28/9/16 Shortest move ever

 Not very much to report today or yesterday , the weather hasn't been the sparkliest , not conducive to doing much at all . We had rain most of the night and again this morning , not that we wanted it , we had to move today !! We packed and hitched and moved a whole 45m !!!! That would make todays move the shortest we've ever done !!!
  A byproduct of the move was that we needed to get an extension & fittings for our drain hose . After a bit of doing and froing , we visited several shops and got what was needed . We are 5 klms from the centre of town , and Bunnings is about 5klms the other side , and we went there and around more shops in the light industrial area .
 Set up on our new site , we got the bikes and kayak off  the ute , and had a Bbq'd lunch .
The rest of the afternoon was spent doing small jobs .
 One of the side benefits of the weather today was the sunset , it put on a show for us , and you !!

25&26/9/16 Golf & sightseeing

25/9/16

 Time for a game of golf , turned out to me more flog than golf , but there were some good signs in amongst the bad . I won't spoil the picture I've just painted , here's a few shots of the course .

  The East Macdonnell Ranges feature prominently from pretty much anywhere on the course , it also goes past the casino and Hilton Hotel !!

26/9/16

 Time to have a look around today , East Macdonnell Ranges it was , lunch packed we hit the road . The first point to look at was Emily Gorge - the gorges are gaps in the ranges where a creek makes it's way through the range .

 According to aboriginal dreamtime , the ranges were caterpillars that came to rest here . The artworks on the walls represent caterpillars that were cooked and eaten by an ancestral hero .

Probably explains the butterflies floating around .

 Next is Jessie Gap , similar to Emily Gap .

 We found similar artwork here as well .

 The rock is layered and at a very steep angle - there must have been some tremendous forces to push all this rock upwards .

  The Ross Highway took us adjacent to the ranges for most of our drive . The views were amazing , rock outcrops resembling walls . Next stop was Corroboree Rock , and it was one of these walls we have been seeing . It is about 20m high 60m long and between 1m to 8m wide , and is another significant aboriginal site .

 There were many different types of wildflowers here , these are just some of them .

Spinifex Seeds







And again


























































































 Ghost gums on the slopes stood out against the orange rocks .

 Back to the ute again , further down the road we go , next stop Trephina Gorge . We drove through the hills & ridges , the dual lane bitumen changed to single lane as we drove through some flat grazing land . The healthiest / fattest cattle we've seen for a long time , were chewing their way through the grass . It certainly didn't look like we were in the desert , green grass , wildflowers , wattle out in bloom - the rain has certainly had an impact out here !!
 

 Turning off the Ross Hwy , we head into Trephina Gorge Rd , more interesting ridges appeared before us , layers of rock twisted and contorted .

 We cross over one dry creek bed lined with river red gums .

 After driving in 8klms , a couple of creek crossings and going through 2 very large puddles that had more water than the creeks , we arrived at the campground and day use area . Next decision was which walks to do - there's the Panorama Walk that takes you up the ridge on the other side of the gorge 2.5 klms ; or the Gorge Rim Walk that takes you along the edge of the gorge & back along the creek bed 2 klms ; or the gorge walk that says it's 500m return . We chose the Panorama Walk , and headed off across the dry river bed . The track took us uphill to a ridge line before turning sharply right and going straight upwards . Views were fantastic .

 We had a little friend that wanted to say hello , sitting patiently on a rock beside the track .

There were many more flowers on the track , these everlasting daisies just one of them .














 Many flowers have long gone , and seed heads are all that remain .











 Back to the ute , we had some lunch before heading down the gorge walk , we stumbled across some artwork on the edge of the creek bed - nothing about this at the information board !!

We found another flower we hadn't seen today , and a rather strange looking bug crawling around in the sand .


















 Leaving the gorge , we headed back out to the Ross Hwy and turned left and headed to Ross River and the Resort / campground , only 13klms away .
 We found a river , full of reeds , with water flowing slowly . There's a track - Binn's Track - that loops round from Gem Tree - a small locality to the north , to the Ross Hwy about 30klms back . There are several water crossings across the Ross River and about 40klms of 4wdriving . Given that it was after 2pm we decided to go back the way we came - we'll do that one another day .

  There were some flowers on the edge of the road .

 Not such a bad flower , a few thorns , but otherwise harmless - well that would be nice , here's the seed pod .

 It's a Nagurra Burr - noxious weed that's spread by flood waters and animals . As the pod dries out it falls off or catches on animals fur as they walk past , dropping off later and waiting for some moisture before it sprouts again !!
 Time to head back to town , after a satisfying day walking & seeing what has been on offer . The East Macdonnell Ranges has quite a bit to offer .
 Here's a map link :-https://drive.google.com/open?id=1RCQKzyJT2UEC9cWETU01qhdqU4k&usp=sharing

23/9/16 Alice Springs Desert Park

   Another cool night - 10 degrees - we had some things to do & I had to join the golf club for a month , so we tidied up all the loose ends and headed out .
  Alice Springs Desert Park wasn't far away , so that was the destination for today . Not knowing what to expect turned out to be the best way to go . We arrived , paid our entry , then went back to the ute for some lunch before tackling the park . There are wildflowers everywhere here - probably have been seeded , but the views were stunning - the rain has also been a big help with them . Here are just a few .

Here's a Sturts Desert Rose , they are flowering everywhere at the moment .

 Near the entry is a really cool hand carved seat .

 More flowers later , time for some birds . There are aviaries all around the park showing you the varieties of birds that live in the desert . Some you can walk through , others you can view through large perspex windows - stunning birds - I'm not going to show them all - that would take too long !!
 A Painted Finch

Kingfisher

Red Chat

Superb Blue Wren

Red tailed Black Cockatoo

Princess Parrot

Spinfex Pigeon

Inland Dotterel

The park has all different areas representing what you find here in central australia - desert rivers , sand country & woodland - birds and animals are all from these areas . There is also a Nocturnal House showing off a lot of creatures you wouldn't have a chance of seeing normally .
 We wandered along and were heading toward the nocturnal house - not sure of which direction , when a whip tailed lizard appeared and headed off the direction we required , before jumping back into the undergrowth 20m further up the track .

Here are a few of the occupants of the nocturnal house .
 Legless Lizard

 Death Adder

A Numbat

 There are many more skinks , gecko's , snakes , pythons , bats & birds and Bilby's  , it's an outstanding display !!
 Here's some more flowers .

 There are guided short tours in a variety of places during the day , and are well worth tagging along with . One we wanted to do didn't start till 3:30pm - the birds of prey show - that wasn't a problem , the time passed quickly , we were amazed at how much time we spent in the aviaries , just sitting and watching the birds flying and hopping all around you - spectacular !!!
 The birds of prey show was great , a Barn Owl crawled out of a hole in a tree stump and flew down to the handler , before flying around and over the top of us and everyone seated in the amphitheatre . The birds were millimetres above your head , I had to duck a couple of times - just an instinctive reaction when they are that close !!

Then a Curlew appeared - not really a bird of prey - more a victim of cats & foxes - so more prey . As anyone who has heard them at night will know , they make a horrid screaming sort of noise - should be enough to scare anything away !!

 Next was a Central Boobook Owl

 Then we had the speed show - a Brown Falcon showed off it's speed - up to 120klm/hr !! A magnificent , very streamlined bird !!

 Next up were a Whistling Kite and a Black Kite - the difference being in the shape of their tails . The Whistling Kite has rounded tail feathers , and the Black Kite has pointed tail feathers . They were just perpetual motion during the show soaring in & out of the amphitheatre , close to your head again and scaring girls in a school bus group .
 It was a bit disappointing that they didn't have a Wedge Tail Eagle in this show - they are amazing . We learnt later that you can do another show with a wedge tail - for another $30 each - we were too late for that show and after paying $32 each for entry into the park , probably wouldn't have done it anyway !!
 Time had disappeared , we went through a couple of the areas that we'd missed earlier as we made our way back to the exit .
 The verdict - today was excellent !! well worth the entry fee , but we should have been here earlier - as it was we spent just over 5 hours here , you could spend the whole day !!!
 A final photo of the West Macdonnell Ranges as we left the park .

 There is also a light show that is starting tonight , images will be projected onto the ranges in the photo above . It is on for 10 days , stay tuned !!
A map link :- https://drive.google.com/open?id=1q5pB-EpapEQikTPHaDnKx_EEBgU&usp=sharing