Palm Valley - Desert Oasis

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Our final day of adventure in the red centre started with some unbelievable four-wheel driving into Palm Valley. We drove over huge boulders, through dry rocky riverbeds and deep sand.

Palm valley is an oasis in the middle of the desert - a tiny bit of rainforest left over from when Australia was part of the large landmass called Gondwana. There were permanent waterholes and palm trees! In the desert!

Our last stop was at Standley Chasm - a wondrous site just outside of Alice Springs. We had some fun climbing the rocks at the end of the chasm where the two walls closed in on one another. After the walk we retired to the canteen where everyone helped themselves to ice cream - a desert luxury.

This entire tour was tremendous. Debora, our tour guide, was awesome. She is a native Italian who is an expert in aboriginal culture and art. She added so much to our tour and we gained so much knowledge from her.

After five days in the heat and sun, it was great to return to our hotel in Alice Springs for the night.

Next stop, Sydney airport for a short layover on our way to Tasmania.

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Photos

Are you sure?
Our tour guide took us on a walk into Standley Chasm. After seeing this sign, we weren't sure if wanted to follow!

Standley Chasm
This chasm was our last stop on our way back to Alice Springs. Great fun climbing over boulders and rocks at the end.

Snow Gum
These snow gums are easily seen against the red rock of the valley.

Slogan
Their "don't drink and drive" slogans are a little more bold here.

Palm Valley
An oasis in the middle of the desert, Palm Valley is a remnant from when Australia was part of the original mega-continent of Gondwana.

Palms in the Desert
It was odd to see palm trees growing in the middle of all the red rock we had seen for days.

Contrasts
The beautiful contrast of the red rock, the white snow gums and the green palms were outstanding.

Life continues
Life continues to flourish in the most harsh of environments.

From death comes life
This fallen tree was now the base for many new saplings.

Tom and Sarah at Standley Chasm
We enjoyed the shade provided by the chasm walls during this walk.

Another lizard
This long-nosed lizard posed quite nicely in Standley Chasm.

Red Centre
The desert from the air is unbelievably red. We caught this shot as we flew out from Alice Springs.

Comments

[Debora]

Great pic
hey guys, yours pics are great, and the blog is really good. Hope everything is good wherever you are. take care Deb