How lucky we are in South Australia. After a few months of serious COVID-19 lock down we were allowed to travel within SA, then in July the borders between SA and some states were opened up. This means that we can travel to Northern Territory where we will be able to enjoy some warmer weather. Adelaide has been very cold – perhaps it always is cold in winter but we are are never at home then so we wouldn’t know. We decided to head north for warmer weather.

First we took a short test run to Goolwa, 2 hours south of Adelaide and of course we did find a problem. The hot water service was leaking and we couldn’t get it fixed in time for our NT trip. We isolated the HWS and will get it repaired when we return to Adelaide in October. Meanwhile we can use our water tanks instead of connecting to mains pressure water and can use boiled water whenever we need hot water.

We left Adelaide on a cold, wet and windy day and drove 320 km to spend the night in Port Augusta.

Driving north along the Stuart Highway from Port Augusta the next morning was strange because the traffic was so light. Normally we would see dozens of caravans, motor homes, camper trailer and cars but this time there were just a few. Covid has kept people at home. We camped at a roadside rest area 370 km up the highway, known as Bon Bon rest area, sharing it with 3 other rigs. The minimum temperature was 3 degrees and the maximum 20 degrees.

Continuing north 180 km further we arrived at Coober Pedy and discovered that we had a broken shock absorber on the caravan. We checked into the caravan park, phoned RAA and within an hour a technician arrived to inspect to the van. Great service from RAA.

The next day the RAA agent replaced the broken shock absorber with a used one, at no cost, so we could continue on. Unfortunately rain last week meant that the bush roads we had wanted to take were closed, so we had to stay in the bitumen roads to Alice Springs.

Rainbow Valley National Park is 75 km south of Alice Springs and 22 km off the highway. The park was very quiet, partly because it is accessible only to 4WD vehicles but also because of the low numbers of tourists around. It was very peaceful and we enjoyed a pleasant couple of days there. The sunset was nice with red, yellow and white hills being the highlight.

Arriving in Alice Springs on Friday morning, a week after leaving home, we went straight to the suspension workshop where, as we had guessed, we were informed that all 8 shock absorbers on the caravan needed to be replaced. Luckily parts can be brought up from Adelaide and fitted on Tuesday. We checked in at G’day Mate Caravan Park and settled in for a few days. Feeling lazy we did only a few tourist things, most of which we had seen before. Temperatures had improved to 7-27 degrees.

As planned the caravan repairs were done on Tuesday and we headed off to explore the West McDonnell Ranges. Immediately we could see that there were not as many people around as normal. There are no international visitors and very few caravanners compared with a normal year. Covid-19 has had a devastating effect on the tourism and hospitality economy.

A fellow caravanner had told us that Ellery Creek Big Hole was a good campground so we checked in for 2 nights, then another 2 and finally a fifth night. About 12 rigs can fit in separate bays, set in a large circle. Inside the circle are 3 fire pits, 2 gas bbq’s and 2 shaded benches. The spring-fed permanent water hole is just a 5 minute walk away, surrounded by steep cliffs and shady trees. It certainly is a comfortable place to stay. Minimum temperature had been about 15 degrees each night and daily maxima 30-32 degrees. Evenings have been calm and campfires with new friends have been good fun. Unfortunately the water in Ellery Creek, as inviting as it looks, is too cold for swimming but we are not complaining.

From Ellery Creek camp ground we visited some of the other gorges in the West MacDonnell Ranges, all interesting but by now the weather was getting too warm for us to undertake long bush walks.

After a night at Redbank Gorge camp ground we drove back to Alice Springs and checked in for a week on a powered site so that we could relax in shade and use the air conditioning during the hot afternoons. The day temperature had been up to 35 degrees and the nights have been in the mid- to high-teens. Highlights in Alice have been visits to the School of the Air, the Desert Park and a light festival, showing images on the nearby cliffs.

Three weeks into our 6-week holiday we have decided to head south again, looking for cooler, but not too cold weather. We might go via Renmark to visit friends – but we might not, depending on how we feel at the time.

Keep safe everyone. Think of you, especially our family in Melbourne.