| Editorial
As I write this editorial we are
within a few days of electing Australia's next government.
We're miles from anywhere, don't have a mortgage or owe any
money, and as far as we know are quite healthy, so it's difficult
to relate to most of the issues.
There is however one burning issue
that's not being addressed by the politicians, and it just
may be time for me to stand up and be counted.
The issue in question is one of
the most fundamental human rights, the right to live one's
life without being unduly hassled by petty beaurocracy.
Of course this right comes with
a responsibility, and that is, in return for not being hassled,
you refrain from hassling.
In short, do what you like as long
as it doesn't adversely affect others.
To this end I propose the creation
of a new political party, the NNCP. No it's nothing to do
with the National Country Party, it's the No No Camping Party.
The NNCP will lobby for the rights
of self-contained travellers to be able to camp just about
anywhere, as long as they create no mess, and have no adverse
affect on anyone else.
Written
and authorised by Rob Gray, spokesman for, and
indeed only member of, the No No Camping Party.
Till next time then, and remember,
Don't Dream it, Be it!
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Tue 10 Aug 2004
Today we leave Redbank Gorge, it's been a great spot and we could
spend longer, but even we have to move occasionally.
Crossing one of the dry creeks on the way out of Redbank Gorge
We drive the 2.5k to the main road, finding quite
a few wildflowers along the way.
Some wildflowers we find on the way out.
The fuschias are all dropping their flowers
Then another 3k to a spot where there's a good
view of Mount Sonder.
There, that should do. I didn't say we have to
move very far.
Just before sunset we walk across the spinifex-covered
plain (boy that stuff is sharp) to the top of a rocky hill.
21123-pan
The "back" side of Mt Sonder at sunset.
Mt Giles in the post sunset glow
From here we watch the sunset, then return via
a different, and largely spinifex-free, route.
Our campsite is right on the side of the road,
but in a vehicle like this it doesn't matter. If this is where the
view is, then this is where we'll stay.
Our campsite on the road
Wed 11 Aug 2004
The sunrise is a bit of a fizzer, so we head off towards Glen Helen.
We stop several times to look at the views of
Mt Sonder, to get close up to some wildflowers, and to check out
some cyclists.
More wildflowers.
The great folded rock strata as seen from the road.
Part of Mt Sonder, it actually looks like a real mountain,
unusual for central Australia.
Two cheerful chaps on their way somewhere.
Two more cheerful chaps also on their way somewhere, they'll
just get there a lot later
They are Japanese, we chat for a few minutes and,
despite the language barrier, manage to have a laugh or two, especially
when I tell them that they are probably travelling faster than we
are.
It's hard to imagine more disparate travellers.
The middle-aged Australians with a 14-tonne army truck, and the
young Japanese on 14-kilogram bicycles.
One of them asks me where I come from. I point
to the truck.
His eyes widen, "Aaaww" he exclaims
with that hoarse tone that only the Japanese seem capable of mastering.
Then he looks at the camera, "Aaaww, big camera".
A car shoots past and we all hunker down trying
to avoid the dust. Obviously not everyone goes slow on these roads.
At around lunch time we pull into the Mt Sonder
lookout, it's a very pleasant spot so we decide to stay for the
day.
There's no camping allowed here, but you can see
people camped on the Finke River just a few hundred metres away.
Looking down over the Finke River and the camping area.
A yawning cormorant and the interesting patterns formed by
the reed leaves.
That looks nice, we'll be back, but first we're
a bit email starved and the nearest place we know to get CDMA reception
is in the gravel pit we camped in last week, about 80k away.
Chris spots some flowers as we drive along, once stopped we
discover all sorts of interesting subjects
We head back towards Alice and our gravel pit,
however just as we pass a rest area Chris tries the phone. It works.
We pull over, check our email, then return to
the rest area.
Thu 12 Aug 2004
One of the emails I received yesterday was a request for some photos
from a London-based stock library. As it happens I have some images
that match the request, so I formulate a return email and ride back
to the nearby crest where the phone works.
About half way through the email the phone's battery
dies. It's been a bit dicky lately, but now we're only getting a
few minutes use out of it.
Now what?
I ride back to the rest area, spotting a dragon
on the road as I go. On getting back to the truck I grab my camera
and return to the spot where the lizard was. It's nowhere to be
see, so I search the grass.
After about five minutes I give up, but while
walking back to the bike I spot a piece of lizard tail poking out
from a tussock.
He lets me get very close.
A dragon hiding in the grass at the side of the road.
Having photographed the lizard we drive our mobile
phone support system back to the crest. With the truck in place
our 50-gram phone works well with its 14-tonne auxiliary battery.
Fri 13 Aug 2004
We head off to Glen Helen today, well to the Finke River at least.
As we pass the Neil Hargrave lookout Chris suggests
that we check it out. It's a tight corner and a steep road into
it, but the spot is very nice. I'm hungry and ask Chris to knock
up a snack, while I'm eating Chris tries the phone for a signal.
It works here as well.
As we're at least 120k from Alice I can only assume
that the signal is coming from Hermansburg to the south, across
the ranges.
As we'd like to see if there's any response from
London, and this looks like a good spot, we stay.
Camped at the Neil Hargrave lookout.
Early morning view from the lookout.
Late afternoon view from the lookout
Mon 16 Aug 2004
Still here in the Neil Hargrave lookout.
We're not to take any photos today, absolutely
none, the camera is to stay in it's bag tucked away in the deepest
bowels of the truck. Never to be seen until we get back to a nice
gorge.
After all, we're parked in a lookout, what can
there be to photograph?
Still, it can't do any harm to go for a wander.
A small praying mantis looking for dinner.
Zebra finches drink from a leak in the water tank.
Bees like to drink here as well, check this one heading for the finch.
People often leave containers for the birds in rest areas.
An enormous grasshopper.
Wildflower and seed pod.
Is it any wonder there's so many grasshoppers around?
A cute little stick insect.
A cute little stick insect.
Yet another grasshopper.
Mortal combat between a large and a small ant.
Hairy ant with missing leg
At some time during the afternoon we decide to
"defrag" the laptop's hard disk.
We've always been fascinated by the moving display
defrag creates as it move files around and cleans up the disk. Unfortunately
the new version is not as good and the old one, but it's still hours
of fun for the whole family.
We sit watching the screen for ages, it's nice
to be so easily amused.
Tue 17 Aug 2004
After breakfast we leave the rest area and head towards Glen Helen.
They have camping there, it costs $23 per night for power and a
patch of dust bowl, so we won't be staying here.
Instead we'll camp along the Finke River. Just
across the road from the Glen Helen resort is a National Park campsite,
it runs for three kilometres along the river, and you can camp anywhere
you can get to.
I say "you can get to" because if you
want to camp right down on the river you'll have to drive through
sand. There is however a good track running just 200 metres or so
back from the river, and plenty of great places to camp with water
views.
We elect to drive along the sandy river bed to
a spot right on the water. The drive goes well as the truck is quite
comfortable in sand.
As we approach the spot I realise that it's 1-
to 2-metres below the track level, and there's a sandy bank that
must be negotiated.
We drive down it with no problems, but it's a
bit soft for camping so I turn around with a view to returning to
higher ground.
Oops, it's softer than we thought
Now going down a sand hill is one thing, coming
back up can be quite a different kettle of fish.
About half way up the rear axles start pig rooting.
I make a couple of runs at it but only get a foot or so further
on each attempt.
I get out to survey the scene. We're down fairly
deep, but not enough to classify as "bogged", not yet
anyway. But if I keep spinning wheels we will be.
I'm casting a few sideways glances at the trees,
assessing their suitability as winch anchors, but we're nowhere
near needing the winch yet. We lower the pressure in all tyres to
about 65psi, take another run at the bank and get most of the way
to the top. One more go and we're free.
Well that was fun, now let's find a camp site.
We finally settle in a spot higher on the sand
For the rest of the day we just rest (that's probably
why it's called the "rest" of the day) and watch the birds.
The river has all sorts of water birds, from ducks
to darters, and one distinctly non-water bird, a whistling kite.
The kite patrols the river regularly, presumably
looking for something like the little chicks we've seen hiding in
the reeds.
On one occasion he dives down to water level,
there's a brief kerfuffle between the kite and some ducks, then
he returns to the air empty-handed.
On another occasion, as the kite is flying past,
a small bird explodes from the rushes. It shoots 30 metres straight
up towards the kite, like a SAM missile closing on a jumbo jet,
then dive bombs the larger bird a couple of times before returning
to base.
This demonstration of sheer power and energy is
truly something to see.
A lacewing wants out of the truck
Later in the afternoon I spend some time trying
to photograph the water birds. I have no luck though, they're too
wary and I'm too impatient to sit and wait.
I'm content with a few shots of the reeds and
the new moon instead.
Reed reflections in the Finke river.
The new moon in the old moon's arms, or was that the other
way around?
Wed 18 Aug 2004
Up early to have another go at the water birds with the same outcome
as yesterday, some nice reed photos.
More reed reflections in the Finke river.
Mt Sonder at dawn from our camp
After breakfast Chris and I go for a walk along
the river.
We see plenty of animal tracks, but no actual
animals, unless you count the small herd of bulls (yes they were
all bulls, I checked).
A lot of bull with Mt Sonder in the background
At first we're a bit worried about them, but I'm
not afraid of a bit of bull, in fact I'm quite good at it.
We also find some nice flowers, some ladybirds,
and a cormorant or two.
Wildflower on the banks of the river.
Duck down, no not you, this is some duck down caught in a bush.
Ladybird on the hunt.
A cormorant takes of from a log
After lunch and a short snooze break we head back up the river.
I see a crested pigeon and some parrots...
This crested pigeon walked around me for ages, showing me its good side.
This Pt Lincoln parrot is checking out a potential nest hole on a hollow tree stump.
...then spot the bulls again. I approach one of
them. We stand face to face, two alpha males with nothing to prove,
identical in every way (well if you don't count physique and intelligence
that is).
One of the two loads of bull in the face off
Our eyes lock and the tension is tense, then I
realise that I've almost stepped on a stick insect.
Nice legs, shame about the face
The bull takes advantage of my distraction and
escapes into the nearby reeds.
Bull in the reeds, so I guess they aren't reeds at all, they're bulrushes.
Blue damsel flies cling to the reeds.
The whistling kite looks dejected in a tree. It has a "nobody
loves me" look on its face, not surprising I suppose,
as it spends it's whole life trying to kill and eat little
birds.
Various insects in the bushes along the river bank.
Bubbles just below the surface make interesting patterns.
In the right-hand photo can be seen an insect walking on the
surface.
A ridgebacked grasshopper and spider.
A coot with nice reflections, and a cormorant takes off.
Praying mantis on the hunt.
A hopper climbs a branch, and a cockroach climbs a leaf.
A new shoot emerges from the shallows
Fri 20 Aug 2004
Mount Sonder at dawn. This can be your view in the morning,
and it's free.
The Finke River perfectly reflects the trees on the far side,
and provides an abstract reflection of the reeds.
As a nearby camper drives past the resultant dust looks nice
in the morning light
We leave the Finke River this morning but there's
no rush as we only plan to drive about 10k to a spot along the dirt
road.
We identified the spot last week as being a suitable
base from which I could sortie up to a nearby hill for some evening
shots.
One thing we're absolutely not doing today is
taking any more photos, in fact until we're ready to pack up I'm
not leaving this truck.
This lacewing (left) was on our skylight. The fly was on the
kitchen wall. Now you know what the proverbial "fly on
the wall" looks like.
Oh well, I tried.
There is a well-formed track back to the road
but we leave our campsite via the way we came in, ie. along the
sandy river bed.
Wothahellizat negotiates a dry creek crossing on the way back to the road.
Comments
| Date :: |
02 Mar 2021 |
| Name :: |
Colin Hayvice |
| Location :: |
Napier, New Zealand |
| Comment :: |
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| Date :: |
02 Mar 2021 |
| Name :: |
GRAYnomad |
| Comment :: |
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