Blog 41 - 23rd May to 4th June 2014

Friday 23rd May - we leave Alice Springs this morning with the Cummings family, bound for Chamber Pillar which is 145km's south. The road is quite good, and follows the race course for the Finke Desert Race that is on in a few weeks - a very narrow and windy track that buggies race along at blinding speeds. We stop in at Maryvale station for lunch, before continuing out to the pillar, and the road gets a bit worse but not too bad. On our arrival at the camper trailer area, the place is packed with Ultimate campers, who are having a big "get-together", so we drive around to the other camping area, which is nicer and has better views anyway.

After setting up camp, we have a quick wander up to the lookout spot, and Di, Bec and Olivia walk around the rock taking lots of pictures.

Meanwhile, Sam decides to cook a cheese and garlic damper in the camp oven. We all have dinner and sit around the fire until time to go to bed.

Saturday 24th - we get up early and walk back up to the lookout to watch the sun rise over the pillar - the colours change so much as the sun makes it way over the top of Castle Rock and finally hits the stone edifice.

We than continue walking around the base, and climb to the viewing platform about half way up to look out over the surrounding plains - very picturesque. Back to camp for breakfast, then a liesurely pack-up, before departing for Rainbow Valley. The map shows a track that takes us in the back way, and we eventually find where it joins and start following - down to 2 wheel tracks again, but it is going in the right direction. Unfortunately, the track ends abruptly, and we cannot find the correct track even though it is clearly on the map. So we stop for lunch, and that is where I notice that our Triton is a bit bent in the middle - the chassis has cracked across the top between the back of the cab and the start of the ute tub. This is really, really bad news - I had read about this happening before we left, but only where airbags had been fitted (didn't fit them because of this). So with nothing else to do, we limp slowly back to Alice, first along 40km's of dirt driving very slow, and then along the Stuart Highway at about 70km/h. As it is Saturday afternoon, nothing is open, and we will have to wait until Monday morning before we can get it looked at. Not too many happy faces this evening.

Sunday 25th - after spending most of the morning researching on the net about where other Triton owners have had their chasis crack, it becomes apparent that Mitsubishi will not be interested as we have fitted after-market accessories (suspension, towbar, etc) and our only choices will be to claim through insurance, or simply get it fixed. The worry with claiming through insurance is that they might write it off as unrepairable, and we will be left to find another vehicle to continue our trip. Or they might opt to repair it, but due to the rules, they would not strengthen the chassis as it is illegal, so it would always be a concern. We decide to try to find someone to repair it by welding the gap closed, and then welding plates across the top and along the sides of the chassis rails to strengthen the weakened steel. This is also after consulting many of our knowledgeable friends and asking their advice - thanks for the reassuring ear guys. The afternoon is spent reassessing all of our gear in the truck and trailer, and throwing away what we deem is surplus, as we really need to get the weight down. With the Triton at least at its maximum carrying capacity, and the weight of the camper, combined with the bumpy roads and washouts etc, it is understandable that something had to give.

Monday 26th - we decide to try an enginerring workshop first, with the hope that they will agree to repair it. First company, first person we speak to, and we have a win. He will repair it, and even give us a space to do all the manual work before and after with removing the tray, and will only charge us for the work they do - and can do it tomorrow starting at 8.00am. This puts us in a much better frame of mind, and we head back to the caravan park to start unloading all the gear from the car, and crawl underneath to work out how to remove everything. We also get a much needed haircut, which feels good.

Tuesday 27th - up early and out at Ross Engineering by 8.00am to start work. After a quick site induction and safety briefing, we head out the back to the shed to start work. There is a bit more to it than I first thought, but after 2.5 hours, the canopy, drawer system, and tub are all removed, and you can clearly see the cracked chassis and where it needs to be repaired. We drive it around to the main workshop, and after a quick chat, they tell us it will be about 3 hours, so one of the guys drives us to the nearest cafe where we have a coffee and pastry, before waiting around a bit for lunch. With full bellies, we wander back to our shed, and spend some time cleaning up. The work is done, and they bring our Triton back, and we start putting it all back together, with 2 guys also helping us with the heavy lifting. At about 4.30pm, we drive out, with our car all repaired, and having paid the bill of $668.80 - much cheaper than what we thought, and even cheaper that our excess would have been had we put in an insurance claim -  very happy indeed.

Wednesday 28th - after a bit of a sleep-in, we finish off bolting everything back in and joining all the wires back together, and then reloading all the gear inside. The Cummings have returned from the East MacDonnell Ranges, and join us for lunch, before they start heading north and then across the Barkly Highway. Also, a couple in the cabin behind us are leaving today, and they offer us all their food that they have bought but would only have to throw away - very nice of them. After dinner, we walk around to the big shed at the caravan park where the State of Origin is being shown, and unfold our chairs to watch the game - the Blues win and it is a bit of fun chiding the Queenslanders.

Thursday 29th - we pack to leave, heading for the East MacDonnell Ranges after Trevor and Bec have told us how nice it is. We fuel up at the servo, and on the way back to the car, I notice fuel dripping from the tank. The very small crack in the tank has become rather larger, and is now about halfway down the side, so off to ARB we go to arrange a new tank to be fitted. They book us in for Wednesday 4th for warranty work, so with a week to kill before more rapairs, we head east out of town on our original plan. On the way out to Trephina Gorge, we stop in at Emily Gap

and Jessie Gap, before a quick detour into Corroborree Rock, and then finally into Trephina Gorge, where we have a choice of several campsites. We get set-up, and then go for a walk along the ridge-top of the gorge, with spectacular views along the rock edges and the sandy creekbed below,

and return back to camp walking along the base of the gorge.

Friday 30th - another big walking day, with the Panorama walk climbing the mountain beside Trephina Gorge, with views back over the campsite, and also out to the distant ranges.

Once back at camp, we jump in the Triton and drive out to John Hayes waterhole to complete the Chain of Ponds walk. This climbs up the ridge and walks along the rim of the gorge, before winding down into the creek and following this back along the base of the gorge, before a quick climb around some waterfalls and back to the carpark. The day was getting a bit hotter, and the walk was a bit longer than we expected, so we were quite tired by the end of it, but the views and scenery were amazing, and the waterfalls at the end were spectacular - would have been great to see the water flowing.

Back to camp to relax for the afternoon.

Saturday 31st - we decide to explore the area around Trephina, and head to N'Dhala gorge about 20km's away. We had heard that someone else got bogged in the river crossing the previous day, so took it carefully, but no problems. The walk into the gorge was nice, with several examples of rock carvings.

We returned, stopping in at Ross River station, where we finally convinced the reception guy (very grumpy old bugger) to allow us to have a shower for $5 each, and then came back to the bar area for lunch of steak sandwich and a burger, both with salad and chips. Then back to camp, stopping to get a stash of firewood for the evening as it was supposed to get a bit colder. And colder it got, down to about 6 degrees which is a lot colder thatn we were used to.

Sunday 1st June - another day exploring, this time a bit further afield. The drive to Ruby Gap took us 2.5 hours for the 90km's and was quite rocky and rugged for the last section. We parked and grabbed our backpacks and set off on the 6km return walk up the gorge to the Glen Annie waterhole. For most of the way it was sandy, so walking was a bit slower, but the gorge at the end was simply stunning.

I climbed around the waterhole and kept going for another few hundred metres, but it continued for another couple of km's. We had a snack and a drink, before walking back to the car for some fruit. On the way back, we quickly stopped in at Arltunga which was the first settlement in the NT, and was a gold mining town. Back to camp after stopping for some more wood, getting in about 5pm. A long day of driving and walking. A cold night spent around the fire with our neighbours.

Monday 2nd - after the last couple of days of activity, we decided on a "nothing" day, and simply sat around camp reading, and Di painted a beautiful picture of Trephina Gorge from a photo in a book. It was nice to do nothing and simply relax for the day. After dinner, we joined our neighbours around the fireplace and chatted late into the evening. Another cold night.

Tuesday 3rd - a bit of a sleep-in, and then up and breakfast, before packing and making our way back to Alice Springs. We book into a different caravan park (closer to ARB for tomorrow) and get set-up. A few chores to be done, before we decide to go shopping to re-stock late in the afternoon. Back to camp about 7pm, where Di starts to make dinner while I pack all the shopping away. It is cold again, and I think this might continue - we had been so used to nice balmy evenings wearing no more than a t-shirt, but now we are rugging up with jumpers and trackies.

Wednesday 4th - awoke this morning to the phone saying it is 2 degrees outside at 7.15am. We make a slow start, and after breakfast take the Triton around to ARB to have the fuel tank replaced. We walk back to camp, and the sun has started to warm things up. We will wait around until they ring to say it is all done, and then walk back to pick it up.

Tomorrow we will finally leave Alice Springs (after our 3rd visit) and start going north - hopefully it will be a bit warmer the further we go.

More to come soon.

Di and Hammo