Kings Creek Station update

One of the nice things about travelling with a caravan is being able to stop anywhere and have a break.  We haven’t been near McDonalds for three weeks, but we have found lovely little spots like this one among a stand of desert oaks and put the kettle on for a quick cuppa!

We had crammed so many activities, sights and impressions into just over two weeks that Philip was sure we’d been on the road for almost a month until he worked out the date!  So after leaving Yulara we felt it was time for a rest and we decided to book four nights at Kings Creek Station,  just outside Kings Canyon National Park.  The caravan park and “safari camp” are located on a 900 000 acre station – only a small property by Northern Territory standards, but stretching as far as Uluru.  They trade in beef, export camels to the Middle East (!) and train and sell brumbies- all of which run feral on the property and are rounded up as needed.

The caravan park itself is quiet and nicely laid out so that even though other campers are continually coming and going, it always feels secluded.  Finding that we had no mobile phone reception (and therefore no internet) made it feel really remote and helped us slow down even more. We spent the first afternoon (Monday) doing “nothing” (including locating the playground, making friends with the station dogs, gathering firewood…) and finished off the day with a campfire.

On Tuesday we took an early morning walk up to “Tank Hill”.  On the way, Arthur was fascinated by the clear tacks in the red sand and when we started looking we found many different ones, besides Dad and Esther’s shoe prints!

At the top of the hill we encountered a herd of camels.  (Feral camels that had been mustered ready for sale.) 

Then we packed a picnic lunch and went to explore Kings Canyon.  We chose to do the shorter and easier creek bed walk as opposed to the 6km rim walk which was a bit too demanding for the children.  Even the shorter walk was almost too much for our tired little boy!  The creek is a dry one, of course, but the vegetation was rich and once again there were beautiful snow gums and other trees against the red rocks and blue sky.  The canyon is said to be a haven for wildlife, but we only saw a number of birds!

native hibiscus

holly grevilia

When we were having our lunch after the walk, a ranger came to clean the picnic area and we got chatting.  She asked about our plans and I mentioned that I hoped to visit Milingimbi if I could.  Milingimbi is where I spent the first conscious years of my life, a small island off the coast of Arnhem Land that most people have never heard of.  At that time it was a Methodist mission station, and Dad worked there as a teacher for six years.  Mum had given me the address of some friends from those days- the Nowlands, now living in Adelaide but still in regular contact with Milingimbi- so that I could ask their advice about getting there.  I had not got around to writing to them yet, and thought that I’d better get onto it soon.  Then the girl said, “Milingimbi- that’s where my boss grew up. His name’s Ross Nowland.”  It took me a few seconds to register what she’d just said, but when she heard that I had known Ross when he was a little boy, and his “big” brother, Grant, had been one of my best friends at school (along with Judy Rankin), she radioed him and he said that if we’d wait twenty minutes he’d be there! It seems he’s the head ranger at the Kings Canyon National Park!  We had a bit of a chat about old times, and Ross told me his Dad was currently staying near Darwin with his other brother, Paul,  and that if we dropped in at the ranger’s office he’d give me his phone number.   “It’s a small world”, as they say!

In the evening we had another campfire, and after the children were in bed we were joined there by a really nice couple from Cronulla who were parked opposite us.  There’s a really friendly atmosphere of camaraderie amongst the travellers we meet.  Everyone is eager to exchange advice and tips on where to stay, what to see, where to avoid buying fuel and what brand of towing hitch is superior!  “Where are you heading?” and “Where are you from?” usually lead to life stories being exchanged and friendly chats around the campfire.

On Wednesday we had another quiet day at the caravan park, where the children ran around in bare feet all day while we took it easy.  While exploring, they discovered the swimming pool, but after begging to be allowed to go for a swim they found Mum had been right and the water was far too cold! We did rescue a butterfly which had landed in the water, however, and got to have a really good look at it until its wings were dry enough to fly.

We also had fun building a bush shelter for Esther’s fairy dolls, and filling a rock pool with water for them to swim in. 

For lunch we had damper, cooked in the hot embers of yesterday’s campfire.  Hot from the coals, slightly smoky but perfectly cooked, with lots of butter and strawberry jam- yummy!  The paddymelons on the table make a pretty centrepiece, but I cut one open and tasted it… it was as bitter as gall (I think, never having tasted gall!) and totally inedible.  Apparently not even the aborigines or any animals will touch them… and yet they look and even smell like “real” melons!

Esther and Arthur’s day was complete when our new neighbours arrived with a dog!  We have tried to teach the children not to invade other campers’ space, but this couple invited them to come and take “Jackie” for walks and play with her.  They enjoyed it thoroughly and kept asking us to notice how good they were at looking after dogs (hinting that we should get them one of their own.)

On Thursday we decided to have a look at Kathleen Springs, also located in the National Park.  It was another lovely walk, ending at a deep, spring-fed waterhole.  Along the way there were information boards telling of the history of the gorge, both the aboriginal stories of the Rainbow Serpent and the times when stockmen mustered cattle there.  Esther was particularly interested in the stones used by aboriginal women to grind grass seeds, while Arthur wandered around the old stockyards and said, “I’m really interested in this kind of thing!”  He kept stopping,  too, to point out interesting plants, animals and rocks he’d spotted. We found a few quandong trees full of ripe fruit and had a little taste- quite edible, unlike the paddymelons!

As a final treat for the children, Philip arranged a camel ride in the afternoon.  Esther kept saying, “I can’t believe I’m really riding a camel. I’ll have to show photos to all my friends so they believe I really rode a camel in the outback!”  To top it off, our camel handler asked them if they’d like to meet a week-old camel calf he’d found abandoned in the bush the other day.  He took them into the shed where “Buttons” was living and they got to give her a hug and feel her soft coat.  She even sucked Arthur’s thumb!

This morning we said farewell to Kings Creek Station and drove what we have come to see as a "fairly short way" to Alice Springs. (It's only as far from Kings canyon as Gundagai is from Melbourne!)  We're staying just outside of town at Temple Bar, at a "rustic' (and inexpensive) caravan park, where they were a bit taken aback to realise we had children.  They pointed out that there is nothing to do here but play with sticks, stones and sand in the dry creek bed... so our two will be quite happy! We have already seen the first wild kangaroos and wallabies we've encountered since leaving Victoria, and there are lots of beautiful parrots.  We will be here for a week as Philip needs someone to look at the fuel injection on the car. (It's running very well on gas but is losing pulling power when we switch to petrol.)  There are so many things to do in and around Alice Springs, too!  One of the first things on our agenda is the Desert Park, where I hope to find out a bit about the flowers and plants I've seen on the way!