Day 18 - Lorella Springs
What a magical place! A unique part of Australia that so few people will
see (because it's so hard to get to, and most will also never have heard of it)
but it should actually be a destination, not a stop over. We wish we were here
for a week.
A leisurely morning greeted us, and we fired up the campfire again,
for tea and coffee, then baked bean
jaffles cooked over the fire. We watched a steady stream of people head off
onto the many four wheel drive tracks around this station but we had a better
plan in mind. First though, time for a bath. Not the traditional kind, but a
dip in the warm mineral springs less than 100m from our caravan. I had this
idyllic spot to myself this morning and spent a pleasant half hour lazily
swimming about in the 35C water.
After that, it must have been morning tea time so I made a batch of scones
in the campoven and we had them with strawberry jam and whipped cream (thanks
Mum/Marg for the Tupperware whipping device - it works a treat!). A bit more
lazing about, although we got talking to a few people. Lots of people come here
to volunteer for the dry season - if you're prepared to do anything you can
stay as long as you like for board (although most bring their own
accommodation), meals and two beers a day. Then the best time of the day came -
we were off on a helicopter flight with pilot Tim. Greg was a bit wary of the
concept, as obviously he wouldn't be able to experience the scenic element of
the scenic flight but Tim and I convinced him it would be a very different
sensation so we boarded the open doored helicopter and took off for the
southern Lost City.
It was amazing! My helicopter flying is limited and I had never before in a
chopper without doors. Greg had done some work in doorless helicopters with the
Tasmanian National Parks but he said it was quite a different experience now! I
just kept pressing the shutter on the camera while looking at the view with my
own eyes. Thankfully, many of the photos turned out alright!
The poor people can drive to the Lost City and do a walk through some of it
but I think we had a much better view!
Thanks to pilot Tim for the experience. He does this as his second or third
job - what a hard life!
Back to camp, and we ran into Dick, who has been volunteering here for
several years and reckons he has a couple more in him. He bakes the bread
daily. If you place your order by 2pm, your loaf will be ready at 5pm.
We had already placed an order than morning so after a chat with Dick and a
check on our loaf, I headed back to the mineral springs before the most
important hour of the day - Happy Hour! On these amazing bar stools - recycling
at it's best!
This is such an amazing place and we would love to come back. Where else
can you get hot mineral springs, cold beer and restaurant quality meals
thousands of kilometres from civilisation? The people are fantastic, the vibe
is great, the scenery magnificant - the helicopter flight barely scratched the
surface in identifying how vast this country is. AWESOME!
posted by Tracey @ 8:29 pm
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home