We stopped at Hermannsburg to pick up our pass for the Mereenie Loop. Since the loop passes through aboriginal land you need to purchase a pass to be allowed through their lands. This pass was pretty cheap but apparently some of them can be a little expensive. Personally I don’t mind paying a little bit as long as it goes back into the community
Hermannsburg was a German missionary town setup a long, long time ago. It’s mainly an aboriginal town with a small little church compound at the back.
And this photo is the Mereenie Loop… 200kms of dirt, rocks, and corrugations make for an interesting drive. You’re not allowed off the track because the land belongs to the aborigines and they still live on these lands.
The Ford Falcon handled the dirt track quite well but a 4WD would’ve been much better. Maybe it was my driving but I overtook a couple of 4WD’s driven by tourists… aww yeah
Unfortunately the novelty of the loop itself wore out pretty quick. You have to concentrate much harder which takes a bit of the pleasure out of the drive. There’s also nowhere to pull over and check out on the drive until you hit the sealed roads near Kings Canyon.