Just before 9am on Saturday 28th
September 2013, a convoy of 7 vehicles left the Muster for a 2 day camping
adventure to Boggy Hole in the Finke Gorge National Park.
Our first 130km was along Larapinta Drive to
the town of Hermannsburg. This
historic town is National Trust listed and it was established in the 1880s as a
Lutheran mission. The Aboriginal
settlement was the home of Albert Namatjira and prints and originals of his
works can be seen there. Many of
the mission buildings are still within the historic precinct. We took the opportunity to stop off for
morning tea and several of us had delicious scones with jam and cream at the
tea-house.
Then it was back into our vehicles and we said
goodbye to the bitumen until Sunday afternoon. As we bounced along the corrugated red dirt road towards
Ellery Creek we saw plenty of evidence of brumbies and we were lucky to see
some horses close to the road. We
had a brief stop to reduce tyre pressures in preparation for the sand and river
beds we would soon be travelling along.
We travelled along the Ellery Creek river bed
and soon came to the gated entry to the Finke Gorge National Park and proceeded
along to the junction with the Finke River. Travel was slow through the sand and river stones and of
course the inevitable happened – bogged in the sand! Two Toyotas got bogged and two GMCs
overheated. Snatch kits got a
workout and after some impressive towing we were underway.
The scenery was spectacular – plenty of flowers, stunning gorges and magnificent trees. Debris from previous floods piled up against the trees in the riverbed.
Going was very slow so we were pleased to
arrive at Boggy Hole about 3.30pm.
We were all pretty tired so decided to camp here for the night. There
were plenty of flat sandy campsites overlooked by a magnificent red rocky ridge
with a view of the waterhole.
Unfortunately all of the waterholes we saw were stagnant so we couldn’t have a cooling swim. Once we had set up our camps, we settled down
to a relaxing happy hour. Welcome
after the high level of concentration of the drive. A couple of the party were feeling energetic enough to climb
to the top of the ridge to admire the view – the rest of us stayed at the camp
and waved enthusiastically when they reached the top. Other walkers explored the waterhole area.
Since we stopped at Boggy Hole we planned to
leave fairly early Sunday morning to complete our adventure. At breakfast we were entertained by
native miner birds harassing a crow – boy, did they give him a hard time! Then we packed up and were off along
the Finke River once again. The
25km to Running Waters took us about 3 hours with a stop at a waterhole for
morning tea just before we left the National Park. More fantastic scenery had our cameras working
overtime. Once we passed Running
Waters the driving became easier and we were able to speed up to 25kph.
Our party split up about 11km from Running Waters so our tour leader could get a good view of Mt Caldwell, named for his great grandfather. Robert Caldwell MP was the
Member for Yorke in the South Australian Parliament from 1887 to 1902. He then
became the Member for Onkaparinga after he moved from the Yorke Peninsula to
Woodside. He was an MP when the Federation took place in 1901. He successfully
introduced legislation for women's suffrage and women we permitted to vote
after this. This was long before such legislation was introduced in other
states and indeed in England. He was responsible for assessing land for pastoral
purposes and as such made many expeditions into SA interior, which then
included Northern Territory. These expeditions were made on Camels from the
rail terminals at Beltana, Mareee and Oodnadatta. We think it was because of
this, and his missionary (Methodist) work for aboriginal communities, that
Mount Caldwell was named after him.
Mt Caldwell is the flat topped mountain in the
photo.
Those not going to Illamurta
Springs proceeded to Ernest Giles Road which seemed like a motorway when
compared to the roads we had been on for the past 2 days.
Some of us stopped off at the
Henbury Meteorite Craters formed about 4,000 years ago when a meteorite hit the
earth. It was easy to imagine the
shockwave that would have been created by the impact and there are plenty of
impact stones which show the effects of compression in the area. Only 15km from the Henbury
Meteorite Conservation Park we joined the Stuart Highway – ah bliss!!!
Four vehicles met up at the
Stuarts Well Roadhouse for lunch – even though it was about 3pm. We were revitalized by the cool drinks
and food before proceeding back to the Muster - a bit later than planned but
nonetheless in time to share a drink at the closing Happy Hour.
Our trip leaders did a fantastic job with plenty of warnings when needed and the
removal of some pesky rocks – CH38 certainly was well used. We all had a great and memorable time.
Anzac Hill provides excellent views of the town and surrounding areas - especially at sunset. We're here during a one in 10 year wildflower event due to some rain about 3 months ago. The flowers out in the desert are magnificent. 
We visited the Australian Womens Hall of Fame which is located in the Old Gaol which still has razor wire on the fence. First we had a look around the gaol and the cells in both the men's and aboriginal women's blocks. The block which used to be the kitchen now houses the museum. The displays focus on notable women. Women who were first to achieve in their class - professions, sport, politics, science, the arts, entertainment; and other notable women.
