10/10/16 Update time

 Hi folks , an update to let you know where and what we've been up to .
First up , our drive from Coober Pedy to Moss Vale - 1,964 klms in 4 days - a few long days and a short one . The drive from Coober Pedy to Port Augusta was windy , fortunately it was a cross tail wind , so didn't hinder us too much . The countryside on this leg of the drive was stoney desert and various salt lakes , till you get closer to Port Augusta where you can see the Flinders Ranges - quite impressive after all the time spent in the desert .
 The 2nd days drive took us to Peterborough , an old railway town with some stunning old pubs & stone buildings . The main reason for the stopover in Peterborough was to meet Frank & Margaret - they also own a 5th wheeler like ours , and we'd already been talking over the phone . We had a great day with them and we spent the night parked in their driveway - a very chilly one - it got down to 3.5 degrees !!!!!
 Next day we headed off again , driving toward Burra , then on to Renmark , Mildura , and finally stopping at Euston - a small town on the Murray River in NSW . We visited 3 states today - SA , Victoria & NSW !!
 The valleys and agricultural areas around Burra were amazing , lush green grass , wheat fields in various states of growth . Old derelict houses dotted some of the outlying areas , here's one .

 Patterson's Curse is a weed , but makes for spectacular scenery !!

 At Euston , we wandered down to the river - we'd been here a few years ago - the river was about    2-3m higher than normal - we sat on these stairs when we were there last time - you have a wet backside if you were sitting in the same place .

  From here it was on to Wagga Wagga , via Balranald , Hay , and Narrandera , across the Hay Plain . I have never seen this area in flood before , and it's quite different . The water doesn't flow quickly , it just spreads out slowly . Again the growth of grass is staggering . Probably the most amazing thing we saw today between Balranald and Hay , was the amount of emu's - we would have seen over 200 of them - some right beside the road , others up to 100m away - more than we've seen in all the time we've been away .
 You normally can't see water from the road as you are driving , it was everywhere !!

  We stopped at a rest area between Hay and Darlington Point , the water was right beside us and had been up where we were parked .

 A night in Wagga Wagga was called for and we headed to Moss Vale the next day . The rain and flooding had caused problems for the farmers - they weren't able to harvest their Canola crops , so they were left to die off in the fields , no doubt the wheat harvest will also be severely downgraded as well . Graziers further out toward Gundagai and further north however will be rubbing their hands together , with all the countryside green and lush - again we have never seen it looking this good !!!
 Making it into Moss Vale , we set up in the Showgrounds again , and set about visiting people .
The funeral was on Friday and although a sad occasion , it was also a lovely celebration of his life . We got to catch up with a lot of people that we hadn't expected to see - old work mates that had moved to other areas , and others from closer depots . It also reinforced my decision to retire when I did - we are really happy with that life choice !!
  Out of Moss Vale , we headed to Lismore to get some things done to the van - just another 900 klms to add to the tally of nearly 3,000 klms for the last 2 weeks !!
 We had the joy of catching up with a lovely couple who we met in WA , Rick & Marcia were on their way back home in Qld from a trip down to Mittagong , and had stopped in Urunga for a few days - we decided it would be a nice surprise to meet them there , so we made that a stopover and had a wonderful catch up with them .
 We are now in Lismore and will be here for a week or 2 while we do some work on the van . The blog will be happening , just slowly - stay tuned !!
 Here's a map link for our small drive :-https://drive.google.com/open?id=1HrOo0c-q_xQHMW3mr_SWVHcLfQs&usp=sharing

27 & 28/10/16 Travel time

 We left Kings Creek Station yesterday and free camped beside Agnes Creek for the night , before driving further today and arriving at Coober Pedy . Back in phone service again , I caught up with messages and emails .
 Bad news , one of my work mates passed away on Wednesday after battling prostate cancer for several years .
 That will cut time here short and we'll head back for the funeral next week . That also means the blog will be on a temporary break . We do have some photos from The Breakaways - a spectacular place about 30 klms out of town - almost like a painting !!

 The scenery here could have been taken from a movie screen - incredible !!

 All the colours can be seen on the valley floor below - such a vast array of colour !!

 Back to town and more of what this place is famous for - Mullock Heaps - they've been digging this place up for quite some time now !! The opal field stretches to 5,000 sq klms !!!

 The drive to Coober Pedy is different , you are driving through a lot of scrubby bush - stoney desert , and inhospitable country , but again the wildflowers helped soften the scenery .

  There are a lot of cacti at the park we are staying at tonight and they are out in flower .

 We also ran into another local - a Bearded Dragon - who stood up and checked us out for a while .

  Okay , that's it for a while , trust you've enjoyed the blog . Here's a map link :- https://drive.google.com/open?id=1YGeAurG_oK-vC2N6E7py2Dn-9t4&usp=sharing

Cheers

26/10/16 Kings Canyon Rim Walk time

  After an early night , and an earlier morning( the alarm didn’t even want to work - too early) we arrived at the start of the walk at 7am . 

  Backpacks loaded with 3 drink bottles each , flynets , hats , we hit the hill . Part way up we stopped , Lyn’s flynet had disappeared in one of the wind gusts and wasn’t to be found again - fortunately we didn’t really need them today . The temperature was quite pleasant - today was forecast to get to 37 degrees , hence our early start . 

 The spinifex is nearly finished it seeding and looks spectacular in the sun .

 The creek below us looks good with bright green leaves on the trees , above , we could see a group of people already at one of the lookouts - it looks like they were just standing on top of a rock near the cliff’s edge - they were !!

 The climb was getting our heart rates up - there are a lot of steps to go up , and they are all different heights and widths , so climbing them is an interesting exercise . Before long we’d reached the top and stopped for a drink and a few photo’s . Here’s another of the canyon , one at the top with spinifex grass , and one of the ridgeline to the west of us , with a ghost gum clinging to the side of the rock face .

 Further up the top , the rocks got interesting , with layers of the rock at different angles - cross bedding occurred when the the rock was just a sand dune and the wind came from different directions , leaving layers flat and others at an angle . 

 The sandstone has formed domes - similiar to the Bungles in WA only much smaller and much rougher . There are 2 types of sand stone - Mereenie and Carmichael .The sand that formed the Carmichael sandstone is much softer and easily erodes away - it is a whiter colour and very easily breaks down , so much so that you can stand on smaller pieces of it and it crumbles back into sand!!! 

 Anyway , back to the photo’s , there are domes all over the place and there are also large flatter areas as well , we walked through a lot of them on our way to the cliff edge , for another view of the canyon .

  We found many sections showing cross layering , here’s another .

We took a 600m return detour to a lookout - the one in the photo before - and got great views down the canyon toward the start , and across to a smoother section of the cliff face that has circular patterns on it . They say that the patterns were caused by stress when that section cracked away from the rest of the ridge . There’s also a section of patterned rock on the same side we were on .

  There was also a section of ripple stone from way back when this area was covered in a shallow sea .

 Wandering down the track we came to some timber steps that led us down into another valley , and then across a bridge , before some more steps up to the top again . Before going up , we headed along the the valley to the Garden Of Eden . The valley is full of cycads and gum trees and a creek with water in it . After going up & down more steps , we reached the end of the track and a beautiful rock pool . It was even better when there wasn’t anyone else there , as it was nice and quiet , except for the budgerigars and finches chirping away .

 After having a peaceful time and relaxing for a while , we headed back to the top and started the return trip around the south rim of the canyon . We found the entry into the canyon from the waterhole , made an interesting photo .

 On one side , we had the cliff edge , and the northern cliff face ,and then on the southern side , was an expanse of rock domes stretching off in the distance .

 This part of the walk was also hotter , with fewer spots to shelter in the shade - big lack of trees up here !! There are some trees , but not many , plenty of cycads , some of which must be very old . Starting to descend through the domes , we came through many smaller valleys and looked out over others .

 Looking back out towards Kings Canyon Resort and the carpark , the flat land down below showed just how many wild flowers there are here - you can see the creamy white colour on  the orange flat land - something that wouldn’t show up unless there were thousands upon thousands of flowers !!!!

The domes were thinning out a bit , and started to move into rocky slopes , spinifex , wild flowers and some scrubby trees .

 Then the steps started again - everyone had told us the steps were all on the first section - WRONG - they were on this side as well , just not quite as steep and better formed .  This side was also much hotter as well , with the heat coming off the flat land below blasting us as we came down. 

 Back to the ute , we unloaded ourselves and jumped ??? / crawled into the ute to get the aircon going . It was 37 degrees according to the ute , and it felt like it too . Back to the station for some late lunch and then an ice bath - sorry that should have been swim in the pool , but it was freezing - just as you get in , the thought comes to mind - Why am I doing this , then you get back out again , refreshed , cold , but refreshed , then sit on the side to warm up again !!

 We were rewarded with a nice sunset and a great nights sleep .

  Today was a surprise after yesterday , after being not overly taken by the canyon , we are quite happy we’ve done the walk and seen this spectacular scenery . 

 Kings Canyon is a bit out of the way to get to - 160klms from Lassetters Hwy , the turn off is 108 klms from Stuart Hwy . It’s 360 klms from Yulara , so it’s a destination in itself . There’s helicopter rides , quad bike rides & camel rides at Kings Creek Station as well , but there’s not a lot else to do apart from a 22klm 2 day walk that can be done .