Kings Canyon here we come! - Friday 26th October 2012 With a possibility of some rain overnight, I was very relieved to awake to a clear day and a dry tent. The forecast few days of cooler weather in the mid 20's would be a great relief from the high 30's to 40 that we had been having. We have learnt to take with a pinch of salt what other people say about how interesting or boring certain roads are and we headed back out on the road we came in on. On the inw...

Kata Tjuta or leave? 24th October 2012 We have been desperately wanting to get out to Kata Tjuta ( formally known as the Olgas ) but it had either been too smoky to bother or the road was closed because of the fires. Having already stayed an extra day in the hope of getting out there this was D day. Having studied the web site that shows the position of all the fires and how long ago they were active we had calculated that there was a better than 50% chance t...

Camel Riding at Sunrise at Uluru NT Tues 23 October 2012 Dave and I were up and off our air mattresses at 4am, getting ready to be at the bus stop by 5am so we could go on our big adventure; a camel ride in the coolest part of the day in Uluru country for $99 each. I have been so looking forward to this experience! The early morning stars were lovely and clear, only Planet Venus was outshining them all. The dark clear skies were portents of an excellent vi...

Alice Springs to Uluru, 460km: Sat 20 October 2012 Dave and I were out of our budget cabin and on the road by 7.30am to beat the expected 40 degree heat riding to Ayres Rock (Uluru). This is when being in a cabin makes it easier to leave early, as it takes us about an hour to pack up our gear if we are in the tent. The central desert country is rather beautiful to us flying along like low flying birds on our motorbikes, as there are subtle changes in the scener...

Ormiston Gorge, Ochre Pits, Standley Chasm and Simpsons Gap - 16th - 18th October 2012 We may not have liked Glen Helen Resort but the surrounding area was a treat for the eyes. We did an early day trip to beat the forecast 39 degrees. Arriving at Ormiston Gorge early we set out on the walk that goes up above the rim of the Gorge and then later comes back down into the riverbed and back to the permanent waterhole. By this time we had worked up a sweat and we ...