12. August 2017

#BadBetty On Tour - Week 5

 

Wow – we have covered some distance over the last week – this week we have travelled from Darwin to Kakadu then back to the Stuart Highway and all the way down to Alice Springs – we left Darwin on Saturday 5 August and arrived into Alice Springs on Friday 11 August and had a quiet chill-out day at the free camp 10km out of town to recharge our batteries (and recover a bit from a sprained ankle while walking in Alice Springs down the main street the day before…. Typical I know!)

 

At Kakadu we stayed at Cooinda Lodge (an unpowered site) but boy, do they cater for all travelers! There were lots of options for all situations and the facilities were good – with the continuing hot temperatures and humidity that followed us from Darwin, the pool was a bit of a winner for us!

 

We only stayed one night in Kakadu and think we covered off the best part – the dawn Yellow Water Billabong cruise – incredible! More details and pics  below.

 

After that continuing heat and humidity (and even locals from both Darwin and Kakadu commented how there was more humidity than normal this time of year), we tasked the #BadBettyBus to transport us beyond that evil heat! We suffered for one more night just short of Katherine but then the next day, after a resupply in Katherine, we spent the heat of the day lounging around in the water at Bitter Springs and at 5pm, made a getaway as it started to cool and our stop at 8pm that night moved us down below the humidity line and we slept more comfortably for the first time in several weeks.

 

We then traveled down to The Pebbles (just before Tennant Creek) for an overnight stay (great camp grounds) and then on to The Devils Marbles – what an amazing spot that is! The camp grounds are great and the scenery has to be seen to be believed – we are still amazed at not only how quickly the landscape changes as we travel but also how many variations there are in such hot climates – Australia is truly an amazing place.

 

Alice Springs is a lovely place and we are thoroughly enjoying it thus far. We are going to head out to the West MacDonnall Ranges in the next few days – we hope you can join us and thanks for reading – lots of love #BadBetty Mk II, Mum & Dad xoxo

 

 

The Yellow Water Billabong cruise is one of our highlights so far – so many things to see and watching the sun come up over the billabong was amazing. The early morning bird life was incredible as was seeing the crocs cruising around and hunting.  Simon took hundreds of pictures and we have culled it down to 30 or so for you to check out but there are so many more fabulous pics!

Once again #BadBetty Mk II flouted the "No Dogs" rule and got a seat on the cruise!

The Pebbles

The Pebbles are on the northern side of Tennant Creek - the campsite and the Pebbles themselves are several KM off the road - which provided an incredibly quiet campsite!

It certainly doesn't have the impact of the Devil's Marbles....

Devils marbles

 

Wow – this was just WOW! It’s a bit hard to convey seeing these in person except you wander around wondering how nothing seems to have rolled or fallen and struggle to imagine exactly how it got to be like this. The sunset was glorious, the landscape magnificent and the campground excellent – definitely one to put on your list to check out!

 

Simon Says.....

9 August 2017
Last night we camped at the Devil's Pebbles, tonight we are camping at the Devil's Marbles, approximately 100km further South towards Alice Springs. As the names suggest each site is an arrangement of rocks of differing sizes.
This great country of ours is overflowing with an abundance of unique and splendid places to visit and tonight the NT is hosting an art exhibit of spectacular large boulders that Lyne and I were lucky enough to secure front row camping seats. You must arrive early for the show and secure a spot as word has spread near and far among the grey nomad community and they flock from every corner of Terra Australis to camp here during the migration season like a flock of birds flying to their annual breeding ground.
As I sit writing, I am watching the multitude of caravans roll in casing the joint for a spot that looks good for them to set up for the night. Unfortunately there always appears to be a special one or two individuals that lack respect for others and parks in an inconsiderate selfish way taking up two or three spots and denying others the opportunity of having a spot. These people raise the ire of nomads and are usually insulted and cursed over campfire banter, often referred to as "grey grubs". As it was said last night there is an etiquette when free camping and the rule of thumb is to park side by side in a continuous line thus maximising the space available and not park in the opposite direction effectively taking the space of three caravans parked side by side.
There is a large mound of giant rusty red and orange boulders directly in front of me that looks like they have been arranged by a 3 year old watching TV as they stacked blocks with no thought to structural integrity. Wouldn't surprise me at all if the nice Ford Ranger and Jayco Camper get crushed by the massive bolder perched precariously above them sometime before we leave!
We are very fortunate to have so many free and low cost places to camp and tonight Lyne and I will walk amongst the giant solders glowing orange in the fading light of the setting sun, the outback is a special place.

 

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