We stopped for an quick overnighter at Kulgera- a highway stop which possibly over-does the ocker thing.....
Then it was onto Yulara and the red centre..... which was more green than red! Recent above average rain has meant that the red desert sands are largely covered in green grasses above knee height. The desert light is beautiful, especially at sunrise.
Tim and I have both been to Uluru before, but you forget just how immense and powerful a place it is. The rock is a colossal thing, and hard to capture in words or pictures.
We went to The Field of Light installation at sunset, which is 50000 coloured glass globes which glow over 7 acres in the shadow of Uluru. Totally impossible to photograph well without a full size tripod, here are some of our pitiful efforts....
Following a couple of nights camping at Yulara, we packed up the trailer again and headed for the West Macdonnell Ranges. First stop was Kings Canyon, which has spectacular sheer cliffs allowing one to test their fear of heights- or not. This part of the Northern Territory is really spectacular- Kings Canyon has to be one of the best sights to see.
The campsite at Kings Canyon has dingoes which roam through the area, especially as people are cooking. It is slightly disconcerting to look up and have a dingo 2 metres away from where you are eating! This guy was hanging around a roadside rest area where we were stopped for lunch.
We had to stop and check out a Thorny Devil that we passed over at 80 km/hr on the road. They are very hard to see amongst all the rocks and corrugations- fortunately he was fine, maybe more alarmed by the affection that Hugo showed to him after we turned around. The following 30 minutes of conversation in the car related to why he could not take one home as a pet. Hugo has no fear of small animals, and will happily pick up any insect for a closer inspection. This praying mantis was also a popular find.
From Kings Canyon we moved to closer to the WMR's west of Alice Springs. There are a few gorges along our target stretch of road, and as the afternoon was getting on we set up camp at the first one we came to, everyone getting hungry and tired of the miles- which turned out to be a great decision. We found a lovely bush campsite where neighbours were out of sight- it is great being isolated in the bush with access to the relative comforts of our camper trailer. Here's where we spent 2 nights at RedBank Gorge. This was a good base to explore the other gorges, Orminston and Ellery big Hole.
Palm Valley is also a popular 4WD trek off the main road in the WMR. Its an oasis in the middle of nowhere, at the end of a pretty rough and slow track- definitely not for the low clearance two wheel drive's. Found here are an isolated population of Red Cabbage palms, located about 1000 km's from their nearest relatives in Queensland. Various theories abound as to how they got to Palm Valley... via the digestive system of Pelicans seems to be the most favoured.
Our walk around Palm Valley was joined by fronny, the palm frond, who Hugo picked up and first used as a large hammer on the rocks and then used as a push sleigh type thing around the entire 2km loop walk.
Our visit to the west McDonnell's wrapped up with a walk up through Stanley Chasm. Lunch here was a welcome change from leftovers and stuff lying around in the fridge, served by an Irish couple who ran the local cafe at the start of the walk. Lasagne for the girls, pies for the boys, everyone was happy.
So off we went, out of the WMR headed for Alice Springs on Monday. Annie and Ashley (Kristen's parents), have been making their way from the Sunshine Coast via the Plenty Highway for the last week to meet us. A few nights in the relative civilisation of the Big4 caravan Park (with a few hundred others) have been fun. Its been a good chance to catch up on domestics- dentists, haircuts, shopping, mobile coverage (e.g. paying bills, making calls, posting updates to friends...), and shopping for the 2 weeks ahead when we will likely be off line and in some remote areas. Tomorrow we start the Tanami track with Annie and Ashley, a dirt road that heads North West from Alice Springs for abut 1100 km towards the Kimberly. We plan to take about 4 days to cross the desert. With no established campsites along the way, a left turn at the right time into the desert for as long as you feel seems the norm to set up camp and gaze at the stars. The Bungle Bungle's will then be home for a week or so after that.
This weeks injuries: continuing bite woes, a dislodged filling. Possibly a bruised ego or 2.
Notable wildlife sightings: dingo, perentie, crimson chat, zebra finch, thorny devil
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