This morning we were at Alice Springs then we drove to Devils Marbles.
At Devils Marbles we did a walk that went to see most of the Marbles there was a bunch of balancing Marbles that did not fall over and a bunch of cracked Marbles. At the end of the walk there was a look out where we saw the sun set then me and Olivia played soccer while we waited for dinner.
Today we drove to Alice Springs. Then we played at the pool and playground. Only 1/4 of the pools were warm and the water slide pool was cold. We went shopping and Dad bought me a chocolate. We also went out 4 dinner and got pizza. We also had sushi 4 lunch.
I got up early today for my turn to do the Ghost Gum walk. It was gorgeous to watch the sunrise into the gorge. I found lots of wildflowers and rocks to soak in with the track all to myself. Once back down to the river I decided to wade through the water rather than returning the same way. This meant there was a bit of rock hopping but there were a lot more birds down by the water than on the walk in.
Back at camp we all loaded into the car to go check out the Ochre Cliffs. This was a much better view of the ochre outcrop then we saw in South Australia, as we got to walk along the base of the cliffs and could see the different colours (all due to the amount of iron - or not - in the mudstone and siltstone). It was pretty cool to see the near vertical layers of ochre deposits.
Next stop was Ellery Creek Big Hole for a freezing cold swim and lunch. This time, although Theo was the first one in, all of us went for a "swim" (more like quick submersion then out again). While drying off we watched the zebra finches flit around the waters edge.
After returning to camp we headed off in the late afternoon to go on the Ghost Gum walk as a family. Once again taking the gorge floor route to return to camp. I really enjoyed seeing the gorge at both sunrise and sunset!
Today we explored a few of the western highlights of the Tjoritja / West MacDonnell Ranges Park. After seeing the Tnorala Conservation Reserve (Gosse Bluff) from the lookout the previous night we decided to backtrack and drive out to have a proper look inside the crater itself. This is the site of an impact crater from a 600m wide meteorite, that crashed here 142 million years ago. We went on a short walk to a lookout for a good view from just above the crater floor to the surrounding rocks.
Next we headed back into the National Park stopping at Larapinta / Finke River for lunch and to hang out next to the river. Theo was the only one brave enough to go for a swim in the very cold water.
Back at camp John went for a walk up to the Ghost Gum lookout and down into Ormiston Gorge before dinner. He manged to see a Euro (small wallaby) amongst the rocks.
We hooked up once again this morning and headed west through the Watarrka National Park until we reached the rather bumpy dirt roads of Larapinta Drive (formally the Mereenie Loop and now the Red Centre Way). From here we headed north than east through a few smaller ranges and even found our first field of wildflowers. Eventually we hit the bitumen again at the western end of Tjoritja / West MacDonnell Ranges. We stopped at the Tylers Pass lookout for a 360 view of the ranges and the Tnorala / Gosse Bluff.
We pulled into camp at Ormiston Gorge just before sunset with enough time to have a quick look at the gorge before dinner.
Today we headed out on the Kings Canyon Rim Walk, which was a 7.3km walk (3-4 hours). It started with a steep climb up some very impressive rock steps. Then continued along the northern wall of Kings Canyon, through bee hive rock formations, some great examples of cross-bedded alluvial sandstone formations, and paleo river ripples. There were also lots of flowering plants that I'm still learning the names of! We then dropped down into the Garden of Eden, which is a small oasis at the head of the canyon. We were lucky enough to get about 10 minutes at the large pool at the end of the canyon to ourselves, despite how busy the track was. Once we climbed back out of the head of the canyon we headed along the southern rim back to the car park.
Then it was back to camp for the afternoon. The kids spent the rest of the day at the playground until we collected them to walk up to the local lookout and watch the sunset. We then treated ourselves to dinner at the Kings Creek Station Cafe (beef burgers for the kids and camel burgers for the parents).
We finished off the day with a campfire and marshmallows as the full moon rose over camp.
Another travel day today as we headed from Yulara to Kings Creek Station (just outside Watarrka / Kings Canyon National Park).
We arrived at camp early afternoon. The kids quickly headed off to the playground - the first one we have had at our camp site since Halls Gap. They made more friends in one afternoon than in awhile. Lots of time was spent on the zip line and swings.
In the late afternoon we hopped back in the car and headed down the road to the Discovery Caravan Park to watch the sunset from their sunset bar.
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This morning we got up at 5:15am to catch the bus to our Sunrise Journeys tour. We were taken out to a lookout of Uluru and greeted with warm muffins, hot chocolates and chai tea. All of which were much appreciated as it was very cold!! We then sat down to watch a sound and light show created by three female indigenous artists that was projected onto the trees and landscape with the backdrop of Uluru and the sun rising. We all really loved this. It was beautifully done. After the light show we stayed in the area to watch the sunrise over Uluru while having breakfast - lots more hot chocolates, pastries (including cheese and kangaroo croissants), egg and bacon rolls, and so much more. I think by the end we rolled back to the bus we were so full!
Back at camp the boys laid down for a nap, while the girls headed back to another dot painting session and a walk through the "town square". John and the kids headed back into the park again to pick up a boomerang for Theo. While at the visitors centre they got to watch some local dances in celebration of NAIDOC (National Aboriginal and Islands Day Observance Committee) week.
Later that afternoon we went along to a didgeridoo workshop followed by a talk on women's tools and how they are used.
Today we had pancakes for breakfast. Then we did dot animal paintings next to the gallery. I dot painted a snake but I rushed it a bit because we only had one hour. There was also scratch art that I took home.
Then we went out to Kata Tjuta and we did the Valley of the Winds walk. You weren't allow to take photos of the rocks because the formations were sacred to the traditional owners.
Then we went home and had a snack and went to the camel farm for a tour. You weren't allowed to bring you own bags, so they gave you a bag to put your stuff in. You also got a sheep skin to put on the saddle. I went with Mum and our camel was named Khan. Khan had a muzzle, our guide told us it was because he liked stealing water bottles 😀. We went pretty slow and got to watch the sunset. But Theo and Dad's camel Trigger could go up to 75kph because he was a racing camel. When we got back, I got a keychain and badge. The keychain was a picture of Khan. I also got a Solo and juice. We went out to dinner and I got a burger and chips. The camels were awesome and amazing!🐪
Today was our first full day in the Uluru & Kata Tjuka National Park. Our first stop was the Ranger guided Mala walk around part of the base of Uluru. We learned about the rock art "classroom black board", the geology of the area, and about some of the medicinal plants.
After lunch we headed to the Uluru visitor centre to rent bikes and ride the 10km around the rock. This was a lot of fun even if it was rather warm doing it in the late afternoon.
To finish off the day we headed out to the Field of Lights for the night time viewing (around 8pm). It was pretty cool to see all the lights spreading out in front of us when we first arrived. But as we walked through the display we all thought that it would have been even more interesting if there was more movement within the lights. Its only going to be here for another 2 years so glad we got to see it while it was here.
