Back into Qld

 Very late this week with publishing and no photos yet,

so, stay tuned for a 🎄Christmas 🎄special on Wednesday

Dealing with the "Severe Heat Wave"

With temps in the low 40s, which is actually probably normal out here for this time of year, we are trying to keep cool with lots of cold showers and we have been stopping in van parks with pools more often than not.

We start this week by leaving Alice Springs and heading North along the Stuart Hwy

Interesting art at Aileron along the way

Then onto our one roadside stop before getting to Tennant Creek.

A WWII Staging Camp just outside Barrow Creek, could have been an interesting stop, however the tiny black ants were everywhere and as soon as you went outside you were live bait for them, horrible, horrible ants, and wouldn't stay here again because of them.

                                              

                                                       Camped on the old Mess Slab

                       

                                              

                                                                                          

Onto Tennant today as we pass a few interesting sites

Abandoned Wycliffe Well, abducted from the aliens maybe????????

                                                             Wauchope Hotel, go line

                                And of course a quick stop at the Bunch of rocks, Devil's Marbles

And yay, into Tennant and a cold swimming pool.

                             

An awesome BBQ, Yum Brekky, without heating up the van

                       

A friendly local

One of the reasons we stop at Tennant is to take a look at the mines where Les used to work, and live

Unfortunately all locked off to the public now, you used to be able to bypass these gates and explore the abandoned sites, but with the price of gold and new mining processing  techniques we suspect they have reopened and maybe reclaiming the tailing dams.

This one was alarmed, and I had a bit of fun setting that off, was hoping someone would come out to approach us, but no avail.

We did visit "Mad Mick's Mine, one that is open to public, you can even camp out there, but with so many storms around, maybe next time

A drive out to Mary Ann Dam before parting our ways with Tennant Creek

Roadside stops on the way North

1st one Churchill's Head

                                                        Can't see Churchill, a lion maybe?

And then just a couple of off the road pull offs for camps, hidden by a few trees, and the natural landscape

Beautiful sunsets and sun rises

And then into an iconic Australian Pub - Daly Waters, shady sites and a swimming pool again.

SA Outback and In To The NT

 One of our last stops in SA was Coober Pedy, 

didn't find any opals, but discovered many other facets of the town. Like the underground Serbian Orthodox Church, it was so beautifully done. 

 

The movie props scattered through the town also, including the spaceship from Pitch Black.  

And the alien like landscape

                Yet they can grow the most beautiful Sturt Desert Peas in their front gardens

With one more bush camp before crossing into NT, little did we know this was the last sunset for the week.

                                          It's a bit like Where Is Wally?   Can you see us?

The first night in a bush camp just over the border we were treated to a thunder storm, which was great until the rain started at 3am, by 4am we were concerned we may not be able to get out of the mud, so did a quick pack up and dashed back onto the main highway, and pulled over at a roadside stop not 5 minutes from where we were, but at least on bitumen, and slept for a few more hours, whilst the storm still raged around us.

                                                              Our vacated camp site

                       A bit too busy packing to get any decent pictures of the storm this night

Then on to Alice the next day, got an early start as expecting 40 degree days (again) and was looking forward to the caravan park swimming pool.

Sights around Alice, the Old Ghan and Stuart Railway Station

                                   
         

And yet again, another summer storm, this one more spectacular than the previous, turning night into day.

It put our Christmas lights on the van to shame.

And as I write this enjoying a drink here instead of at the girls' Day Christmas special, I can hear thunder rolling in the distance so maybe another storm tonight???

At least they have been cooling temps down after the 40degrees we've been getting through the day.