Day 13 West MacDonnell Ranges to Alice Springs

 Today was a long day exploring all the various amazing features and gorges within the western side of the MacDonnell Ranges. First stop was Glen Helen Gorge, where we found the path to the gorge was hidden by grasses taller than me. We found the creek bed and then the gorge, full of cold, deep water. They even had a life saving ring, just in case. The orange and white cliff faces were pretty awesome. 

 

From there we went to the very popular Ormiston Gorge. It even had a kiosk, being in the middle of nowhere. They had a paved walkway to the beach and water hole. I spotted some wild budgies flying around too. It was very popular and busy there. We opted to do another walk, the Ghost Gum lookout walk, which took us up many steep steps, but the effort was worthwhile, as we got spectacular views that overlooked the beach and waterhole and around the corner of the gorge, that you couldn't reach because of the water. The colours were varied and again pretty amazing. There was one lone white ghost gum on this little peak within the gorge, hence the name of the walk.

 Ormiston Gorge

 Below, there is a photo of a lone little wild purple daisy plant, trying to sprout through rock and concrete. When I saw it, I saw me; I saw something beautiful, trying to breakthrough, to be strong, despite the lack of water and soil. I saw its resilience and courage to overcome the conditions, to survive; me.

From Ormiston Gorge, we explored the Ochre Pits, with many shades of rock that had been used by Indigenous communities, to make paint. 

 

 Next stop was at the Ellery Creek Big Water Hole, which lived up to its name. The water was very deep with amazing rock faces all around. A lone kestrel was soaring above, and occasionally diving into the water to catch a fish. This was a popular spot, with a few braving the freezing waters for a swim, there were influencers filming themselves, waiting for others to leave the water so they could get the perfect shot, families, hikers, and an ultramarathon event was stationed there to check on the participants, as they ran past. We enjoyed lunch and watching all the action before us.

Next stop was Standley Chasm, where we had taken our 4 children aged between 1 1/2 years old and 6 years old in 2004. It was very green this time, and although we had taken them to see the rock faces in the middle of the day, this time we had gone in later in the day and it was much cooler and thanks to recent rain, was very green and lush. Again you could see where the water had washed away the orange red colours, to leave a polished white and grey rock. The rock shaped like a slippery dip, that was smooth and shiny and made a great slippery dip for our kids all those years ago, was still there. The height of the rock walls was awesome, as you stood between them. This part of the park is now privately owned and run by an Indigenous community.

 

The last amazing sight was Simpson's Gap. This had even taller cliff faces than Standley Chasm and was equally as spectacular as Ormiston Gorge, with pools of water and sandy beaches, between the cliffs. At that time of the afternoon, it was much cooler and very pleasant, and the trillion flies were starting to dissipate, much to our relief. We took some cool photos of the 2 Clippers in front of the gap as well. 

 The Larapinta and Namatjira roads have spectacular escarpments and cliff ranges and mountain views, all along the roads, on both sides. At the moment, we have been blessed to see it at their best because of the recent rains. It's teeming with life and health. We feel so privileged that we can see it like this, with the orange rocky faces hidden amongst the green, swishy grasses, white ghost gums, she-oaks and limestone mallee about to burst into flower, to name a few. We eventually drove into Alice Springs and were able to meet and stay with a fellow from our Clipper club, who is slowly restoring a Clipper. A long but wonderful day, immersed in God's creation again.

never have I seen or eaten so many flies... why God, did you not make enough spiders to catch them?? 

No,  wait... i see your reasoning...

oh and i may have killed our portable step that we put at the door to get in easier, like old people do,,, it seems it puts up no resistance when 8 tonne of steel rolls over it. mmm  

and we must be old cause they charged me pensioner discount to get into Standley chasm. bloody teenagers.

 

 

 

Day 12 Kings Canyon to Redbank Gorge

 After a slower morning, we headed off from Kings Canyon, and onto the first stretch of dirt road for the trip; down the Mereenie Loop Road (now named Red Centre Way). We had done our best to cover up and reduce the risk of the Clipper filling up with dirt, but we knew it was inevitable, that things would get covered in red dirt, and they did. It was over 150km of corrugations and a few rutted sections where recent rains had washed out the road. We were travelling about 50km/hr, along the stretch and spotted wild donkeys and horses along the way. There was many amazing escarpments of varying types and it was all very green too. Every 5 minutes or so, I was up closing all the windows that were being rattled open along the bumpy road, and it was very loud inside the Clipper. Eventually we reached asphalt again, and it was quieter, and I could enjoy the views without worrying about self-opening windows.

We had lunch at a lookout that had views out to Gosse Bluff, which reminded us of Wilpena Pound in the Flinders Ranges. We continued on until Redbank Gorge, where we had booked to camp for the night in the National Park. We ventured into the gorge and walked along the creek bed, until we reached the water holes. We spotted some fish swimming in the puddles along the way, some up to 15cm long. Not sure what happens to them, when the water dries up. David and Matt explored the water hole further, while Brenda and I sat and enjoyed the quiet. We were able to watch a little finch fluttering about being busy, in one of the small gum trees, which had managed to thrive with its roots firmly entwined into the rock it was growing out from. Brenda also spotted a black footed rock wallaby, hopping up around the cliff walls. The cliffs around the gorge lived up to their name and were orange red, but the lower rocks that had been washed smooth by water over time, some were burgundy red, and others purple and others had faded to a pale grey.  It was really quite beautiful. If you were quiet enough, all you could hear were the trillion flies buzzing around. Some grey clouds appeared overhead, and the colours of the rocks became more intense. The whole area was again very green and healthy looking, with a few shy wildflowers emerging. We headed back to the Clippers and then went up the lookout towards Mount Sonder, part of the Larapinta Trail for avid bushwalkers and the fourth highest mountain in the Northern Territory. 

We headed to the campground and had a quiet evening in and waited for the sun to set and the trillion flies to dissipate, before we attempted to cook dinner on the BBQ. Another lovely day on this adventure..

 

Day 11 Kings Canyon

 We got up fairly early, so we could do today's walk before it got too hot. We drove back out to Kings Canyon and started the rim walk. This involved walking up the edge of the canyon via many steep, rocky stairs. The path was well marked, but you did have to watch your footing. We stopped often to admire the views and catch our breath. Once at the top, we then took our time to explore the various rock formations and views. We found a path that led to a lookout, that many of those doing the walk would bypass, which was a shame for them, as the views were breathtaking and spectacular, as you looked across to the other side of the canyon, but also got very close to the edge. Matt reminisced about when he did the walk with good mates Rod and Gary, 30 years ago, except they may have done some things that young men who think they are invincible would do. We continued back on the path, and went down into the valley between some rock faces, and then into a section known as the Garden of Eden, where we found a rockpool and more amazing rock features. Again, worth the effort to see. Then it was back up to the top and along the other side of the canyon rim, and mate David got very close to the edge to spy the sheer face of the cliff that went straight down. We did observe the AED devices and first aid boxes dotted around the track, nice to know had we needed them.

Eventually the track slowly took us down the other side and back to the carpark. All in all, it took us over 4 1/4 hours, and the track wasn't easy in parts and slow and steady was the best way to go. With the add on sights, we walked over 7km, but it was a much harder walk than the Valley of the Winds, at Kata Tjuta. Again, I was proud of my achievement to accomplish this walk. We had fun together, being able to share the adventure with David and Brenda. 

We returned to the campground for lunch and to rest and recover in the afternoon. We headed back over to the bar and enjoyed another beautiful sunset over the Kings Canyon and found some sisters that we had chatted with on the Valley of the Winds walk, and we had a lovely chat with them again, as the sun set and  the stars started to come out and the almost full moon lit up the sky. You do start to see the same people along the way, and strike up conversations, with the buses often being the topic of discussion. Then it was dinner and a quiet night in to write this. We both wished our Mums a happy Mother's Day and I thoroughly enjoyed today's adventure as a way to celebrate mine. Though tomorrow I may feel my age after the effort of today.

Day 10 Yulara to Kings Canyon

 We had a slow start this morning, as we packed up and headed off to Kings Canyon. It was 10 degrees but the feels like was 6 degrees, but once the sun appeared, it warmed up to a perfect 26 degrees. We had a good drive to Kings Canyon, and I enjoyed the scenery changing again, to being more mountainous and I enjoyed the growing escarpments on one side of the road.

I learnt a new term today from a truckie over the CB, who said he'd much rather pass us in the clipper (while taking photos) than all of those square "wobbly boxes" that he usually has to round up. i think we made his day, he was very chatty.  

 I spied a few wild horses along the way. We headed straight to the canyon, and after lunch, with our heads adorned with the new fly nets, which made the trillion flies more bearable, we walked about 2km along the creek bed walk and back. A pleasant walk, in the cool and shade, as you marvelled at the majesty and colours of the cliff faces on either side. Matt reminisced on his 30 year old memories of walking along the creek bed, and how it had changed to being a sturdy manicured path, rather than clambering along the rocky creek bed. As we drove away from the canyon, we spotted a very lean and boney wild dingo, that didn't look so good and was scared of us as we drove past. 

After checking in at the campground, we had a quiet afternoon, before heading over to a outdoor bar that had the Kings Canyon escarpment as it's feature view, and we watched the sunset with a few drinks. Great way to start another relaxing evening. We had dinner together, before heading in for a quiet night to write this, as tomorrow we plan on doing the walk around the top of the canyon. We are starting to really settle in to this way of life. Matt is definitely in his happy place driving his dream bus.

 

 

Day 9 Kata Tjuta

 

 Today we ventured out to Kata Tjuta and I decided to brave it, and attempt the Valley of the Winds walk. It was a 7.5 km walk with a grade 4 difficult and steep rating. The track was very well maintained and easy in parts but it took us between the rock formations, and up and over a smaller adjoining rock between two tall formations with sheer cliff faces on either side and then over to the other side, and through the valley and then back to the start. The conglomerate rocks were as majestic around us, as they were from afar. The path was steep, and you had to remember to stop and look up to appreciate the size and beauty of the cliffs around you, and not just focus on not falling over. We had wonderful conversations with friends David and Brenda as we walked together, so the difficulty and the time passed much more easily. The trillion flies also came with us, but would always disappear when the gusts of wind came through, as the valley lived up to its name. The breeze was most welcome, from the sun bearing down on us. It took a little over 3 hours to do, and I was so proud of this achievement. I needed a break and extra IV fluids after the effort, but for me this was huge and I loved every minute.

during the walk i had constant reminders of a previous visit here in 1995 that i did with my mates Gary and Rod , where valley of the winds took on several meanings,mainly due to the diet of tinned irish stew at the time, we have a photo of Gary and Rod doing Peter Garrett impersonations in the middle of the valley, which i unfortunately couldnt recreate as they have declared that vista a "no photos due to cultural significance" location. probably better for the greater good too.  

 We returned to the camp ground to recover and rest, before we explored the Desert Sails shops and found some fly nets to wear for future walks, to reduce the fly factor. Matt spotted a little gecko on our stroll around. The Clippers are creating a bit of a stir and we keep noticing both tourists and Yulara resort staff doing a drive by with cameras in hand through the campground and past us. I was accosted by another old bloke this afternoon telling me his endless bus stories...

After an early dinner, we went out to the drone show, that we had booked. We were meant to go the previous night, but we had been told the drones might not be flying due to the wind, so we decided to postpone to tonight instead of risking them not flying. We found out that they did end up flying last night after all. But sadly, for us tonight, the wind picked up and they didn't fly the drones, so disappointing for us. But Matt, David and Brenda were able to enjoy the wine and cheese platters and they did provide a laser light show, that was spectacular in itself.

i probably shouldnt mention that David said out loud that a nicely dressed older lady had a tea cosy on her head , much to the amusement of a different lady standing within earshot, to whom Brenda apologized for her husband, but i'm sure it had nothing to do with the wine , and it was just an accurate observation, Sal better keep writing the rest, cause the wine kept coming, and it has kicked in....

 I know we will feel the effects of the walk tomorrow, but it was well worth it. I really felt God's presence in the rugged beauty and magnificence of Kata Tjuta, and to be honest, I reckon they are actually more amazing than Uluru, especially since doing this walk. It was very spiritual there and I can understand why it is such a significant place for the Indigenous people in the Anangu area.