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Published: June 24th 2015
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On Sat 16 May we drove back to Alice Springs and booked into the Desert Palms Resort. We were told to keep our door locked at all times and had a nice view of a chain link fence with razor wire on the top which overlooked a piece of barren land. Bit unnerving! I got the impression there was a concern about possibility of hassle from indigenous people in the area. The room was a also a bit basic but there was a TV a Microwave! Tom went for a run and then went shopping for fuel and supplies. However, when trying to pay for fuel he was jostled by some Aborigines at the cash desk who clearly wanted some money. The garage employee had to escort him back to his car. Not a nice experience! We were due to check out the next morning to drive out to Glen Helen but had booked the same motel when we came back to Alice. Tom cancelled the booking and we booked Chifley Alice Springs again - more expensive but worth it!
On Sun 17 May we drove through the West MacDonnell Ranges. A number of scenic gaps pierce the West MacDonnell Ranges.
One of these is Simpsons Gap, site of one of the most prominent waterholes in the region. The area is an important spiritual site to the Arrarnta Aboriginal people, where several dreaming trails and stories cross. At dawn or dusk Simpsons gap is renowned as a place to see Black-footed Rock-wallabies along the gap's short walking track. We didn't see any, however! Good examples of many of the vegetation communities of the MacDonnell Ranges are found in the Simpsons Gap area, including large stands of Mulga, and the area around the gap is a major stronghold for some of the rare and relict plants of the region. Next stop was Standley Chasm, where we followed a stony path to a deep red cleft where the sheer rock faces reflect their rich colours in the sunlight. Then on to Ellery Creek Big Hole which, as the name suggests is a waterhole which cuts through a gorge in the ranges. Thousands of years of massive floods have carved out this waterhole and unlocked some amazing geology. Further along the road we stopped at the Ochre Pits.
The Ochre Pits is a registered sacred site and is protected by Sacred Site and Parks
and Wildlife legislation. The site offers the unique opportunity for visitors to view an ochre deposit that is still used by local Arrarnta peoples. Ochre has been used all over the world for decoration and painting since pre-historic times. At this location you can see the natural ochres in the cliff face here have provided a source of materials for Indigenous peoples for thousands of years. And they still provide brilliant colours which make for some excellent photos. Our last stop was Ormistion Gorge - ideal spot for a Sunday family picnic! Ormiston Gorge offers visitors all the spectacular geology and landforms of the MacDonnell Ranges. The rugged scenery of the the Gorge is complemented by a near-permanent water hole but it was fairly obvious that during the rainy season there would be significantly more water than we saw! The water and the shelter of the rocks attract an interesting variety of native fauna; including some beautiful birds, and flora; including a number of relict plant species.
Glen Helen Resort Accommodation is nothing glamorous - the room we had was basic but we were amazed by its brilliant restaurant which had white linen on the tables and an impressive menu.
I had Pumpkin & Cauliflower Soup followed by Steak and Tom had a Game Slider with emu sausage, buffalo, crocodile and kangaroo followed by Barramundi. We were again reminded never to judge a book by it's cover! Mon 18 & Tue 19 May Chifley Alice Springs Resort. On way back from Glen Helen visited Alice Springs Wildlife Park. We saw dingoes on a walk around the park with their keepers - these two were brother and sister and used to being handled. They were part of an interesting presentation later in the afternoon. We saw Emus, Walked through an enclosure of Kangaroos, and saw lots of wild birds in large aviaries with lizards and other creatures for company. The Nocturnal Centre was excellent and kept in darkness during the day to allow visitors to see normally nocturnal snakes, bats, lizards, Bilbys and Malas to name but a few with a knowledgeable guide on hand. Then we visited School of the Air, the school service which delivers live teaching to the remotest, inaccessible parts of Australia. There was a short film and presentation to explain the really impressive service which covers 1000s of Kms from Melville Island beyond Darwin in the
north to South Australia. Lots of children on massive Cattle Stations live too far from schools and therefore this link is vital in delivering education but also has a social aspect to it. Each child has a PC and Internet and they receive books and study materials each term. We were late to see a lesson so we decided to come back next day. It costs $15,000 per pupil to set up the hardware for them to link up to the school. There are 120 students spread over an area of 1.3 million sq kms. Before we left we bought a recipe book of recipes submitted by others and donated book of Interesting Facts to the school library. Afterwards we made the most of our last few hours with the hire car and went to the Anzac Memorial which has lots of interesting plaques detailing Australian involvement in various wars Boer WWI WWII Korea Vietnam... We were conscious that Natalie was on interview at Chellaston School so I was now watching the clock and we were sending positive thoughts to her. Back at Alice Chifley Springs it was time to unpack and then we ate in the lovely Barra on
Todd restaurant. Tom had Mussels and I had Barra & Prawn Tagliatelli. The chef is very talented and the food was as good as we remembered from our last visit. I couldn't sleep and was constantly checking my phone for news from Natalie. Spoke to Natalie eventually who said her lesson went well and she just waiting for a call from the Head..... Spent the next hour worrying about what to say to her if she didn't get the job! Eventually got a text from Natalie to saw she got the job!!! phew !! Ok can sleep now! On 19 May we had to return the car to the airport by 9am so from there we took a taxi back to School of the Air Where we watched lessons for 2 hours! There were two studios in use. We saw a preschool induction with 4-5 yr olds who were lovely! Also a Yr 9 Maths lesson and a Yr 8 Science lesson and a lesson on Descriptive Writing. Brilliant! Could have spent all day there. We caught bus to back to the shops and walked to the Royal Flying Doctor Service. On arrival we had Coffee and Tom had white
choc raspberry Cheesecake. There was a small cinema where we saw a hologram of the Rev Flynn describing how the Service was established. The RFDS began as the dream of the Rev John Flynn, a minister with the Presbyterian Church. He witnessed the daily struggle of pioneers living in remote areas where just two doctors provided the only medical care for an area of almost 2 million square kilometres. Flynn’s vision was to provide a ‘mantle of safety’ for these people and on 15 May 1928, his dream had become a reality with the opening of the Australian Inland Mission Aerial Medical Service (later renamed the Royal Flying Doctor Service) in Cloncurry, Queensland. Over the next few years, the RFDS began to expand across the country. Today, it owns a fleet of 61 fully instrumented aircraft with the very latest in navigation technology. It operates 21 bases across Australia and the pilots annually fly the equivalent of 25 round trips to the moon. The doctors and flight nurses are responsible for the care of over 270,000 patients! Only 60% is funded by the Government and so they rely heavily on donations.Afterwards we walked back to Hotel. Natalie had kindly emailed
us her 4000 word assignment to proof read -joy! I did some washing, Tom went for run and we ate in the restaurant. Tom had Nepalese Dim Sum - proceeds to support Nepalese disaster fund then Szechuan Barra I had half a Dim Sum and Veg moussaka in aubergine skin. Yummy as always! Can well recommend the hotel restaurant for anyone visiting Alice Springs! Next morning we were taking the Greyhound south to Coober Pedy and saying goodbye to the Red Centre.
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