Posts Tagged With: salt creek

Day 23 – Kings Canyon Resort to Salt Creek Rest Area

Posted on Sunday, May 14, 2017 by shorty

Still no internet or mobile reception, and no TV.

We woke to glorious weather yet again.  Bertha was packed, empty things filled and full things emptied and we bade our farewells to Kings Canyon Resort.  It has been great staying here and it has certainly been popular with fellow travellers – even the camping areas have been packed every night.

We headed down the Luritja Road towards the Lasseter Highway and turned off at Kathleen Springs as we had heard that there was a walk worth taking here.  With Bertha parked, we slip, slop slapped, and Bushmanned and off we set.   At the car park there is a solitary toilet and a large covered area with gas BBQs (not working unfortunately).

Start of the Kathleen Springs Walk

The Kathleen Springs Walk is about 2.6 km, is rated Easy, and is sealed its entire length, so it is actually disabled friendly.  It sure made walking easier for us.

This is completely different terrain to Kings Canyon and spectacular in its own way. There are quite a few interpretive signs along the track which explain some of the features along the track, like the Trapping Yard, the man-made Watering Hole plus information about the traditional owners and their hunting and survival strategies in this area.

Trapping Yards and Waterhole

Scenes of Kathleen Springs walk

Scenes of Kathleen Springs walk

Apart from the man-made features, the majesty of the rugged cliffs is outstanding.

Scenes of Kathleen Springs walk

At the end of the track, accessible from a boardwalk, we came to Kathleen Springs which is a peaceful spring fed waterhole at the head of the Kathleen Gorge.  Although dry and arid along the track, the vegetation is a lot greener around the waterhole.

Scenes of Kathleen Springs walk

Kathleen Springs spring fed waterhole

Although not a particularly long walk, it actually took us quite a while as there was so much of interest to see.

Back at Bertha it was great to be able to have a proper wash and a cool drink.  We thoroughly recommend motorhome travelling!!!  It wouldn’t be nearly as comfortable visiting remote places like this in a car or SUV.

Back on the road we continued past Kings Creek Station where our thoughts of having another of their delicious coffees were dashed by the arrival of a tourist bus, so we headed on back to Salt Creek Rest Area.

We decided to avoid this short-cut and stay on the bitumen

Scenes on the way to Salt Creek

To our amazement it was chock-a-block with caravans, SUVs, campervans, and us in a motorhome.  We found a place to stop as it was lunchtime and were relieved when most of the others packed up after their lunch and headed off to destinations unknown.  So we decided to stay here again tonight, without the luxuries of TV, phone or internet.

Salt Creek Rest Area

It was lovely sitting in the shade reading in the relative quiet, which was disturbed at intervals by the sounds of flocks of cockies – referring to our Morcombe’s “Field Guide to Australian Birds” we believe that they are Major Mitchell Cockatoos, and young ones at that.  But boy can they make a noise!  All the campers here got out their cameras and took multiple photos, and even a tour bus pulled up long enough for the passengers to get out and take some photos before heading on to Kings Canyon.  We suspect that this particular spot must be part of an annual mating ritual or something like that.

Photogenic cockies at Salty Creek rest area

In the interests of keeping Bertha clean, we made sure that we didn’t park under any trees!  Our solar panels got a good workout and the batteries were looking very healthy.  It was about 30 degrees but still very pleasant.  We would definitely recommend this place to anyone travelling through to Kings Canyon.

Just before dinner, a large dingo arrived in camp, and had everyone scampering for their cameras and iPads.  He, definitely a he, didn’t seem at all worried about being close to humans and wandered from vehicle to vehicle looking for something to drink.  He had a good drink from the end of our grey water hose before wandering off again but another group of people put out a bowl of water for him and he took his time having a good long drink.

Dingo at Salt Creek Rest Area

Our grey water hose was a good source of nourishment

There are about 10 groups here tonight, in varying types of accommodation.

We are looking forward to a quiet night’s sleep tonight prior to heading back to the Stuart Highway towards Alice Springs tomorrow.

Categories: 2017 Up The Centre Adventure, Free Camping | Tags:

Day 20 – Yulara to Salt Creek Rest Area

Posted on Saturday, May 13, 2017 by shorty

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.

Categories: 2017 Up The Centre Adventure, Free Camping | Tags: ,

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