Not that it mattered because Dan got Steve up at 5am to go and see the sunrise! Laura stayed back to do bugger all, I mean, mind the dogs!
And it turned out that the really nice girl on reception, who we had booked to dogsit, had better things to do after all! So we would have to tag team the day and do things separately. No way was Laura gonna leave the furry beasts on their own in the campground - especially since there are Dingo warning signs everywhere and Sunshine is just about the right size for a snack!
Steve and Dan went to see the sunrise and positioned themselves specifically so they could observe be the sun rising from behind the Rock. Everybody else goes around the other side so the sun rises behind them - just us being different again! It paid off with some amazing shots - in Steve's words, breathtaking. Dan also loved the cave paintings.
By 8.30am it was a balmy 27 degrees with a lovely breeze and after a stroll arounds and a cuppa, Laura decided it was time to do lots of nothing and wait for the boys. The dogs were getting a lot of benefit from their cooling collars and were very happy just chilling.
At 10am the boys came back and it was Laura's turn to go and see the sights with Steve the instant expert!
With Dan looking after the dogs, we set off. We spotted a pair of very healthy looking wild dogs under a bush at the roadside. We thought they could use a good groom though!!
As we got nearer Laura was just captivated and silently watched as it got closer and closer and even more immense. It just looked so ancient and earthy. It made us feel very small and insignificant as humans. We got out and walked part way around it. We were bowled over by how clean, simple, minimalist and natural the pathways were, with pretty little thatched shelters and handmade bush furniture in the shade. Gorgeous and understated, to allow the Rock to shine.
We saw the small permanent waterhole which was just an amazing little oasis and was just teaming with tadpoles and dragonflies. Magical.
Next it was on to the Olgas. Huge boulders tumbled together on a massive scale. It means many heads and you could definitely see that. Their size was just awe inspiring. There was a narrow crevice between each cluster that you could walk through; one was closed due to the heat (33 degrees).
We decided that between 5am-11am is the best time to observe the colors and splendour of the sites without being roasted by the hot sun.
After getting back to the camp site, we decided to go pool hopping and check out all four pools that the resort has to offer. So we made the dogs comfortable in the van with cool shaded air cross ventilating it, two fans blowing into the centre from either end. We removed the mats as the lino is cooler and put on the dogs' cooler collars, which are just super wide absorbent padded collars that you saturate in water and then put around the dogs' necks. The gradual evaporation works very effectively at keeping their body temperatures down. We blocked off any possible routes to the beds, to eliminate any risk of them clawing their way through the fly screens, left a big heavy saucepan full of water, locked the door and off we went.
We figured if anyone complained about barking to Reception they would be speaking to the girl who let us down, so it was unlikely we'd be in trouble!
First, we tried out the 4 star Sails in the Desert pool. The air conditioned, marble tiled entrance and foyer were full of fly in, fly out, high end tourists who looked like they had never had red dust between their toes. We dubbed them Aircon Safariers! We had high hopes for the pool.... What a let down. Medium sized. No shade. No landscaping. Sterile basic cyclone fencing. Yuk.
Next stop, Desert Gardens which is 4 star but slightly cheaper than Sails. The entrance and environs were quite posh but not as much as Sails. Probably where the aircrew are put up. The pool was much the same only on a smaller scale and just a basic rectangle. Disappointing.
Penultimate stop, Pioneer Outback Lodge. Much more relaxed vibe, with a big shearing shed area where they have entertainment and live music, an outback style bar, pizza kitchen and games area.
The pool was ok, more interesting shape but nothing special. Fitted the bill for that price range - about 3 star.
Which leaves us with the Campground pool. Organic shape, nice landscaping, shaded areas around the pool, complete with BBQ and shaded picnic area... No doubt about it. This pool wins hands down and considering we only paid $84 for two nights (could've stayed 3 as the third night is free) it is a bargain.
We spent the rest of the afternoon by the pool (the campground one!)
and then went out for pizza at the Pioneer Outback Lodge.
We reflected on how much we had packed into 48 hrs and how glad we were to have come. We all agreed that the long drive to get there was so totally more than worth it :)
When we got back to the campground we decided to try to do an extra hour's driving the next day, so that we would 400kms to do instead of 500kms. The reason for this was that we were going to be taking the Oodnadatta Track from Coober Pedy to Roxby Downs, which is all dirt, and we weren't sure what condition the road would be. Traveling 400km at 50kph can get very tedious as we had discovered at Cape York!
So we packed everything up in order to get an early start.
Steve got chatting to an old fella who worked for Britz and had had to drive a replacement motorhome up from Adelaide for a poor woman, traveling alone with four kids, whose van had broken down! It turned out that this was the second time she had had to have her van replaced on this one trip! Note to self: don't hire from Britz! Still, she was in pretty good spirits considering!
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