Alice

We loved Alice Springs, such a vibrant place, stuff happening all the time, festivals and very friendly people. I am really impressed that people in this country english can be their fourth, fifth or even sixth language, and I am inspired to hear young children speaking language fluently. I can see why Liam loved being out here and why he was back for a short visit.

Kaiden, Jamala and Nicole paid a visit to the desert park while I did administrative type things in town.

After a couple of days rest in Alice we ventured into West Macdonald Ranges visiting gorges and doing walks. First camp out of Alice nearly saw us seriously bogged again ! We camped at a spot called 2-mile a 3km 4WD camping area on the Finke River. It was wonder-fully quiet and by some water some other campers ventured in and camped a long way off where we could make out their camp light in the distance - perfect ! the next morning we did a walk at Ormison gorge (and were happy about where we camped the night before - the camp ground here resembled something closer to a caravan park). The walking in West Macdonald Ranges is spectacular. It must be truly a great experience to walk the Larapinta Trail. Next a short visit to Glen Helen - can't believe they fry their food with lard...vege oil is very low, too low for me to bother putting the remainder in the tank. :-( .. travelling on dinosaur fuel it is (dino-deisel).

Our next destination was Finke Gorge National Park - this went beyond all expectations, really stunning and kind of reminded me of Moab Utah or something. Our second walk for the day through Palm Valley was superb ! We loved this place and figured we could spend a lot of time here. Still we are pushed with the seasons of the Kimberly’s.

The next morning we headed toward Kings Canyon and came by some local people with a broken down car. We stopped to assist, and in our communications I was kind of dazzled at the mix of traditional communication going on like sign language (people were spread out a bit) and drawing in the sand, and us giving a lend of our satellite phone so they could call people in their community for help. Their peaceful nature and cheer-fullness had me wanting to hang out under the roadside trees with them while they waited. ahhh, so yes Liam one does need to carry enough water for self and people you meet on the road !

Kings Canyon - wow another stunning place, though by the time we got here I started noticing signs of a real tourist circus going on, well if we are to head to Uluru - Kata Tjuta we are going to be part of it.

Later that evening while the sun was setting on Uluru we set up camp. The next morning Kaiden and I woke up at 5:15am and headed into the Park to watch the sunrise on Uluru. we lined up at the gate in the dark to buy our tickets and arrived at a sunrise viewing area, there were traffic controllers, tour buses of all shapes and sizes, and people spilled out onto the side of the road readying themselves for the event. It was stunning to see the different shades and changes in the rock.

In the morning we went on a guided tour, and learnt even more about why so many flock to this place, and can understand a certain attractor, particularly the terrapsychology of Uluru. I am also inspired to hear our guide notice less and less people are coming to climb and more people are coming to learn about Tjukurpa (~spiritual heritage and traditional law) and spiritual nature of the place. I hope that people can also be inspired to learn about the stories of their place, the land where they live. Certainly the dominant culture needs some new stories, new myths to live by.

Nicole and I were both overwhelmed by the amount of fascinating information and learning here Uluru - Kata Tjuta. A ticket gives you 3 days yet this can only give the smallest of glimpses of what there is to inspire and relish in.

Another side of Uluru is that where there are hoards of tourists eating fried foods there is an abundance of vegetable oil !! .... me happy !! When diesel is about $1.60/L I do wonder why local people are not using waste vegetable oil ?

Yesterday we found some desert grevillea’s in flower and enjoyed licking them, I placed a few flowers in my drink bottle to make a honey flavoured cordial, nice and refreshing during a walk at Kata Tjuta.

Sunset at Kata Tjuta was like many sights here – stunning.

Today we plan to do some more walking at Uluru then make our way through Alice and onwards through the Tanami Desert.