The winter temperature is 30 deg C most days, sometimes a little higher.
So far we have travelled 5,000 kms from home.
So way back down the highway I'm showing two photos of how barren the country is on the way to Uluru (Ayers Rock) and back to the main highway, the Stuart Highway.
More photos in the future.
There were a few cattle along the way but not much for them to feed on. We saw about 5 dead bulls on the side of the road due to road kill along this stretch of Highway, the Lasseter. Many of the properties (Stations) have no fences as the properties themselves are very large. Read below.
The above is a large paddock belonging to Curtain Springs Station, a working property approximately 100 kms from Uluru - Ayres Rock. In this paddock a lot of caravans park, tents are erected for a free campsite. There is no water or power to this paddock. There are showers and toilets and washing machines. The washing machines one has to pay to use, the remainder is free.
There is a Shop, a Hotel (Pub), a Restaurant plus fuel. Accommodation if available.
Curtain Springs Station has over 4,000 head of cattle and is over 1 million acres in size.
Some statistics of the property.
1,608 Square Miles
1,028,960 Acres
4,164 Square Kilometres
416,410 Hectares
or 100km long x 40km wide
No houses on the way or towns. There is another Caravan Park back on the Highway at Erldunda 150kms away. Of course there is a Caravan Park at Uluru but it's always full unless you book well in advance.
The closest town to Curtain Springs Station is Alice Springs, just 360 kms south.
Margaret landscape is amazing and the red soil.It seems ir is drought love from sunny Poland 30 degreees
ReplyDeleteHello Gosia,
DeleteIt's normal to have that red soil in that part of the country, it's also called 'bull dust'.
I like the rusty red soil, it makes me think of the paintings done by the indigenous people. I expect that they use it as a pigment in their work. Travelling the way you are doing must be the best way to cross and see Australia.
ReplyDeleteHello Rosemary,
DeleteThe Indigenous people use all colours found in The Top End of Australia when painting.
'Ochre Pigments and Paint. Ochre was the most important painting material used traditionally by Aboriginal people. It is mined from particular sites and is a crumbly to hard rock heavily coloured by iron oxide'.
I do like the colour of the soil but it's very fine and gets in 'everything' it's hard to get out of cracks and cervices.
It's a lovely way to see Australia, away from the cities....a fairly leisurely way of travelling, no time table to a degree. 30 more days of travelling, and 30 days of spending time in many places along the way. It would take years to see so much more, and some of the country is not accessible nor is it friendly in the way there is not water and a lot of desert along with the heat in summer and cold freezing nights in the desert in the winter.
Lovely to see your beautiful country !!
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures !
Greetings
Thank you Ela.
DeleteVery interesting.
ReplyDeleteIt is..
DeleteMy God it is bloody dry out there. Thank heavens for the roads being now
ReplyDeletebitumen - can you imagine being stuck behind another vehicle suddenly
if a strip of road was being upgraded and you had to revert to the red dust.
Sense would suggest an unexpected stop unless you have a death wish - ha ha!
The dead cattle count would be the result of night driving and that is very dangerous
out there - the straight long strips weary the driver. Best to drive these days with the
aircon on in the days - night driving is far too dangerous. Great to see you and Bevan
don't have a death wish and stop at night to re-charge your batteries!! ha ha.
Not bad travelling time with your stopovers - I reckon well worth an A+.
Enjoy the warmth of Darwin whilst we down south all freeze with this bloody
persistent cold snap for the South Pole.
Cheers
Colin
According to my maths - the cattle on this station to acreage is 1 head to every 257 acres.
DeleteWhich looking at the photo as shown that is not surprising when you take into consideration
the kangaroos, feral camels and feral goat and what they consume.
The mustering costs would be staggering - I would think by small light aircraft and motor
bikes. Sure equates to a very hard life for the station owner and the stockmen.
They sure have to be admired.
Colin
The feed is not there on the land that's why the Stations are so large so the cattle have some feed. It's a harsh land for the workers on the Stations but many of them know no different.
DeleteDon't drive at night, not good for the vehicle :) I expect trucks were the culprit for the bulls.
We are resting in Darwin at 30 deg.......you keep warm over and down in Brisbane :)
It caught my eye, the reddish color of the ground
ReplyDeleteKisses
The red soil is extremely fine, and it's nature in Central Australia.
DeleteIt is tough country side yet does have a beauty to it. The size of the property by the statistics is mind boggling.
ReplyDeleteI agree about the beauty of our country Andrew...it is a big property but there is bigger..
Deletei am enjoying your posts and photos of your amazing adventure with lots of information about where you have been. you've certainly covered quite a bit of australia so far. i'd love to see more of australia. keep safe and continue to enjoy your trip
ReplyDeleteThank you F....we are having a lovely time...you keep warm...
DeleteEven though I am not fond of camping, this would be a place that I could enjoy it. :)
ReplyDeleteCamping and caravanning is not for everyone but there are certainly a lot of people doing it this year.
DeleteOh those colours!
ReplyDeleteGeorgous..
DeleteHard country, unforgiving, and beautiful.
ReplyDeleteIt would take a strong person to live on one of those properties though.
It sure would. You would have to be cut out for it, be in your blood I guess and love the land.
DeleteMontana is called the big sky country here because of the long stretches of open ground, but it has nothing on where you have been traveling.
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting about Montana, it's nice to know..
DeleteOver a million acres is a LOT of land. I don't remember the size of the station I once worked on, but it was huge. Not 1,000,00 acres though.
ReplyDeleteThey certainly have large Stations...I know there are some larger.
DeleteI think you are in the right place at this time of the year 30deg sounds just wonderful at the moment.
ReplyDeleteMerle...........
Oh it's lovely being in the warmth....you keep warm in the cold snap.
DeleteThat is a huge cattle ranch. I can't imagine hitting a bull with a car. That would be an abrupt stop and destroy most cars I would think. That is a barren looking caravan overnight.
ReplyDeleteI reckon trucks hit the bulls, would make a mess of cars....very barren where we stayed there and lots of places like that.
DeleteRemarkable and strangely beautiful. That size is bigger than some countries!
ReplyDeleteYes, that's very true :) when you come to think of it....
DeleteAmazing post;)
ReplyDeleteThank you.
DeleteBoa tarde, é maravilhoso desfrutar da natureza, passear assim no dia a dia, novos conhecimentos e amizades vão aumentado, as fotos são excelentes.
ReplyDeleteAG
Thank you. Always good to learn as we travel..
DeleteThat is the real outback.
ReplyDeleteIt sure is Diane
DeleteWow, that brings back memories! On my only trip to Uluru, we stayed at Curtin Springs as a protest against the ridiculous prices and crowded campground at Uluru. It was such a nice place to stay & we met some great people there. And even the drive out to Uluru didn't seem that bad - Outback distances mean nothing!
ReplyDeleteBoth places get busy. You are correct about distance in Australia..we stayed for sunset then drove back to Curtain Springs and got there in no time at all..the Bulls were about though and didn't see one roo...
DeleteLove seeing about your trek. The outback has always fascinated me with it's size and remoteness. Enjoy the warmer weather!!
ReplyDeleteThanks. It's very different in the outback...the red dust!
DeleteYour website is terribly informative and your articles are wonderful. John B
ReplyDeleteThank You..
Delete