outback australia Archives - Aussie Destinations Unknown

Mutonia Sculpture Park, Oodnadatta Track, SA

by Miriam | Nov 27, 2021 | Adventures, Destinations, Experiences, Miriams Moments

Is this the most bizarre park in Australia? We think so. It was so strange, we couldn’t figure it out!

Talk about a random way to end our epic adventures along the Oodnadatta Track. ‘Rust in Peace’ … retired mechanic now artist Robin Cooke has quite the sense of humour! He started the park back in 1997 and has been ‘wowing’ (and confusing) travelers ever since. I did read that he returns with a new sculpture every year! I’m not sure how current that info was though. Quite a few of the sculptures here now look like they need a little tender loving … repairing! All of the sculptures are made from recycled rubbish, and there are no information signs, so it’s up to the individual to guess sculpture names and figure out what they might mean.

This is the brilliantly weird Mutonia Sculpture Park in Alberrie Creek, 30 km west from Marree along the Oodnadatta track in South Australia. It used to be a railway siding on the Old Ghan line. But no trains live here any more. Nope – this is all about planes. And a bus, a car, a windmill, a dragonfly … ok. It has lots of stuff – just no trains that we could see.

We parked up and headed off exploring the creative randomness that was all over the place. And while we were there, numerous others pulled up, had a quick look at few pieces of art near the gate then left! What? Nooooo! Just keep walking – at least until you get to the Love Bus (named by Chris♥️). It has ‘GHAN’ HOVER BUS SERVICE painted on the side and a (real) rabbits head, amongst other things, inside.

Stone Henge, the Time Tree (that follows the cycle of the moon), a Windmill Flower, a lady bug, and plenty of other artistic bizarreness is waiting for you when you head off on your own Oodnadatta adventure!

Have you stopped by the Mutonia Sculpture Park? If so, what did you think? Leave us a comment below!

Arno’s Wall, Winton QLD

by Miriam | May 27, 2021 | Adventures, Adventures Couples, Destinations, Miriams Moments

If you want to see something a little unusual on your next outback adventure, Arno’s Wall should definitely be on your itinerary! This ‘monument’ is something a little bizarre that everyone should take time to see when visiting Qld’s outback town of Winton.

Arno Grotjhan’s wall(s) have been constructed over the past 30+ years, reach two metres high and extend for at least 70 metres and are made of concrete and rock from Arno’s opal mine at Opalton.

I was walking past the gates, video camera in hand, when 2 big dogs started growling at me from the back of the ute parked out the front. I took the long way round, and kept filming. On my way back past, a man came out the gates, telling the dogs to settle down. I thanked him and asked if these walls were his. He nodded, Chris joined us, and Aaron told told us all about the walls that his father had built.

Arno Grotjahan was one of Queensland’s most well-known opal miners, and immigrated to Australia from Germany in the 1960’s. Not long after he arrived in Winton, Arno mined a valuable boulder opal and was able to to purchase a house in Winton. He spent the rest of his life mining, raising his family and collecting Australian and international memorabilia. When his collection got a little too big, he decided to create Arno’s Wall.

While we were chatting, Chris looked at me, then back at Aaron, then back at me, then back at Aaron before asking ‘Were you on a TV show by any chance?’ Aaron nodded. ‘Yes, I’m Opal Hunters next top loser!’ he said laughing.

Aaron, who has now taken over from his father who is now deceased, invited us to come inside the gates for a sneak peek at what he’s got planned over the coming years. We met his mate, his cat and gained a lot of insight as to why these walls were built and his plans for the future. The backyard is overflowing with, what some people would call, junk, but according to Aaron – he has big plans for every piece of it.

These quirky walls are so much fun to look at – and the closer you look, the more quirkiness you see and the more fun you have! There are so many industrial and household items like typewriters, TV’s, entire motobikes, engines, sinks, sewing machines, wheels, ovens, nuts and bolts, appliances, springs, a letterbox, a petrol bowser and the list goes on.

Aaron is going to be finishing another wall and tidying things up so visitors can actually walk through the walls of art which have been made from items mostly scavenged from the Winton Dump.

It’s a great piece of Winton’s history concreted into the walls and floors at this property in the heart of the town, just behind Winton’s iconic North Gregory Hotel.

The Crack Up Sisters – What a Crack Up!

by Miriam | Jul 22, 2018 | Adventures, Adventures Family, Aylah's Antics, Destinations, Destinations Family, Kids Comments

Have you ever heard of The Crackup Sister’s? Well if you have you’ll know how funny they are, and if you haven’t, you should know that they will get you laughing in no time!

ST Ruth and Twiggsy are sisters from Winton who travel around Outback Australia doing a comedy show with stock whipping and acrobatics, and they were the hosts of the Big Red Bash this year (and last year too I think).

During the Big Red Bash we went to every show the crack up sisters performed. The first time we went, we were in the second row; the second time we were in the third row and the third time I went early, and we got front row, YESSS!!!! Although we were in the front row it was kind of scary when the crackup sisters got their whips out (you can see our heads in the pics! We arein the orange chairs).

They crack the whips around their heads and in front and behind … and sometimes ST Ruth cracked flowers out of Twiggsy’s hands!

They do the show in front of their caravan which is made to look like a cute house, and Twiggsy was on the roof pretending to take the elevator down once – it was so funny!

Their first show was a family show, it was so funny I nearly peed myself. That show was probably the funniest of them all. The last two shows were just kids shows, they were still pretty funny, but not as funny as the first one.

After their shows, they would sell their special packs and if you bought one you would get a free photo with them. In the pack they had lots of stuff, but the coolest thing was a tea towel that had instructions on how to turn it into a ‘kitchen whip’! Haha!!

Oh yeah, I can’t forget that they were selling stock whips too. They were soooo cool! We couldn’t get one – I wish we could though. Luckily one of our friends bought one and they let us have a turn. It took a while for me to get it to crack, but after a few hours I finally got it!

I love the Crack Up Sisters and we can’t wait to see them again.

Bye!!!!!

PS – Please comment below if you like my blog! 🙂

Check out their website here: https://www.crackupsisters.com

The Outback. So Much More Than Red Sand.

by Miriam | Jul 18, 2018 | Adventures, Adventures Family, Destinations, Destinations Family, Miriams Moments

Nothing says Australia quite like our outback. The open spaces that seem to stretch on forever tell the story of the exploration and development of our wide, brown land, and reflect Australia’s pioneering spirit and unique identity.

www.australia.com

We have just finished cleaning the red sand out of the caravan and truck that came home with us after our epic 12 days in the Australian Outback. What a mammoth task that was for Chris. He did well and I got some fantastic footage of our driveway looking like Big Red!

Dust. What dust?

We travelled about 3500km from Brisbane to Birdsville through Eulo, and returning home passing through Charleville and Roma to attend Australia’s most remote rock concert, The Big Red Bash. 9207 was the official total of people who attended the bash this year – which was just epic!

Looking down on Bashville from Big Red

History was made on day 3 of the bash as a Guinness World Record title was broken for the most people doing the Nutbush. It took a while to get all 2000 registered participants in the roped off area and a few rehearsal dances helped to pass the time. 1,719 people completed the challenge without being disqualified beating the original record of 522. Woohoo! So. Much. Fun! You can check out the video here: Nutbush World Record.

The entertainment was brilliant with our favourites being Busby Marou, Russell Morris, The Wolfe Brothers, Travis Collins and I loved The Angels. Chris – not so much. He preferred the Hoodoo Gurus which I can’t stand! Adam Brand, Amber Lawrence, The Black Sorrows, Daryl Braithwaite, Kate Cebrano, John Stevens and John Farnham all hit the stage as well. It was epic. Hmm. I think I used that word already – but I can’t think of a better one! I was lucky enough (or crazy enough not to move! lol) to be front and centre for about 7 hours on the Wednesday. I could almost see up the performers nostrils! It was wow. just WOW – or should I say – epic? Check out my little compilation of The Angels here.

Front and centre! And yes, that’s The Angels behind me 🙂

The Black Sorrows

We had the best time at The Big Red Bash and the journey was definitely as fabulous as the destination! We saw so many amazing things, visited many fascinating country towns and made some wonderful new friends. And while that blog post is going to take a while to put together, I thought I’d share how I feel after my time in the ‘real’ Outback Australia.

The outback is hard to explain. It’s a desolate, lonely and often treacherous place – yet there is something about the vast emptiness that draws you in, tangles with your emotions and makes you think more deeply about almost every aspect of your life. The vibrant red of the sand and the vivid blue skies make for countless ‘wow’ memories that are forever etched into your mind, and when the dust settles and the sun goes down – the stars will burn so brightly that you will never forget the magic.

The wildlife will draw you in (and sometimes scare you back into your car!) and show you eagles bigger than you’ve ever seen, more emus than you can imagine and countless kangaroos, pigs and wild dogs dotted around on the endless flat plains. And when you see those wild dogs strung up from trees and hanging from fences, you’ll wish you had phone reception to google what on earth is going on! There was some serious roadkill as well; some of what we saw splattered on the road made me wonder how the vehicle ended up!

A huge positive of adventuring through the outback is meeting, chatting with and helping out our fellow Aussies who work so hard with minimal support.

There are so many tiny businesses in these small country towns that thrive when visitors spend a few days shopping, visiting local attractions and even just filling up the tank. It was devastating to see the effects the current drought is having on these outback towns, and we are doing all that we can to help.

We have organised a FUNdraise for Farmers camping weekend at Bigriggen, Scenic Rim (QLD) Nov 23-25, 2018 for those of you who would like to come along, and a donations button is right there below ticket purchases for those of you who would like to donate. You can also donate via our Facebook fundraiser here. Click here for ticket purchases and to read more.

And yes, every town we went through had Telstra 4G and we had contact with the outside world. Although, being cut off from the internet definitely adds to the appeal of the outback.

Stopping and having a chat to these inspirational people will open up your eyes to things that may have never even crossed your mind.

Not only are the towns filled with history and so much to stop and see, there are historical relics and landmarks dotted all over the place! Have a look at our drone footage of the Weengallon Aboriginal Rock Wells.

We are already planning our next adventure, and the hardest part is figuring out where to go! Finke? Uluru? Back to the Bash? Winton? Who knows, maybe all of the above. What we do know is that it will be epic and well worth all the planning that goes into it.

If you’ve thought about going, stop thinking and start planning! This is one experience you will carry with you forever.

Here is the link to the Big Red Bash website in case you are a teeny tiny bit interested in heading out to experience the magic for yourself. And who knows, we might even see you there. www.bigredbash.com.au