DOWNTOWN SORRENTO

The down town area of Sorrento is the old part of town made up of narrow winding alleys and streets just wide enough for a small, thin car.

Cruise ships stop off in the port so the shops and markets in the down town area are always crowded and hectic.

Cheap leather goods, inlaid timber products and all sorts of fresh food are available. There are bars and cafes everywhere and competition for patronage is fierce. There are three cafes within a hundred meters of one another all offering the best Cappuccino in the world.

Not surprisingly, Italy has some incredible churches and Sorrento has some great examples

When space is lacking to build great, sprawling cathedrals, the Italians have perfected the optical illusion of constructing a small room and painting it to appear cavernous and spectacular.

Not all shopping is done in the down town markets. This guy has a truck loaded with bargains. Anything you could possibly want so long as its made out of plastic.

Small motor scooters are the preferred mode of transport for most of the population of Sorrento. Parking them under religious icons guarantees safety no matter where or how fast they are driven – even while texting, smoking a cigarette or carrying a case of wine.

Folks without access to religious icons opt for a safer means of transport.

Even the police choose to live dangerously, cutting through hoards of suicidal commuters on these uncontrollable wheeled pogo sticks. It says a lot for Italian optimism – How do you pull over a speeding Ferrari on one of these things?

Not everyone succumbs to the adrenalin rush of all day peak hour madness. These incredibly underpowered, three wheeled Piaggios are favored by many of the elderly Italians with a need to move a very small amount of stuff around very slowly at maximum decibels.

Of course, if you have a large amount of stuff to move around, then you go for a big car.

HOME RUN

IMGP2330

After 5 months traveling, there are mixed feelings about crossing the border into Queensland and winding our way over the mountains to home.

As much as we are looking forward to seeing friends and family, we will certainly miss the unpredictable lifestyle of exploring a new location every few days. After being out of the studio for almost half a year I’m really keen to get back in there and immerse myself in working on some larger paintings.

I will keep this blog going, updating with my day to day activities from the studio. Perhaps not as exciting as traveling to lots of interesting locations, but you can watch over my shoulder as I get all the accumulated ideas from five months on the road down onto canvas and paper.

Thanks to everyone following our travels, and thanks for the many comments. I hope you continue to enjoy posts from the studio until our next adventure in Italy next May.

FACTS AND FIGURES

  • Toyota Landcruiser 2008 wagon V8 Diesel
  • Loaded Weight – (Car – 2750kg – Van 1360kg) Total 4110kg
  • Distance traveled – 24,970kms
  • Fuel used – 3,649 litres Diesel
  • Fuel consumption approx. 14.6 litre/100km
  • 3 tyres destroyed
  • 1 shattered windscreen
  • 1 cracked fuel tank

The only major problem we had with the car was 150 chocolate bullets scattered over the floor in 40+ degree heat. Not that they caused much damage once they were all located; just tasted funny coated in red dust. Buy smarties next time.

DESERT COUNTRY

 

sa map

Heading East out of Coober Pedy towards William Creek is some of the most desolate country imaginable.

IMGP2188

The track crosses the Dingo Fence and passes through part of the Woomera Defence Area.

IMGP2185

IMGP2331

For a while there are only two things to look at. A huge blue sky and a dead flat absolutely featureless landscape.

IMGP2355

The flatness soon gives way to sand ridge country. Dry salt lakes and claypans are dotted through this area

IMGP2371

The old Ghan railway used to pass through here. Many of the old stone siding buildings are still standing. We also discovered that some of the discarded rusty railway spikes had found their way onto the track        …goodbye  tyre number three.

IMGP2409

Weird creatures wander about at night…

IMGP2401

IMGP2414

…and airplanes do strange things as the sun goes down.

IMGP2431

The Oodnadatta track ends at Maree where the track south takes you into the top of the Flinders Ranges. The ruins of Farina, once a thriving community, demonstrate just how hard this country can be.

GREAT CENTRAL RD WRECKS

gsr map

The Great Central Road runs from Laverton to Yulara, passing through the aboriginal communities of Cosmo-Newberry, Warburton, Warakurna and Docker River. The road takes in part of the old Gunbarrel highway to cover the 1500 kilometre distance.

Most of the road is good, graded dirt with a few stretches of corrugations and some sand drifts around Docker River. Apart from the great scenery, camels, birds and kangaroos, there are hundreds of wrecked cars scattered along the road. Here are a few victims of speed, fatigue, alcohol or neglect that caught our attention…

IMGP1934

IMGP1929

IMGP1813

IMGP1913

IMGP1756

IMGP1876

IMGP1880

IMGP1832

IMGP1905

IMGP1830

IMGP1817

IMGP1814

IMGP1809

IMGP1805

IMGP1928

IMGP1815

HIGHWAY RELICS

GREAT NORTHERN HIGHWAY – Vehicles

www.johnlovett.com – opens in a new window

nmansthmap

Scattered along the highway are some interesting vehicles and impressive wrecks. Here are some that caught my eye.

IMGP0610

.

IMGP0618

.

IMGP0675

.

IMGP0763

.

IMGP0804

.

IMGP0678

.

IMGP0953

GIBB RIVER ROAD

grrmap

The drive from Kununurra to Derby can be done via a thousand kilometre stretch of sealed road through Turkey Creek, Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing. The other option is the Gibb River Road –  seven hundred kilometres of dust and corrugations that link the bulk of the Kimberley cattle stations. This road also gives access to some incredibly beautiful gorges and waterholes and cuts through some of the most spectacular mountain ranges imaginable.

IMGP8798

The spectacular Cockburn Range skirts the northern end of the Gibb River Road.

IMGP8813

Catching the late afternoon sun in this area is something  special.

IMGP8817

The Pentecost River is the major river crossing along the Gibb River Road and the last to open after the wet. What appears to be a large white rock on the downstream side of the crossing is the roof of one of Home Valley’s Landcruisers.

IMGP8850

View towards the coast across the floodplains of the Pentecost River.

IMGP8844

Gibb River grader – no wonder the road is so rough!

IMGP8858

The Durack River is another of the many river crossings. At the end of the dry season it is reduced to a string of picturesque waterholes.

IMGP8865

Another victim of the corrugations. Heavy impact fractured the sidewall plies. Fortunately we spotted it before the tyre blew.

IMGP9116

Half way along the Gibb River Road is Mt. Barnett Roadhouse. From here a track leads in to Manning Gorge. A great spot to camp, swim and walk.

IMGP9052

Accessing the main Gorge requires swimming across the Manning Creek. White foam boxes are provided to transport clothes, cameras etc.

IMGP9089

IMGP9076

Manning Gorge is a large clear pool fed by a waterfall and surrounded by tall sandstone cliffs.

.

IMGP9241

Galvans Gorge is another beautiful, clear waterhole surrounded by sandstone walls. Clean water and no crocodiles make it great place to dive in and cool off.

IMGP9245

Wandjina paintings can be seen on the walls of the gorge.

.

IMGP9267

Further down the Gibb River Road is the turn off to Adcock Gorge. We camped there 27 years ago and the area was strewn with rubbish. No surprise, the station owners have stopped people camping there now.

IMGP9264

Deep, clear water – Adcock Gorge

.

IMGP9219

We found this old blue tongue trying to disguise himself as a rock on the road.

IMGP9121

.


Towards the Southern end of the Gibb River Road is the King Leopold Ranges Conservation Park. There is good camping at Silent Grove and, further up the track, Bell Gorge.

IMGP9285

The main pool and falls at Bell Gorge are reached by climbing over the escarpment and following markers down into the gorge.

IMGP9306

IMGP9283

IMGP9296

Bell Gorge was one of the few gorges to still have a fair flow of water over the falls this late (September) in the dry.

IMGP9415

The southern end of the Gibb River Road crosses the King Leopold Ranges before cutting through the Napier Range. Beyond the Napier Range is sealed road through to Derby, or turning left leads to Windjana Gorge

MINING MACHINERY

Ranger Uranium Mine, in the heart of Kakadu National Park, has the weird attraction of a car accident. It’s all very horrific but you just can’t help looking!

IMGP5796

The dirt from an enormous hole in the ground satisfies 10% of  the worlds hunger for uranium. They dig it up, crush it, mix it with various toxic chemicals (ammonia, sulphuric acid, kerosene), then , once separated and purified, pack it into 44 gallon drums and sell them for over half a million bucks a pop.

All this so the Chinese and Indians can have two door fridges, plasma TV’s and  air conditioned shopping centres,  just like we do.

IMGP5790

As crazy as all this is, I just cant help admiring the technology and machinery that brings it all about. One small human can sit in a giant loader and, with the assistance of hundreds of litres of burning diesel, pick up 30tons of earth in one scoop and drop it in the back of a monstrous truck. These really are awesome machines and they make great painting subjects.

These sketches were done with Indian Yellow, Alizarin Crimson, Ultramarine Blue and White Gouache. Burnt Sienna Ink and charcoal pencil provided most of the fine lines.

IMGP6165

I liked the way this machine was resting, with it’s bucket on the ground like a big, tired elephant

IMGP6167

These trucks carry 100ton of dirt, in and out of the pit all day long. Even so, they look over designed – as if nothing could ever stop them.

IMGP6168

I used bleeding ink lines, rough charcoal marks and washes of dirty white gouache to try and get the smell of grease and diesel into this sketch.

It seems weird I guess, sitting in one of the most beautiful places on earth, painting trucks and graders!  It’s a lot of fun though.