpse of Uluru when we were still 50 km away! The kids were very excited.

We booked into the Yulara campground and then went to the Cultural Centre, and did a lap around the rock. It’s hard to believe the size of it! It looks huge even from a few kilometres away. From a distance the rock looks smooth and symmetrical, but up close you can see all the indentations, pot holes and ridges that make interesting shapes and patterns. Saw lots of people climbing it – it looks so steep! Bruce and Michelle can’t believe they climbed it 14 years ago (before the local indigenous people requested you not to climb). It’s interesting to watch the colours change as sunlight and shadow passes over the rock.

We drove out to Kata Tjuta (the Olgas) – an equally impressive rock formation. We had lunch at the picnic area then commenced the arduous Valley of the Winds walk. We hiked 7.4km in 3 hours amongst the huge domes of conglomerate rock, up steep lookouts with awesome views then back through the valley. By the end of it we were pretty tired. We went back to the same picnic table to watch the sunset over the Olgas but since the sky was completely covered with cloud, the sky only changed from light grey to dark grey. We had bacon and egg rolls while we waited and then two minutes before sunset, the clouds parted and the rocks glowed a beautiful bright orange, long enough to take a couple of photos.

Day 95 – July 5 – Yulara

We woke an hour and a half before dawn to head in to watch sunrise over Uluru but heard raindrops on the roof as the alarm went off in the dark. We continued on regardless and saw the rock emerge from the darkness, but hardly a spectacular sunrise. Erin and Luke had prime viewing position on top of Winnie! Bruce did some running repairs on the bikes in preparation for our 10km ride around Uluru.

When you walk or ride around Uluru you appreciate how huge it is 3.5km long and 10km around the base. We were glad to be riding our bikes as we’re not sure we would have been able to walk that far after yesterday’s hike. It was very cold but thankfully the rain held off. It was such a serene place with very few people doing the walk. We saw a lovely gorge and a waterhole and lots of interesting rock shapes – even some like Wave Rock in WA. The kids had lots of fun racing around on their bikes. It is amazing that the aborigines have lived here for 20,000 years but the only evidence is a few examples of rock art.

Back to the cultural centre to thaw out with hot chocolate and soup. Then we spent the afternoon relaxing in the motorhome in a prime parking position where we could watch Uluru and where the boys could play in the dirt. Sunset was a non-event but we enjoyed the view nonetheless.

Day 96 – July 6 – Yulara -> Kings Canyon

We attempted to see the sunrise again this morning but yet again we were provided with grey skies completely covered in cloud. Oh well! We had one last look at the waterhole and a drive around Uluru. On the first day the kids were saying ‘Wow!’ and ‘Amazing!’ but today we could hardly get them to look up from their books.

We stocked up on food at the expensive Yulara supermarket then drove out to Kings Canyon. Lovely views of cliffs and escarpments greeted us. We stayed in an unpowered site at Kings Canyon Resort. Still freezing! About 3 degrees C overnight. Brrrrrrrr….

Day 97 – July 7 – Kings Canyon

We treated ourselves to a sleep-in after the last 2 pre-dawn wake-up calls. We then went into Kings Canyon and did the 6km Rim walk. It was freezing and cloudy the whole day so we kept our jumpers and beanies on. We made it up the steep ascent at the beginning then enjoyed a leisurely 4 hour stroll through the beehive domes at the top and down to the waterhole at the Garden of Eden, then back across the top with amazing views of the sheer cliff face.

To celebrate the end of our planned sightseeing activities we treated ourselves to a yummy dinner of pizza and burgers in the Bistro. We overheard someone say that on Tuesday Yulara had a maximum of 6 degrees C. No wonder we felt cold!

Day 98 – July 8 – Kings Canyon -> NT / SA Border

Still overcast and cold. We did 2 small walks this morning, the Kings Creek walk and Kathleen Springs walk, both in the same national park as Kings Canyon. Both leisurely strolls around creek beds and beneath red cliffs. Very pretty.

We sadly said good bye to the last of the national parks and headed south, staying at a rest stop on the NT / SA border.

June 27 - July 3

Day 87 – June 27 – Devil’s Marbles -> Alice Springs

Can’t believe how cold it was last night! We needed jumpers and sleeping bags – very different to Daly Waters the night before.

We continued down the Stuart Highway, with a brief stop at Wycliffe Well – the UFO mecca which has frequent sightings. Seems that most of the news clippings shown report sightings by the owner of the roadhouse – strange… We also stopped at Mount Stuart, the geographic centre of Australia, and we took a photo as we crossed the Tropic of Capricorn (for the 2nd time, on the way south this time).

We arrived in Alice and checked into MacDonnell Range caravan park – heaven for kids with jumping pillows, playgrounds, a basketball court, a TV and games room, go carts and pools (although much too cold to swim!). We’ll be here for an indulgent 4 nights at $71 per night! It’s completely packed so we expect crowds wherever we go from now on.

Day 88 – June 28 – Alice Springs

Ah! The joy of caravan parks. Last night, our neighbours who were 1 metre from where we were sleeping decided to start playing music at 10pm just when we were going to sleep! The sound went straight through both walls. Give us the peace and quiet of a national park any time.

We spent a very pleasant day in Alice, we went to the Reptile Centre where the kids had lots more goes holding snakes, bearded dragons and lizards. Then we went to the RFDS to hear more about the flying doctors. We also went to a didgeridoo workshop where we were taught how to play – not very successfully – although Erin made the best sounds. We walked down Todd Mall and visited a book shop where we walked away with six more books.

We have had some interesting public toilet experiences… We had to pay 50cents to use some public toilets! We’ve never had to do that any where else in Australia. They also had some automatic silver ones where things opened, turned on and flushed automatically – the toilet even talked to you and played music while doing your business!

Day 89 – June 29 – Alice Springs

We drove out to the East MacDonnell Ranges today – a very easy drive from Alice, with the attractions between 10 and 80km away. We stopped at 2 mini gaps in the ranges – Emily Gap and Jessie Gap. Nice rock art at one and lots of tiny zebra finches near a waterhole at the other. We continued on to Trephina Gorge, and were stopped just short by a creek crossing just a little too challenging for us. We got out and walked the rest of the way – along the creek bed for 1 km then through the gorge for another 2 km. There was a lovely white sandy creekbed, red cliffs, white river gums and rock holes. The kids were intrigued by wild melons growing along the side of the road – some as small as grapes, others as big as watermelons. We also saw a little perentie lizard near a rockhole.

Back at the caravan park the kids went on the ‘Pinnacle of Terror’ – they had to climb up a platform 8m high, and attached to a harness and rope, jump off!

Day 90 – June 30 – Alice Springs

Another cold wet miserable day! We didn’t think we would see rain in the middle of Australia, but here it is. We rugged up with jumpers and raincoats and went to the Alice Springs Desert Park, where we spent six hours there doing a self guided audio tour through various Desert environments: sand country, woodlands and desert rivers. We saw a bird of prey show with owls, falcons and kites, and saw lots of desert birds and reptiles. We also listened to a very interesting talk on Aboriginal survival in the desert by a local aboriginal man.

Day 91 – July 1 – Alice Springs -> Glen Helen

Another wet, cold miserable day. Maximum of 11 degrees! Yes we know most everyone reading this blog is experiencing this weather all the time at the moment but we’re supposed to be on holidays! Not supposed to be like this in the desert.. apparently it only gets like this two or three times a year – just lucky I guess.

To escape the rain we chose some indoor activities today. We started at School of the Air and saw an excellent DVD and presentation. We then spent a few hours at the Cultural Precinct, which encompasses an Art Gallery, a museum and aviation museum. At the Art Gallery we saw some beautiful watercolours by Albert Namatjira as well as many other aboriginal paintings. We also saw an exhibit of beanies as part of the recent Beanie festival. At the museum we saw the usual displays on natural history but we also watched a very detailed DVD on the life and controversy of TGH Strehlow – the caretaker of many Central Australian aboriginal artefacts.

We drove past the West MacDonnell Ranges shrouded in cloud and drizzle to stay at the Glen Helen resort. We were treated to an amazing 10 minute firework display to celebrate Territory Day. The kids said it was the best firework display they have ever seen. Their comments: ‘sweet’, ‘sick’, ‘totally awesome’, ‘wicked’.

Day 92 – July 2 – Glen Helen -> Alice Springs

We woke up to a clear day, but still freezing. We put on jumpers and beanies to walk along the sandy bank of Glen Helen Gorge. By the time we got to Ormiston Gorge it had warmed up to a nice day. We did a two hour walk up along the gorge rim and down back along the river bed. We heard our voices echo against the sheer cliff. At the Ochre Pits the kids had fun grinding ochre, making paint using spit and painting rocks like aboriginal children. At Ellery Creek Big Hole the water was so cold the fish were all dying! We walked along a rocky creek bed to see Standley Chasm, and we saw 2 cute rock wallabies at Simpsons Gap. All in all a very full and enjoyable day in the West MacDonnell ranges. We decided to stay in Alice Springs again tonight so we can go to the show tomorrow.

Day 93 – July 3 – Alice Springs -> Curtin Springs

What a FUN morning! We spent four hours at the Alice Springs Show. The usual assortment of rides, sideshows, show bags, stalls, animals and events but a lot smaller than the Royal Easter show in Sydney and a lot less people. We were the first ones on the Dodgem cars and had fun banging in to each other. We bought showbags, licorice and corn and watched some rodeo events and car races.


We saw six wedge tailed eagles feasting on road kill on the way to Curtin Springs. Luke was startled when collecting firewood in the scrub by an emu which raced up behind him.