Googs and Beyond

Easter 2011

 

 

The preparation for this trip started in May 2010 when we were returning from the west with Gary Hallam and his father Jack.   We had stopped off at Ceduna and were talking to some one who had just travelled Googs track from north to south.  I had always been keen to do the track so we decided then and there to venture along Googs from south to north Easter 2011.  As the school holidays were at the same time the trip became Googs and beyond, venturing to the areas I had been unable to visit in the Alice Springs area.

 

Friday 15 April

The day had finally arrived and a number of us met at the Bolivar rendezvous, the Caltex Station.  As Jen was unable to go I had a friend with me, Dick Sladden.  We met Len Tonkin, Kath and Kevin at 10.00am.  Kim had left the day before, Spot was going via Orroroo and Gerry had to work on that day and would meet the group at the Mt Remarkable Conservation Park, Mambray Creek camp ground, early evening.  The trip to Mambray Creek was punctuated with a number of stops, the first being Port Wakefield for the obligatory coffee from the bakery, then onto the roadside stall just north of Port Pirie and finally arriving at Mambray Creek at about 4.00pm.  As we neared the roadside stall there was flashing lights of a police car and the thoughts of speed trap, or breathalyser, not expecting a 4x4 and an overturned caravan on the side of the road, both badly damaged. 

 

As we neared Mambray Creek, Spot came over the radio asking if any members of the ORVC party were on channel, we responded and caught up at the camp site able to secure sites close to each other.  After setting up, a few of the party walked up into the gorge taking in the flora and fauna of the area.  Each group had tea and then congregated around the fire pit at Spots camp area with wood supplied by Kim.  Gerry arrived earlier than expected so we discussed the next day’s agenda over a social drink.

 

Saturday 16 April

A 9.00am start with a short stay in Port Augusta to top up with fuel and supplies, then an uneventful trip to Ceduna arriving at the Airport Caravan Park at about 4.30pm.  Gerry’s friend from WA, Malcolm had arrived  and joined the group to tackle Googs track then spend some time with Gerry in the Gawler Ranges.

 

Everyone settled into their accommodation which ranged from a cabin for Spot, Powered Site for Ian and Dick, Non Powered Sites for the remainder of the group.  Then a small group went to the Community Hotel on the foreshore for tea and the others made their own at the Caravan Park.  To be honest we were disappointed in the standard of accommodation particularly Spot with his cabin as no maintenance had been done for many years.  If we were staying any longer the best park in town is the Shelly Beach Caravan Park .

 

Sunday 17 April

After refuelling our first port of call was the Tourist Bureau for those members who needed to get a pass for Googs Track and to find out what the track conditions were like.  We were disappointed with the service we received as the information officers were only worried about the number of travellers they were expecting over the extended Easter Weekend.  The rangers were expecting to camp on the track over the long weekend as it would be like Rundle Street during rush hour.

 

Spot had made his way to the BP service station on the western edge of town and everyone would meet there and then move onto Googs track.  In my wisdom, thought I would take a short cut but it happened to be the wrong road out of town so we all met at the turn off to Googs Track.  Once we went through the gate to the entrance of Yumburra Conservation Park, let our tyres down ready to conquer Googs.  The dunes to Googs memorial were gentle and easily traversed and after a short break at the memorials of Goog and his son we ventured to Googs Lake where we set up camp for two nights.  Kevin had trouble with the weld on his auxiliary tank and had to reduce the amount of fuel in his tank to stop the leak.  Many of us were the recipients of some extra fuel.

 

It has puzzled me for quite some time as to why a person would clear a track of some 150 plus kilometres to the intercontinental railway line.  After the trip I did some research and found that Goog pushed the track through from 1973 to 1976 so that the locals could attend the Tarcoola races. 

 

Fire wood had to be gathered for the evening roast and the fire was lit in plenty of time so we had good coals.  A roast of pork, beef and lamb with potatoes, onions , sweet potatoes, carrots and peas followed by plumb pudding and custard.  Kathy tried her hand successfully making bread in the camp oven and later in the trip tried it in the Cob.

 

Monday 18 April

Gerry led a trip to Childera Rock.  This is a large rock, similar to those around Minnipa, on Lake Everard Station with a stone and mortar wall around the edge of the rock to collect the water for stock use.  As we left the camp site, leaving Kim and Spot to mind our belongings, we hugged Googs Lake for some time before we met the main track to Lake Everard Station.  It was interesting but extremely slow going through the different types of country on this corrugated track.

 

The group stopped first at Lois waterhole, a small hole in the large granite rock, full of water which was a marvellous site in such a dry land.  The view from the top of the rocky outcrop was something to behold and just showed the wonders of the Australian outback.  We lunched at the waterhole prior to travelling through the dog proof fence on to Childera Rock.  The ingenuity of the pastoralists of bygone eras was evident as this water catchment is still in use today.  The water collected off the rock is channelled to a large stone tank then pumped by windmill to sheep troughs at that end of the property.  On the return journey we visited another rock hole, Narala rock hole.  This was similar to the Lois waterhole and still was full of water.  We reached camp in time for happy hour and general chatter around the camp fire.

 

Tuesday 19 April

Today was the day we conquered Googs Track.  From the camp site we headed north easily traversing the sand hills.  Some were badly rutted suggesting that travellers before us had not let their tyres down sufficiently.  This was proved when we heard over the radio that one of a group of Victorians with a trailer behind us was being snatched over nearly every sand hill.  TC, Spot offered them advice about tyre pressures but was told in no uncertain terms that they knew all about travelling over sand hills. 

 

The sand hills to Mount Finke were more challenging than those we tackled south of Googs Lake.  Lunching at Mount Finke, no one wanted to climb the mount so we headed for Malbooma.  This section of Googs track was the most challenging but we had no problems conquering sand hills and deep sandy tracks.  The track headed due west at one stage which was not recognised by Gerry or Spot but then turned north again to meet the intercontinental railway line.  Immediately north of the line we headed due east through the ghost town of Tarcoola to our camp at site and counter meal at Kingoonya.  The caravan park was at the rear of the pub and a donation for the use of the facilities was asked for.

 

An excellent pub meal was had at the hotel that night.  We flustered the publican as a group of 15 Victorian travellers had booked for 6.30pm and if we were amenable could be fitted in after they had finished.  Waiting for our meal we sampled different beers from the bar  and were entertained by a group of  locals. 

 

Wednesday 20 April

Gerry and Malcolm said farewell to the group as they headed south east into the Gawler Ranges.  Malcolm enjoyed himself and would be a very good travelling partner on any other trip the club undertakes.  The remaining five vehicles had an easy trip as we headed north from Kingoonya meeting the Stuart Highway north of Glendambo on our way to Coober Pedy for a two night stay. 

 

Once at the Stuart Range Caravan Park the chores of cleaning up trailers, particularly my trailer as its contents had suffered at the hands of Googs Track.  Broken glasses, smashed eggs and the replacement of some storage boxes were attended to prior to washing clothes.  Spot once again stopped in a cabin whilst the remainder of the party either claimed powered or non powered sites. 

 

Thursday 21 April

Spot led a round trip to the Breakaways, an area of geological importance just north east of Coober Pedy.  It was unfortunate that Kathy was not feeling well enough to join us so Kevin hopped in with Ian and Dick.  Len also stayed behind to do some running repairs to his vehicle.

 

We travelled up the bitumen for approximately 20 km then east to the Breakaways.  One could not help but marvel at the colours of the hills, ranging from pure white, through browns, yellow to very strong ochre.  A couple of back packers had camped overlooking this memorable scene and they were in another country would be up for about $500.00 for one nights accommodation.  We walked over much of the site marvelling at the hills, their colourings and the fragility of the area as a whole.

 

The return journey took us to the dog proof fence on to the moon plain where we explored the landscape.  The soil was deep brown to black very friable with deep cracks.  After rains one could envisage this plain turning to soup and not a place to be driving.  We then returned to Coober Pedy for a restful afternoon and a Pizza tea at the Caravan Park Pizza Shop.

 

Friday 22 April

Woke up to hot cross buns and a 9.30am start as we did not have far to travel to Arkaringa Station and sunset at the Painted Desert. Those members with camper trailers filled up with water at the water station by the entrance to the Caravan Park.  It cost 20 cents for about 40 litres.

 

Spot led the way as he had led a trip over this ground some years earlier and it was decided as he had the knowledge he would lead until we reached Alice Springs.  North to Mount Barry then west to Evelyn Downs, north to the Cadney Homestead/Oodnadatta road then east to Arkaringa Station.  When we travelled these roads previously they were 80km roads but on this trip we were in for a shock.  From Mount Barry rough was an understatement.  They were rutted washed out and on many occasions Spot had to blaze a new track so we could get through as the original road had become the river.

 

The Cadney Homestead to Oodnadatta road, the major road from the Stuart Highway to the Painted Desert, was expected to be good but again we had to pick our way around the original road and it was slow going.  Spot radioed that he had met a Ford Territory that was returning to Coober Pedy from the Painted Desert. After looking at their map the driver had decided to head to the Highway and then south.  The map gave the road the same rating as others which they had travelled in the area.  By the time the third car in our party had reached the territory he had tried to turn around and became bogged.  No shovel on board the driver was trying to dig the car out with his hands.  Kevin was able to get experience in using his winch to free the territory.

 

The last of our party, Ian, reached the camp ground at Arkaringa at dusk as I had left my long handled shovel at the bog scene and had to return approximately 10 kilometres to retrieve it.  Too late to take in the sunset at the Painted Desert so  after an unexpected real 4x4 driving experience we had dinner and a chat with another wanderer, Julie, around the camp fire.

 

 

Saturday 23 April

Every one woke to a great morning and we were back on track to see the Painted Desert before we headed for Oodnadatta and Eringa Waterhole.  The Painted Desert was mind blowing with its very rich colours from white, orange through to the browns.  This awe inspiring site was very similar to the Breakaways, being more extensive and just as enjoyable.  We had to walk through the Desert taking many photos to remind us of its beauty.  Pity we didn’t see it at sunset.

 

After morning tea we headed for Oodnadatta where we paid the highest price for petrol to date, $1.98 per litre.  After filling with fuel we lunched at the Pink Roadhouse and on enquiring were told that the road between Mt Dare and Old Andado was closed.  Decisions, decisions, so we decided to move on to Mt Dare where we would get the most up to date information about the track.  Our next stop, on the way to the Eringa waterhole, was one of the few remaining Overland Telegraph poles still standing.  The road was mostly good with some bulldust patches with water and green grass over most of the country.

 

Arriving at the waterhole we picked the best sites we could and dropped two yabby nets into the billabong to try our luck. I had trouble with the camper trailer zip cover and after much patience; Spot was able to open it successfully, hoping that when it was packed up in the morning everything would fall into place.  After tea we discussed our options if the Old Andado track was closed.  It was decided we would proceed with plan B, firstly going to Chambers Pillar then Rainbow Valley, Kings Canyon and ending up at Palm Valley.

 

Sunday (Easter Sunday) 24 April

Up early to check the yabby pots and to my surprise there was three good sized yabbies in the two nets.  The idyllic morning silence was broken by the next camp, what we believe were Victorians, cutting down logs with a chain saw.  We left this great spot and if the trip had been more leisurely with no definite ending date we could have rested and stayed at least another night.  Off to Mt Dare to fill up with fuel, check the road conditions and hopefully head north to Old Andado.   The fuel was the most expensive, beating Oodnadatta by a few cents and to add to our quandary the road was closed.

 

Easter Bunny visited us at Mt Dare and we had chocolate easter eggs supplied by Jenny W and the Mt Dare Hotel.  After much discussion we decided to try the track and if need be would have to retrace our steps and go to plan B.  The advice was to watch for the bore tracks as they were often more distinct than the main track.  Off we set and the first road junction took the left hand fork, WRONG, and ended up at a bore.  Spot tried valiantly to connect with the main track but no avail, so we went back the way we had come until we found our way over the sand hills to the main track.

 

The country side was unbelievable with green feed up to the doors of the vehicles and large areas of water.  The track in places was very hard to follow but we made the South Australian/Northern Territory border and onto Mayfield Bore.  Just north of the bore there was a real contrast between the sand hills on the western side of the track and the vast expanse of water of the billabong to the east.  Everyone in the party expressed amazement at the scenery and made the comment that we will probably never see the outback so green and with so much water lying about again in our travels.

 

We quietly made our way to Andado Station turning east on the Binns Track towards Old Andado.  As expected we found the road was blocked by a huge billabong so found some faint tracks to the north and followed them. It wasn’t  long before the track disappeared and we had to skirt the large lake, laying down fences which enabled us to reach the homestead.  Arriving at 4.30pm we set up camp, I once again had trouble with the zip and in frustration cut the end of it so we could open the tent of the trailer.  After a good look around the deserted homestead we admired the view of lakes surrounding the house, had happy hour, made tea, talked around the camp fire then turned in for a good nights sleep.

 

Monday 25 April

If breaking the zip to my trailer cover wasn’t bad enough I woke to discover a flat and what was worse a stake had peirced the side wall of a brand new tyre.  We were unable to fix it immediately so would wait until we reached Alice Springs.  The trailer cover was held on with ratchet straps thanks to Spot’s ingenuity which held for the remainder of the trip.

 

Spot led the way again making our own tracks as we left Old Andado around the large expanses of water until we successfully found the road to Alice Springs.  The road (track) close to the homestead was badly rutted with long stretches of bull dust which made it slow going, so slow in fact that we only travelled 30 kms in 2 hours.

 

We passed the turnoff to the Mac Clarke Conservation Park where the one of the only two stands of Acacia Peuce tree can be found.  Spot had camped there on a previous trip and on his firm advice we continued on our way to Alice.  It was interesting to pass through Weed Control areas where we were not allowed to stop as weed seeds may drop from the vehicle and contaminate the area.  The road improved and at about 4.00pm we stopped and camped just shy of the Aboriginal Community of Santa Teresa.

 

Tuesday 26 April.

On this public holiday we quietly made our way into Alice past the air port and into the MacDonnell Ranges Caravan Park.  It was a day of catching up on all the chores we had not been able to do on the track.  To our relief Woolies and Coles were open so we could leisurely do our shopping as our washing dried.

 

Repairs were made to vehicles and I am indebted to Spot for bringing out his monster soldering iron and repairing the cold solders I had done on my Anderson Plugs.

 

Kath and Kevin explored Alice Springs and had a great socialising afternoon so their evening meal was at the park whilst the single men ate at the local pub.  Kim got the short straw when he picked the chicken schnitzel as it was the smallest chicken schnitzel any of us had ever seen.  The steak on the other hand whilst ample sized ranged from great to very tough.  The walk back to the park was eventful and it seemed Dick had an altercation with a fence, coming off second best.

 

Wednesday 27 April

Ian and Kim left the park early to get tyres fixed and we all met on Larapinta Drive, the western outskirts of Alice Springs and set out for Palm Valley.  Our first stop, the Albert Namajera Memorial, then onto Hermannsburg for some sightseeing and to purchase our permits for the Mereenie Loop drive to Kings Canyon.  Hermannsburg was a neat aboriginal settlement and the thing that took our eye was the solar panels which supply at least half of the settlements electricity needs.

 

 After lunch on the roadside just outside the settlement we headed down the Finke Gorge for Palm Valley. The scenery was mind blowing travelling either parallel to the river or along the river bed.  The Finke River is a staggering 250 million years old and boasts to be the oldest river in the world.  We stopped short of the National Park and picked up enough fire wood for our camp oven cook up.

 

We arrived at the camp ground to find a neat well developed area with solar showers, six well kept gas barbecues and well laid out camp areas for tents and camper trailers.  The Kalaranga lookout over the valley and camp ground was worth a trip as the late afternoon sun accentuated the colours of the rock amphitheatre encircled by the rugged cliffs.  On return from our trip to the lookout we were met by Kirsty Stenhouse, the park ranger.  Kirsty had been very helpful when the trip was being organised and she continued her great service during our stay at Palm Valley.

 

To our disappointment all fires had to be contained in the steel fire pits which were unsuitable for camp ovens, so the roast night was rescheduled for Kings Creek Station a few nights later.  This did not stop us having the usual happy hour and thanks to Kathy for once again spoiling the boys with her great nibbles.  It had become a contest of how many mice had been caught in the traps overnight.  Both Kim and Spot had mice or larger animals scampering over their tents during the night interrupting their sleep.

 

Thursday 28 April

This was one of the days I had been looking forward to for many months, the hiking into Palm Valley.  I woke to find that my fridge in the camper trailer had died, so it was once again Spot to the rescue to diagnose an inline fuse had given up the ghost.  As Spot had walked the valley many times he elected to mind the camp.  We left at 8.00am and drove the four kilometres to the start of the Arankaia and Mpulungkinya walks.  We decided to take the longer  Mpulungkinya walk which led us up the valley surrounded by many palms which are rare and unique to this area.  The red cabbage palm is a species restricted to this area and it was noted that there is a population of around 3,000 adult plants. We came to a water hole in the creek bed where the brave ones hand grabbed the rock face around the pool and hopefully did not fall in.  Both Kim and Dick successfully negotiated the rock face whilst the rest of us walked through the water to progress up the valley.  During one of our stops Kim realised that he had lost his hand held so three of us retraced our steps whilst Kevin, Kath and Dick ventured further up the valley.  Kim took many close up photos of plants and to get the right shot had to contort his body.  The radio must have fallen out of his hip pocket and it was around one of these plants where Len found the lost item.  As it was close to where we turned around we decided to carry on and finish the walk.  At the turning point we scaled the wall and headed back across the plateau taking in the magnificent view of the valley below at every opportunity.

 

We returned to the campsite for lunch and a relaxing afternoon.  Those of the group who had not climbed the lookout on Wednesday decided to do it this afternoon.  As we were unable to have a roast night the COB was a good substitute.  Ian cooked a roast and Kathy tried her had at bread.

 

Friday  29 April

As Kirsty had recommended that we did not take trailers to Boggy Hole, we decided on a day trip from the camp ground.  Setting off at 8.00am for our trip along Ellery Creek and the Finke River terminating at Boggy Hole we were in for a day to remember.  Kathy wasn’t feeling the best so she decided to stay at camp and recuperate.  Back to Hermannsburg looking for the correct road we turned right straight into the rubbish dump, retraced our steps and took the next turn right which took us down to Ellery Creek.  The road varied from being washed out, corrugated to a good road until we reached Ellery Creek where we travelled down the wide creek bed over stony, sandy terrain and often through water.  On reaching the Finke River we travelled south experiencing great four wheel driving and marvelling at the scenery along this ancient river bed.  Close to Boggy Hole we had to cross the river where even the ranger had spent a night, bogged, so we sent Dick in to check the depth and bottom of the crossing.  As Dick survived the crossing with just wet shorts the vehicles ventured across and down to boggy hole where we studied the bird life including, Herons, Egrets and Cormorants. 

 

After a short break and lunch we headed back along the river bed enjoying ourselves with four wheel driving through the water, scaling the jump up and negotiating the long stretches of very sandy sections.  On the return trip we were still in wonderment of the gorge and surrounding country.   Back at Palm Valley we had an enjoyable evening watching the magnificent sunset and chatting around the camp fire.

 

 

Saturday 30 April

It was time to move on from this idyllic camping site to another Australian Outback icon, Kings Canyon.  We had to cover quite some distance along the reputedly rough, corrugated notorious Mereeni Loop so we left Palm Valley at 9.30am and headed once again for Hermannsburg Mission, where we filled with fuel for both the vehicles and our tummies.  The cost of fuel seemed exorbitant at $2.00 per litre and some members thought they may wait until we reached Kings Creek Station.  It was a bigger shock there at $2.15 per litre.

 

Spot led the way and after Hermannsburg our first stop was Gosses Bluff. which is one of the most significant impact structures in the world.  The crater is thought to be made by the impact of a large comet or meteorite, about 143 million years ago.  It is also estimated that the original crater would have been 22 kilometres in diameter and the object would have released energy equivalent to 22,000 mega tonnes of TNT.  In comparison the atomic bomb on Hiroshima was equivalent to 13 kilotons of TNT.  A megaton is equivalent to 1,000 kilotons, so you can imagine the destruction of the meteorite.  It has been estimated that the impact would have been felt some 4,000 metres underground.  We had lunch at this intriguing site and climbed to the lookout to take in the view and to try and come to terms with the original impact.

 

We then travelled the Mereeni Loop and to our surprise not a bad road with long stretches under road works.  We passed a prime mover travelling at about five kms per hour and all over the road.  This apparently is par for the course with these vehicles when they are not loaded up with a trailer etc. 

 

We drove 30 kilometres past the Kings Canyon Resort and settled into the Kings Creek camp ground paying $20.00 per person per night for a powered site which I thought was a bit on the steep side.  But if you compare it to Yulara and Kings Canyon camping areas, turns out to be reasonable.  It was joy for Len as there were three Cub Campers in one spot at the one time, the most he believed he had seen in one place at the same time.  The sites were relatively small and whilst Len was manhandling his trailer into its spot the weld holding the jockey wheel bracket to the trailer broke.  The trailer was lifted back onto the car hitch where it remained for the rest of the trip.

 

Sunday 1 May

This was the day to conquer the rim walk of Kings Canyon so all members except Spot hopped into two vehicles, Len with Kim, Kathy and Kevin with Ian and Dick.  As he had climbed the canyon a number of times Spot minded the camp and was given the task of lighting the fire for our second communal roast evening.  

 

Arriving at the entrance to the Canyon at 9.00am we were surprised at the number of buses and vehicles already there, making this a very popular place.  Everyone made sure they had full water bottles for the six kilometre canyon rim walk as it was estimated to take around four hours.  We climbed what seemed forever up to around 100 metres above the parking area, then made our way around the rim.  The views were spectacular at every turn.  About a third of the way around we came onto the lost City which reminded everyone of a mini bungle bungles and in this vicinity we had great views of the sheer gorge walls.  Further along we came to steps and a small wooden bridge where we crossed Kings Creek and down into the Garden of Eden. Everyone in the party was amazed at the permanent water holes and the natural vegetation including palms, cycads and eucalypts.  Further around the rim Kim edged his way to the edge of the cliff and with his camera over the edge of the cliff taking a number of astounding shots of the canyon.  Back to the car park and a quick decision to undertake the short walk along the creek bed before returning to Kings Creek Station for lunch.

 

As we were having a pre dinner drink a couple of fellow travellers joined us, to Spots delight the husband was a bureaucrat employed by the World Development Bank stationed in Papua New Guinea.  After an interesting discussion they left and  we busied ourselves preparing the meal of roast lamb and beef with peas, potatoes onions and carrots.

 

Monday 2 May

This was the day it dawned on me that we were actually heading for home with a couple of major stops of interest on the way.  Back to the Stuart Highway, hopefully, via the Ernest Giles road which would take us past the Henbury Meteorite Conservation Reserve.  Information gleaned from the people at Kings Creek Station was that the road had been graded three weeks earlier and the only stopping point could be the Palmer River crossing.  The journey to the river crossing was relatively easy with some areas of moderate corrugations and pockets of bulldust.  The river bed was dry so we stopped and collected fire wood to last us for the remainder of the journey.

 

After collecting enough wood we headed for the Henbury Reserve where it was noted that it contained 12 craters, ranging from 7 to 180 metres in diameter, which were formed when a meteorite hit earths surface 4,700 years ago.  The meteorite disintegrated and over 500 kilograms of metal have been found at the site.  After a walk around the craters we headed for Stuarts Well and then onto Rainbow Valley.

 

Rainbow Valley was an extraordinary place with its sandstone bluffs and cliffs which make up part of the James Range.  After setting up a short walk to the outcrop was a must, climbing to the rim gave a great view over the camp ground and surrounding country side.  Immediately south of the main rock  formation was a large rock known as Mushroom Rock.  In aboriginal folk law it is known as ‘Ewerre’ and is a sacred site.  On arriving at the valley it was overcast and we thought we would have a disappointing evening as the cloud cover would not permit us to see the rock formation at its best.  The gods were looking after us and the sky cleared so we could take the most marvellous shots at sunset.  We had arrived back in mouse country so all the traps were loaded with peanut butter prior to everyone turning in for the night.

 

Tuesday 3 May

We were glad to leave our friends the mice behind us as Spot showed the way north, then east across station country until we reached the new railway line.  Heading south along the railway line to Hugh River we  again turned east until we reached the Old Ghan Line.  Travelling south towards Maryvale Station and Chambers Pillar we detoured at Rodinga, an original Fettlers Siding for the railway line.  It was interesting to see how the Fettlers lived and how they were housed in these harsh conditions.  Around Rodinga we came across the Alice Springs to Finke race track. Each year the race is held over the June long weekend where bikes, buggies and cars travel from Alice to Finke and return along the specially made race way.  At times they use the Old Ghan Railway track but mostly it is a special track which is much windier and undulating with some sharp corners than the road.

 

We moved on passed the Maryvale Homestead on the road to Chambers Pillar.  After about half an hours travel we came to an escarpment and the view to the south was memorable.  In the distance the red and yellow sandstone column of chambers Pillar stood out.  The closer we came to the camp ground it wasn’t only Chambers Pillar that was awe inspiring but the other rock formations called, Castle Rock, Window Rock and Eagle Rock.  After settling into the camp ground a walk up to Chambers Pillar was a must.  We inspected the pillar at close quarters and learnt the history and that John MacDouall Stuart was the first white person to see it.  He named it after his sponsor and friend James Chambers.  At the base of the pillar there are many names carved into the sandstone and one that stands out is John Ross, the leader of the exploring party for the Overland Telegraph Line.

 

By day the pillar is spectacular but at sunset it really comes to life with the fantastic colours.  I have seen pictures of it at sunset and didn’t really believe it, but walking to the sunset viewing platform with Kim, Kathy and Dick, experiencing the image in the afterglow of light blew us away