December

Getting close to Christmas and there are very few people coming through the facility. The days are mostly hot  (up to 40o) but with dips to 23o rain threatens often gut produces very little most of the time.
Had a dust storm a couple of days ago but lucky for us the wind changed and blew it north so we only got the edge of it . Still put a layer of red talcum powder all over and inside the bus.

Don't know how I missed telling you about our new puppy.Before we found Mollie, we had previously looked at a litter of thoroughbred  Staffordshire Terriers and had seen one that Maureen really liked, but had rejected it due to cost. However, a few weeks after we lost her, the kennel owner rang us saying that we could have the dog at a fraction of the price. We had decided to wait until February when we returned from Hong Kong but it was too good to pass up. So now we are proud parents to a very lively staffie pup named ............Mollie.
A couple of long term volunteers by name of Colin and Moira are getting ready to leave next week and we will really miss them as they have been really good company.
Thankfully I still have "JD" to hang out with. He's an old Kiwi with a glint in his eye and a story for every occasion.

November / December

During the last 2 months we have had an epidemic of bushfires mostly caused by hoons with firecrackers and "black lightning" although a few were ligitimate lightning strikes. Fortunately most of the country is low grass and scrub so the fires though bad enough, weren't as destructive as in heavily timbered country but the fires were huge in scope, some were on a 35km front. Last summers' heavy rain had made the grass grow much more than usual and it had died off. In the end they brought in firefighters from interstate and some of the culprits were caught and punished so the problem seems to have gone away.
It is with much sadness that I must report that the little dog whbich wormed its way into our hearts is no more. She got into my medication and died.
I was asked to be the tour guide for Hall of Fame. I have met so many interesting people people and I have learnt so much about trucks. Most of the tours are from Ghan train  passengers together with tourists staying at hotels and schoolchildren both local and remote.
Had some trouble walking and the Doctor recommended a podiatrist who fitted me with orthotics for my shoes. Left foot has been great but right one is almost crippling! Had about 6 lots of acupuncture but doesn't seem to work.
Life here is still great, we both love it
Maureen got a bee in her bonnet about going to Hong Kong and  once she got a glimmer of agreement from me she was like a dog with a bone.... I didn't know she was this tenacious. Think I will hire her out  as an event organiser.
We leave in early February.

October / November

Most of the other volunteers have left  as the temperature has risen sharply to average round the mid to high thirties. The pace of life slows here so it isn't so tough.
Rocky arrived yesterday in his old Leyland with his dog "Ned." Ned has to be the biggest dog I have ever seen! He weighs over 80 kg and is under 2 years old. He's  a huge  gangley slobbering mutt. When I went to pat him he put his mouth over my arm (which worried me a bit)
Last week the papers reported an incident where police stopped A car being driven by a 13 year old towing a dead donkey. On the back seat they found A .22 rifle, a shotgun and a high powered .243 rifle.
He must have been taking the donkey home for the tribe to eat.

Alice Springs - September / October

Have settled into "Alice" and seen a lot of the natural sights like Palm Valley,Trephena Gorge, Simpsons Gap , Standley Chasm, The Macdonnell Ranges, Desert Park.
Were lucky enough to be here when the annual "Henley-on Todd" dry river races were on. What a spectacle!

The yearly reunion at the National Road Transport Hall of Fame has happened and 84 veterans of the  road transport industry were inducted

We have had to endure 10 weeks of idyllic daytime temperatures between 21o- 30o with such low humidity it's very nice.
Have just taken delivery of the newest member of our family.

World ........Meet Mollie

Since we arrived here on the 14th June I dont believe we have had a day without bushfires (a legacy of the prolific growth of low foliage from last years heavy rains) Mostly started by lightening, black lightening and young idiots

The smoke has been so thick for the last few days that Maureen has had trouble sleeping.

This is because of a large blaze to the west of Alice which is tonight on top of the West Macdonnell range.  As the town is in a depression, today it was filled with thick acrid smoke and the hospital has been kept busy with patienrts with breathing difficuilties.

We are about 10 km sou/sou/east from it and the wind is blowing it towards us. Every time the gusts of wind pick up, we can see the flames dance high into the air. 

Will set the alarm for 2am to check on it.

 

Alice Springs June - July

After camping one night at "the rock" turnoff, some 200km back, and about a million mice, we set sail for "The Alice"
It was about this time that I stepped on my computer. This is why my blog is so far behind.
The weather is very much on the improve with near zero mornings but 20oC days
On the way into town we went straight to the truck museum, where, as we had been told, we could stay for at least a month for only the cost of our electricity use as long as we worked 10 hours a week eack
We had just finished makin enquiries and had turned to go to the bus and Maureen tripped and fell on a raised paver in the path. As she went down her head hit the bricks and her glasses cut through her eyebrow causing a nasty gash which required 5 stitches.

Since I last wrote, We had camera trouble, I stood on the laptop, breaking the screen, rending it useless and I had motivation problems, so this pretty much brought my blog writing to a standstill.
It wasn't until I bought a new computer and  received a severe phone castigation from Alan T. that I managed to pick up the thread.
On arrival at "The Alice" we went straight to The Road Transport Hall of Fame about 8 km south of town just off the highway where we understood that in exchange for 20 hours volunteer work per week and paying our own electricity, we could camp on the grounds.
This facility is really huge. It incorporates the Ghan Museum which details the history of the old train that used to run to Alice.
The truck section contains pretty much every truck ever made in one form or another
The original first road train in the world(an Australian invention)
A pavillion containing only Kenworths
A shed of Macks
Ford model "T"s
Heaps of rare vehicles and engines
plus 8 rooms of "walls of fame"
We had met John and Suzanne at Port Augusta  and they arrived the same time we did.
Teamed up with them to explore East and West Macdonnell Ranges.
We were in awe of the landscape all round the town.
visiting such places as Simpsons Gap, Standley Chasm, Herrmansberg, Palm Valley, Emily Gap, Jessie Gap is all I can think of just now
The town itself is about 30,000 people,very prosperous and has a high cost of living. It has most of the large stores and good facilities.
There is a big number of aborigines here and to us it may appear that they look pretty hopeless. The alcohol problem is bad as it is the cause of a lot of domestic violence. 4 litre wine casks are banned from sale and there are a lot of other regulations covering sale of alcohol.
Maureen is set up with clerical work and manning the front desk, while I have been making ladders for top bunks for sleeper car carriages which were converted into B&Bs
Since our arrival, we have been treated to visits from Noel and Beverly, Ian and Sue, Steph and Duff and Daryl and Coleen who stayed 3 days.
I would like to give rave reviews on the local bakery as their stuff looked sensational but at $4 each, there was no way I was going near their vanilla slices.
Can't download pix from camera to new computer yet . Think it's lacking software but I promise to try to remedy that Alan.

the Olgas



Millions of years ago The Olgas may have been shaped like Uluru but as the stone is much softer, it has broken into pieces and looks like a giant hand slung things everywhere.
I feel that they are  visually much more stunning than the rock and I undertook the 7.8km walk through them, much to my sorrow as it was for the most part a grueling trek, but I wouldn't have missed it.

Ayres Rock

Maureen was worried about the border quarantine inspection as we had lost so much fruit and vegetables going into S.A.  and we had been warned about how ruthless the inspectors were, so she was meticulous about having nothing that could be confiscated, however there was noone to inspect us when we went through the check point.
Arrived at a rest area 30 km short of "TheRock" on Tuesday afternoon where we hooked up with Don and Pat, Jean and tony plus Stan and Noela, whom we had met at Port Augusta together with John and Suzanne. Noel and Bev were parked about 100km back at Clinton Springs (where diesel was $2.20 a litre)  and joined us next day
We camped 30km short of the rock at a rest area where there is a hill which is a good vantage point to see it.

It had been raining all the way from Coober Pedy but eased in the afternoon and we were having happy hour when Don mentioned that it was raining in the national park. Maureen immediately wanted to see water on the rock so we set out post haste and sure enough there were streams cascading down it.

Have seen many pictures of the rock but there is no substitute for looking at it.
The huge monolith towers over you dominating and almost threatening. everyone agreed it was a bit eery.
Looked at the climb track and decided it was not for us so we drove round it.