Whilst we were travelling around Australia we were working on a project for our local coffee shop in Eastbourne, Urban Ground.
We called this project "Urban Ground Gets Around" and posted the images from this to Facebook. It is a Public Album so you should be able to see these by following this link: -
We went to the Roadhouse at Stuarts Well on the way to Alice Springs and stayed there overnight on the way from Alice to Adelaide.
The Roadhouse is famous for a very special Dingo called Dinky, who Jim has raised from a pup when his Mother was killed by poisoned bait. However this is not something you will be able to see in the future as 'Jim's Place' has been on the market and the contracts for sale to the next door camel farm should have gone through at the end of last month.
Here are a few pictures take of Dinky giving a performance for a coach-load of tourists who were on their way to the Red Centre.
I have found a clip on You Tube courtesy of an upload by danielpurser to give you an idea of what the Dinky Dingo performance is like!
In many areas of the outback it was not possible to get a strong enough signal for the internet on the netbook and so posting our images at that time was not possible. We left that to do once home again.
We hope you enjoy our images taken on our trip between Adelaide and Alice: -
Our preferred vehicle for our outback trip is the 4 WD Kea Toyota Landcruiser, Turbo Diesel, 5 speed manual, power steering with 2 x 90 litre fuel tanks. It also holds 90 litres of fresh water and we usually have a minimum of a further 10 litres of fresh water on board as well.
In addition to this we always ensure we have an EPIRB on board. This is an emergency distress beacon and is only to be used in extreme emergency situations. If let off in a non emergency situation it will cost you dearly!
Here's a pic of the Kea that we hired taken at the salt lake, Lake Torrens, outside Andamooka.
Take a look around the inside courtesy of Kea
Woomera - Aboriginal word for spear launcher - is an interesting place to visit. This used to be a weapons research facility and there are still vast areas here which remain prohibited.
And so on to Andamooka an Opal mining town. Unfortunately most of the town was shut as it was the height of the summer. we did not find Andamooka as interesting as Coober Pedy and so moved on to the mining town of Roxby Downs.
The next two images are of the properties of early settlers to Andamooka.
At the salt lake - Lake Torrens
On route back from Lake Torrens
Camp site at Roxby Downs
Road sign warning about remote areas ahead
Road sign giving safety tips for the Northern Territory
Section of the Stuart Highway - Main route into Alice Springs
3-up road trains are quite common in the Northern Territory. The speed limit here is the highest in Australia - 130 km ph. Imagine this hurtling up behind you or even coming towards you!