In my posts so far, I have been describing our journey, along with its ups and downs, most of which have been related to Covid and border permits. It is now four weeks since we left home and we have only just started to feel we are having a holiday, rather than being on a journey. So, I thought it would be interesting to write about what life on the road is like for us.
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During my 2017 road trip Charnley River Station was a four night pre-booked stop along the Gibb River Road. It was such a great place that it was a must for our current trip. This is particularly so due to it being one of Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) sites giving K plenty of opportunity to photograph birds and other wildlife. If also offers access to a few very picturesque gorges and water holes that are not generally accessible.
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Having missed out on the Mitchell Plateau and resulting in us spending a night at Drysdale Station, we decided on Manning Campground as our next two-night stop before going to our pre-booked four nights stay at Charnley River. Located about 6 km on a track at the side of Mount Barnett Roadhouse, the campground is the access point to the 1.5 hour track to Manning Gorge. On all our bushwalks we have never started a walk like this!
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Thursday 1 July
One of the challenges of not having internet access is when to start and stop writing posts, knowing full well that, by the time you read them, we will have moved on and no doubt have another post or two waiting to be uploaded. So, rather than giving you a blow by blow account of everywhere we have been and everything we have done, I plan to describe the highlights and provide you with a summary of the various overnight stops at the end.
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One of the resources that is available in abundance as a result of being in isolation is time. Time gives me a chance to relax, think clearly and for creativity to thrive. One of the games that accompanies us on our travels, apart from the more popular Scrabble, is Snakes and Ladders. And I got to thinking that our journey so far has been like a game of Snakes and Ladders. So here is how the dice have fallen (with a bit of licence around the numbers thrown).
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At long last we made it into Western Australia and straight into self-isolation! Most people would be pretty upset about being in isolation, but not us, we are quite happy and comfortable about it – here is why.
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It seems a giant leap forward to report that we made it into the Northern Territory, considering the last post was talking about getting into Queensland, but on Wednesday, we crossed the border from Queensland into the Northern Territory. After six days of driving from entering Queensland, we have covered 3000 km with one night at each overnight stop. At long last we are taking a break
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Sunday 13 June (No internet)
Having applied for our permit to enter South Australia on Friday and it did not come through by the end of the day, we decided that we would give it until 12:00 on Saturday. Also, because it was dated for the previous day, we thought we should lodge a new one for entry on Saturday. We also thought it would be a good idea to contact their help line to understand the timing of an approval being given. Apparently, every single ‘pass through’ application from Victoria is reviewed by a panel and, with 6000 on the waiting list, we were told it could take 3 – 5 days! With time not on our side, we had no option to resort to our plan B. This took us east (away from where we need to be), and north into Queensland.
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As I mentioned in my previous post Contingency Planning, we are dealing with a number of variables outwith our control. Having set out this morning, armed with a border permit to cross into Queensland, our aim was to get to the Burke and Wills Dig Tree. I was told that I perhaps should not broadcast where we are going, so like the Government not setting targets for vaccinations, I will resist the temptation to tell you where we are heading from now on (because it is likely to change). From this you will gather that we are not there yet, ie across the QLD border!
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Having spent a week wondering if and when we might be able to get away, we were delighted to hear that Victorian regional restrictions were to be lifted last Thursday at midnight. This meant that we managed to escape from Gisborne to Broken Hill on Friday (4 June). We decided to take the chance and not risk the outbreak increasing and/or creeping into regional areas. So, on Friday morning, we set off with the sole intention of crossing the border into NSW. This we succeeded in doing, but the journey since then has been anything but straightforward.
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