Desert Venturer - Alice to Cairns

Day 1: Alice Springs To Boulia

Another early start and I was picked up by the Desert Venturer bus. I was paranoid about missing buses and had been outside early - when I opened the hostel gate though I was just in time to see the bus pull away up the road. Fortunately the bus had been early and had gone to do pick ups. It arrived back at the right time and there were a few other people from my hostel waiting too.

The coach was really comfortable, with lots of leg room and really good air con - it was not too busy either and there was enough room for two seats each. As we were to find out it was particularly important for the bus to have a good suspension as we had a lot of mileage to cover on unsealed roads.

Not far out of Alice we were to get a taste of the road conditions as we moved onto the unsealed roads through one of the most remote areas in Australia.

The roads could be particular dangerous because of what is known as Bull Dust which blows over the roads and covers potholes and other hazards. Luckily the driver had plenty of experience on these roads and whisked us along comfortably.

We made a lunch stop at Jervois station which was nothing in the middle of nowhere.

There was a bit of a scare that day too as the bus started to overheat - luckily the driver was also a mechanic and after some tinkering and adjustments we were back on the move - it was quite a scary thought being broken down miles from anywhere in the baking sun.

We then headed on to skirt the Simpson Desert before stopping at Tobermorey Station. Here we were the attration as the locals were photographing our bus.

Our overnight stay was at Wirrelyerna Station where we had one of the nicest meals of the trip - beef stew and vegetables cooked on the camp fire. There were a lot of animals on the station, including 2 pet kangaroos who liked to drink beer and a pig who stole backpacks. Fortunately I opted to sleep indoors as the few who stayed outside where woken up by braying Donkeys and Kangaroos that nibbled their feet.



Day 2: Boulia To Hughenden

Next day we set out and re-joined the sealed Highway passing through Boulia. Our first stop today was a little pub in the middle of nowhere, Middleton Pub – population 5.



I really liked this place as it was very like the Wild West with an old stage coach parked outside.

We headed on for lunch at Carisbrook Station where we had lunch in a shearing shed where we learned all about the shearing process. We were supposed to have a BBQ but it was so hot we stuck to sandwiches.

After lunch we met an old farmer who gave us a guided tour around his property which included some spectacular lookouts and an aboriginal rock art site.

The rock art site was down in a gorge and hidden under the rocks there we saw this snake trying to keep cool.



In the afternoon we stopped again at Winton - Famous for being the place where 'Banjo' Paterson wrote the Aussie anthem - Waltzing Matilda. Winton is also the birthplace of Quantas (Quuensland and Northern Terrirory Air Service).

The journey that night saw a complete change of landscape as we arrived at Hughenden. The accomodation was a bit grotty here and the airconditioning kept fusing in all the rooms. We did have an OK buffet dinner and a few beers though.

Day 3: Hughenden To Cairns

A short drive this morning to Porcupine Gorge lookout before disaster struck the bus again with a flat tyre this time. It was quite an efort to change it in the dust and a few of us pitched in to help.

Back on the road again we stopped briefly at Australia's smallest bar before re-join the sealed road travelling through the lush Atherton Tablelands.

We stopped for a BBQ lunch at Wooroonooren National Park followed by a rainforest walk & swim at the Nandroya Falls before continuing to Cairns and the journeys end.

My first experience of my hostel in Cairns - the Cairns Beach House was not good. The first room I was put in was absolutely red hot with no aircon - I moved to a different room after complaining but ended up in a full six bed dorm which also had two double rooms inside it all sharing a single shower and toilet. I had to wait 25 minutes to get in the shower before catching the suttle bus into the city to meet the group for our farewell dinner in the Woolshed. I made it an early night though as I had my Diving Course at Cairns Dive Centre the next day.