20/9/25 Around Alice

    

     Here we are in Alice Springs for 8 days , time to shop for some food - with the hordes of other people who have come to town on pension day . All these people , and some with dubious health , brought some bug with them , and I came down with it . So it was cold & flu tablets for several days with a rotten head cold - that Lyn came down with later in the week . 

   Recovered enough to go to one of our favourite places - Alice Springs Desert Park . There are different areas showing the areas of the desert . There are also huge bird ovaries that you can walk into with the birds , some you can watch the birds & animals through screens . This little Numbat was pretty active while we were there , pulling this log apart looking for a meal .

     This Perentie was flat out doing absolutely nothing - must have just finished his breakfast .

     This red tailed black cockatoo was busy sorting out his feathers .

     This one took a shine to Lyn's hair , must have looked good for the nest ????

     This is a Princess Parrot , nice colours and obviously needed some extra shut eye .

    This decorated lizard was one of the locals - no cages required , it lives here .

     Some flowers were out , this is the desert section , hence the orange sand .

     We wandered around to the birds of prey show , and were going to sit down and wait for the gates to open , when we came across the star of the show - or one of the stars , with one of the handlers . They sit together to get used to each other and bond together . His previous handler is leaving , so this young guy is taking over and developing a bond with the Wedgetailed Eagle . The young guy is currently the commentator / presenter for the show . We sat down in another shelter as we were requested to do , so as not to worry the bird .

    The birds of prey show was run and done in no time - about 20mins - and it hasn't changed since we were here last , still a great show .

    Another day we headed out for a drive into the West Macdonnell Ranges , firstly to Honeymoon Gap , where a creek has cut it's way through the range .

     Then it was across to Simpsons Gap for a walk down to the main pool where it has also cut its way through the range .

    We had a drive out to the East MacDonnell Ranges another day , checking out Emily Gap , Jesse Gap and Corroboree Rock . The caravan park we stayed at was very popular with families and bus groups , making for a busy time - it was school holidays - bad timing on our part !! 

   Onward to our next stop - Uluru .