Clare and Ross - a van, no plan.

Further exploring of The Olga's  Did the Valley of the Winds walk...several spectacular lookouts. Lots of wildflowers...Foxtails, Pussytails and Mulla Mulla, several Grevillias flowering also. one of our spectacular walks....a very enjoyable day! Packing up camp this evening for a 5am leave tomorrow back to Alice.

Clare rode and Rachael ran.....10km around Uluru....pace was well matched....once again Uluru was amazing! We collected Lara a friend of Rachael's from the staff accommodation, lunch at Yulara then we went out to walk Walls Gorge at The Olga's. Walked up between 2 domes of rock. The rock is different to Uluru...being conglomerate rather than smooth. Finished the day with The Field of lights...drinks and canapes first then we walked amongst the light installation...spread out Infront of Uluru....beautiful....changing colours...like flowers in the desert.

Rachael joined us last night which was lovely! Set off to walk around the base. So many changes as we walked around...Waterholes, vegetation changes, birds changed, lots of traditional stories about the rock, aboriginal art on cave walls..... excellent!! Explored Yulara...more art shops and galleries. Returned to Uluru for sunset....it seemed to glow in the setting sun....good excuse for wine and nibbles.

Explored the cultural centre and information centre...several art galleries and shops. Walked along the Liru walk to the rock....not an interesting walk....but never mind. Arrived at the site where people used to climb the rock. Hard to believe we climbed that path 30 yrs ago with a 12 month old in a back pack....were we crazy or just super confident in ourselves? Walked on around the Mala walk....amazing variety in the sides of Uluru. Nice spot for contemplation in a little protected area with a waterhole.

Long drive again today..... absolutely flat country with little shrubs and spindly trees for several hours then rising up was a huge red rock......Wow we thought we could see Ayres Rock from 150km away....it must be absolutely huge!......but at a lookout it advised us we had been fooled and it was Mt Conner.....and maybe only 10 km away. So on we went ....not long and the real thing showed itself to our left and the knobbly Olga's to our right (stay tuned for pictures in coming days) A lookout at the campground gave us a great view.

Delayed start to the day as we fixed our first flat tyre. We were alerted to a slightly flat tyre as we arrived the night before. We pumped it up and waited. In the morning it was ok but Clare found a nail which we must have pick up as we were arriving yesterday.  Steep climb up onto the rim then we walked through a rocky area that looked like Pernululu....striped beehive formations. We returned to the edge of the canyon.....the walls at the top end are so straight and smooth they look like they have been cut with a giant saw. At the head of the gorge is The Garden of Eden....hidden and green with Waterholes,cycad palms and trees....a complete contrast to the dry surrounds. Back around the other cliff line.... magnificent! A great walk.

Long drive today through flat dry country in all directions. Passed Alice Springs airport....hundreds of planes from all countries of the world parked awaiting the world opening up again. Magnificent sunset on the cliff lines. Then Wow a full moon rising...

Cycling today....up one side of the Todd and back on the other side....nice ride....only difficulty was crossing the Todd....not water but deep sand! We are all stocked up...petrol, food and wine to move on tomorrow.

Further exploring along the West MàcDonnell Ranges today....a hot sunny day ...30 degrees in the middle of the day but very very windy  Ellery Creek big hole first stop...no-one swimming today but a remarkable amount of water...the most we have seen since Litchfield. Next stop Serpentine Gorge....smaller water hole between the walls of the gorge....flocks of little zebra finches with red beaks coming in to drink and splash in the water then all flying off in alarm at the slightest movement....on the other side of the waterhole were flocks of budgies coming in to drink. Walked up to the lookout to see the gorge extending past the waterhole and the mountains in all directions. 3rd stop Ormiston Gorge....again quite a lot of water...fish dying in the water as it evaporates ....a natural phenomena we are told. We have explored along sections 5 to 10 of the Larapinta trail today and sections 1-3 before. Lots of walkers....some in groups...some walking alo

A Lutheran mission set up in the 1880's...many of the original buildings still standing...it was used until 1980. In the middle of the central courtyard was the church....old photos show it with 50 or so people outside. It was where Albert Namatjira was born and did most of his painting...it remains a centre for artists with quite a sizable community around. Driving back the sun was on the West MàcDonnell Ranges.... beautiful!! Fun fact - in four months of outback driving we have not seen one emu.

Drove to the West MàcDonnell Ranges today. Standley Chasm is on land owned privately by the local Aboriginal corporation. We walked up a lush valley to get to the chasm....several permanent water springs, cycad palms that only grow in this area, brightly flowering Acacia with small spiky leaves and again flocks of budgerigars. The chasm itself is narrow with almost vertical walls rubbed smooth by water. Nice cafe...full of people who had just completed stage 3 of the Larapinta trail and were camping there tonight.

Decided to explore the East ranges today along the Ross Hwy . Emily's Gap and Jessie Gap...both spectacular gaps in the range created by water with Sandy creek beds through the middle. Corroboree Rock was next stop ...a thin slither of rock standing alone....as we walked around we could see a couple of holes right through. All of these places are Aboriginal sacred sites. Trephina Gorge was another spot to walk through the gorge along the sandy bed or around the cliffs....the biggest Ghost Gum in Australia....33m high , 300 years old and beautiful! Lunch at an old homestead at the end of the road...on the Ross River....serving Ross burgers....Ross chose a vegetarian burger....it came with bacon and an egg! Last visit was to N'Dhala Gorge.......supposed to have thousands of petroglyphs...we picked a couple but are clearly not very good at finding them.

Another day of cycling....a very nice path wandered up and down and back and forth from John Flynn's grave to Simpsons Gap....17 km each way. Beautiful river red gums, flocks of cheerful budgies, Galahs,  blue headed parrots.....vegetation was quite sparse but very pretty. Walked up to the gap....amazing the power of water... especially when it only flows 6 months of the year. By the time we got back our legs were aching and we knew we had done some work. John Flynn's grave was decorated with one of The Devil's Marbles originally but it was replaced where it should be and a replacement rock was found locally.

Did some exploring on our bikes today...along the Todd River to Olive Pink Botanical Gardens.....all the arid lands plants...quite different to what we are used to....learned what a quandong tree looks like....no fruit to try though. Nice cafe for lunch before climbing a hill to a great lookout over town and all the surrounds. Cycling back we found a mountain bike trail which was fun....we ended up back at the Telegraph Station.

Spent the morning driving back to Katherine.....Needed an optometrist and a chemist before Alice Springs (still 1000kms away)...Quick trip with no caravan, success on both errands and lunch at the famous Black Russian outdoor caravan cafe ...horray!! Returned to Mataranka hot springs..OMG....there were so many people in the pool...shoulder to shoulder bobbing about on their noodles that we decided not to go in...a cold drink was much more appealing. Returned to Bitter Springs just near our campsite....much nicer...plenty of room to float down with the current......we had our face masks and could see the bottom, fallen tree trunks fish and 3 turtles in the crystal clear water..... beautiful!!

Stayed at Tennant Creek last night despite various warnings about thievery....no incidents and we felt quite safe where we stayed Walked the main street this morning....it was rather sad .....most shop fronts were barred and locked. The majority were government offices, Vinnie's, Aboriginal Services and 2 cafes. Drove on to The Devil's Marbles....Karlu Karlu We did a loop walk which took in most of the rock formations....rounded granite rocks....some balancing precariously....some split dramatically down the middle. Ha Ha Ross went on to stay at a local hotel that has a campground.....a little oasis behind a high fence....happy hour 5-6.

Walked up to the Overland Telegraph Office ....amazing story of how it was planned , built and operated....over 3000 kms of line (mostly across desert) with a relay station every 250 km between Adelaide and Darwin. Built in the 1860's in just 2 years, to connect Australia to the world. Several buildings have been nicely renovated and of course a cafe! good coffee! Yesterday we saw the station at Barrow Creek 300km North...also the site of the Peter Falcone murder 20 yrs ago. We have crossed the Tropic of Capricorn again....nights are a little cooler dropping to 15 degrees but the days remain about 30 degrees.

What an amazing eclectic place in the middle of nowhere. The pub and the caravan park were packed. Old helicopters, light planes, Ned Kelly suits, Bull catchers and a live salty (crocodile) in the main (only) street. The pub is stuffed full of bras, hats, shoes, police badges , coins and notes...all left by previous visitors. A goat was tied up on a lead out the front and a horse wandered about the caravan park. Live entertainment and beef and Barra(mundi) for dinner.... excellent!! We went to the pub about an hour before dinner and the show and were amazed at the two hundred plus people already there.

Left Katherine early to join the queue at Mataranka Caravan Park. No bookings taken so we all just had to wait and see how many people left. We were fortunate and got the last  powered site. Walked down to the hot springs ...34 degrees and as clear as bath water...a slight sulphur smell did not detract. Set up so you got in ......floated slowly with a soft current to an exit point.....get out....walk up to the beginning ....and go again. We were not the only ones without noodles.....but almost!

Travelling south today....lunch stop at Pine Creek...nice cafe but the smell of millions of bats hanging in the trees was potent! All the caravan parks are full in Katherine....people waiting for the WA border to open, people arrived from WA, people making the most of school holidays. Fortunately the showground has been opened for people like us who didn't book weeks ago, lots of space and power so we are winners. Walked over to the hot springs and enjoyed floating down from the top pool under the bridge and on to the bottom pool. Busy but very very nice.