Day 36-15^th July -Sawpit Gorge/ Tanami – By Alex

We were sorry to leave Sawpit Gorge because it was such a spectacular camping spot but also because we were beginning our trip home.

We headed back to Halls Creek, topped up with fuel, and heading back down the Tanami track. It was an uneventful and long driving day. We overtook a few slower cars and in turn were overtaken by a few faster ones. We stopped for a couple of photos and lunch of course but other than that it was all driving. When we arrived at the camping spot we stayed at on the trip over 5 weeks before hand it was just before dusk. Everyone was primed and we had all the swags setup, the fire going and starting to cook 15 minutes later before it was getting dark.

We sent text messages on the satellite phone to Marlise to let her know where we were and then Annie wanted to talk to her as she was missing female company.

It was another beautiful clear (and cool) night and we could sleep with the swags open watching the stars.

Day 37-16^th July -Tanami/Alice Springs – By Alex

Because we had a big day yesterday we were able to take it easier today. Again Isaac had the fire going early for the billy (for my coffee). There was no flash breakfast today and we headed off toward Alice Springs.

We stopped for a fuel top up at Yuendumu and shortly afterwards had to pull over to let two low loaders go past in the opposite direction. They were carrying two 100T mining dump trucks destined for the Granites gold mine half way along the Tanami Track and were crawling along at 10km/hr. We all got out and talked to the escort diver and waved to the truck drivers who thought it was a bit of fun (especially as it was going to take them 4 days to get there when we could do it in a day).

At lunch we stopped at Tillmouth Well roadhouse. On impulse I went into check out the art and found the aboriginal art to be very good quality and reasonably priced so I bought two paintings as a present for Marlise.

It was then of to Alice Springs as we joked abouth the road being so smoooooooooooooooth when we reached the bitumen.

We checked into the caravan park and then went to the tourist information to check on road conditions to Chambers Pillar and Finke. All reports were good and we decided the next day we would head down to Chambers Pillar and on to Finke via the Old Ghan railway line and then cut across to Kulgera on the main road.

HOT showers, an early dinner and it was all into bed early.

Day 38-17^th July -Alice Springs /Roadside stop (Desert Oaks) – By Alex

The morning was cold but we were all toasty in our swags. We left Alice and the road to Maryvale had just been graded after the Finke desert race a month before. On the way we visited some Aboriginal rock etchings and we were at Maryvale a couple of hours later. The road into Chambers Pillar National Park was not so pleasant and it took us over an hour to travel the last 50km but it was well worth it. Chambers Pillar is definitely one of those amazing natural features.

After lunch we returned to Maryville and the Old Ghan route. At the road junction we checked with a local pulled off on the side of the road to make sure it was the correct road to Finke and we were off. Road is the wrong description. Track is almost the wrong description. We were literally traveling on the old railway line driving over sleepers, and where there were no sleepers on very badly corrugated dirt and over the occasional rail spike. Progress was very slow and after 20km (45 minutes) I decided it wasn’t worth the effort and we turned back.

By the time we were back on the outskirts of Alice Springs it was already late in the afternoon. We pushed on and made it 160km south of Alice to a roadside stop before it got dark. Due to our practice in the Tanami the kids did a fantastic job and as soon as we stopped we were again setup and cooking on a fire by dark.

Day 39-18^th July –Roadside stop (Desert Oaks)/ Roadside stop (Lake Hart) – By Alex

The morning was very cold but we were still toasty in our swags. There was ice on the inside of my swag from frozen condensation and ice on the outside from frozen dew. The water pipes and water pump on the trailer had frozen solid and we had to empty water bottles into the billy for my obligatory coffee. The fire was of course welcome (lucky we had plenty of wood on the front of the trailer).

Again it was a fairly long and uneventful day of driving and we stopped at another roadside stop about 70km north of Pimba for the night. The camp fire was good one as we could use all the wood we had left. Once again we fell asleep watching the stars but this time also listening to the occasional road train going past.

Day 40-19^th July –Roadside stop (Lake Hart)/ Adelaide – By Alex

We could have taken it easy in the morning but the children were obviously looking forward to sleeping in a bed as we were all packed up quickly again. We stopped at Pimba for a splash of fuel before getting to Port Augusta where we filled up. We then stopped for lunch at Telowie Gorge to celebrate the last day of the trip.

We were back in Adelaide, unpacked and with a load of washing on before Marlise arrived home from work to everyone’s excitement.

P.S. It’s taken us 2 weeks to clean and put everything away!

It was an amazing trip in so many ways. The unplanned events and situations created some fantastic experiences and opportunities complimenting the goal of seeing and enjoying the Kimberley without trying to rush and see everything. For those thinking about doing a trip like this – stop thinking and start doing.