Day 14 Alice Springs to Ali Curung

 This morning, Matt and David greased the bus springs and did any running repairs and servicing that the Clippers needed; while Brenda and I cleared out some of the red dirt inside, albeit a temporary respite, as we knew more red dirt will be inevitably filling the Clippers throughout this adventure. A restock of fresh food and topping up with fuel, we were eventually on our way, with a lot less noise and squeaks thanks to the work Matt had done this morning on the springs. It was an easy drive to Ali Curung,  with an occasional bend in the otherwise very straight road. Easy for Sal, she slept for an hour , i drove for 3 1/2 hours straight... but that's what i like to do.

Ali Curung is a small community, but where some friends of David and Brenda's had a watermelon farm. Not the kind of crop you would expect out here, but very successful, and we now have this whopping big melon for Matt to consume. The owners took us around the farm and showed us the watermelon fields currently being harvested, and an asparagus trial crop and we got to pick some of this as well, and eaten freshly picked was apparently delicious, especially when I then used some in a beef satay for dinner. After spending time with David and Brenda's friends, we found a spot on the property to park up for the night. We ended up with front row seats to watch the new moon rise on the horizon, dinner time entertainment doesn't get better than that, though we had also just been spoiled with an amazing sunset earlier.

cant see the next bend...

asparagus plants

watermelon fields

sunset

moon rise

Caravans

i now see why truck drivers complain so much about them  

their drivers will sit on 95kmh and a  60-80 tonne 3-4 trailer  road train slowly catches them up doing 100. no problem as yet. then to be helpful, they indicate left, half pull off the road and brake to 60kmh instantly,thinking this helps the truck driver go past.nope. cause they did it with traffic coming the other way, and the truck has to throw out the anchors so they don't clean the caravan up, cause he has nowhere to go.

they then did the same thing to me and the bus travelling with us. 3 potential accidents. all he had to do was drive predictably at the same speed and the trucks and busses will go out when they are ready, then the caravan can slow down and let the truck pass safely. it took the truck 3 kilometers to build up the speed to overtake again. 

i've seen at least 4 caravan drivers do this

rant over . oh and i tried to fix the step but all the legs snapped off. and i cant weld alloy. it now lives in Alice springs.

 

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.