Day 20 – Yulara to Salt Creek Rest Area

We woke to another beautiful morning and did a full pack-up of Bertha as we were heading off today.  With water tank and jerry can full and grey water tank empty, we drove a short distance to the fuel station to fill up with diesel, and then on to the dump point to empty the cassette.  So, with everything full that needed to be full and everything empty that needed to be empty, we headed back to the Lasseter Highway.

Our first stop for coffee was at Sandy Way Rest Area (71 Camps 9).  We commented on this stop on the way in.  Overnight stays of 24 hours are allowed, and there is water (not sure exactly how fresh), shelter, rubbish bins, and a mobile ‘phone “hotspot”.  As advised previously, this could be a reasonable place to stop overnight on the way to Yulara and then only have a short drive the next morning.

Sandy Way Rest Area

Back on the highway we passed a “wandering animals” road-sign and sure enough, we almost immediately came across some cattle right on the edge of the road.  They looked peaceful and happy enough but it would only take a few steps out into traffic to cause chaos!

Stock near the Road

We stopped for lunch in Bertha at Curtin Springs.  It was very busy while we were there with a couple of coaches stopping but it’s simply too expensive for us to make any purchases here.

Scenes along the way

From Curtin Springs we continued along Lasseter Highway to the Luritja Road where we turned North towards Kings Canyon.

Interesting sculpture at the junction of the Lasseter Highway and Luritja Road

Scenes along the way

We soon made our way to Salt Creek Rest Area (67 Camps 9) where we will be staying the night.  It’s a great free camp with shelter, rubbish bins, a water tank, etc but no toilet facilities.  There were a couple of groups here when we arrived but it has since been filling up all afternoon.

Salt Creek Rest Area

After a basic set-up I went for a walk to see if I could find any trace of Salt Creek.  No luck at all, but there is a large sand-dune behind the camping area and a number of driving tracks over the top.  The dirt here is very fine red dust and obviously some vehicles had experienced some difficulties driving through the dust.  Over the sand-dune however was a fantastic place to camp with lots of flat ground, trees, etc, but no man made facilities.  Late this afternoon a chap in a Land Rover and off-road camper stopped and checked it out – he happily drove over and is now set-up on his own over the hill.

4WD track and area over the dunes at Salt Creek Rest Area

On the way back from my walk I noticed some interesting tracks in the dust – no idea what they are though.

Tracks in the Sand

This place is great.  There is a pleasant cool breeze, no TV, no internet, no mobile phones, just peacefulness.  What else could we do but get out the chairs and enjoy some reading in the shade?

There are about 10 groups here tonight, so it has got a lot more crowded since we arrived.  We fired up the BBQ for dinner and then sat inside with the doors and windows open, reading and enjoying the breeze without the flies (yes – they are a real problem out here).

BBQ at Salt Creek Rest Area

After a while someone in one of the other groups started playing guitar – very well too!  What a lovely way to spend the evening.  We went to sleep to the sound of dingoes/dogs howling somewhere near-by.