Day 6 Palm Valley and beyond

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Exhausting but terrific day. Left before dawn (6am) from “Gday Mate” park hoping to get to PV early just in case the cloud cover clears to get some good photos. If you travel early in the morning you need to look out for horses as we saw many very close to the road, we were told they like the warmth in the bitumen. At the turn off to PV the sign warns 22 kms of “severe 4WDriving”, well the first 18 kms was a breeze, however the last 4 kms from the camping area you are actually driving in and across the dry, rocky Finke River bed with a series of “jump ups” and “downs”, Bob was in his element. On arriving at PV we are the first there and decide to do the 5 km walk along the valley floor and return along the rim. It truly is an amazing place, to find in the middle of such a dry continent. The Cycads and Palms survive due to the shape of the valley which protects them and provides a constant water source, even though the Finke river is dry. It felt like entering some lost world and the only sound was that of the birds and russell of palm fronds. Walking back along the rim you are in a totally different landscape. Oh and the cloud cover did not clear, hence no blue sky photos or that magic morning light.



Back into the car, to do that 18kms all over again. Back on the bitumen and a short stop at the Old Mission in Hermansberg and Albert Namatjira house we then continued onto The Red Centre Way to Gosse’s Bluff. You drive into this place and it is like being inside a walled city. Not manmade but the result of a meterorite, or as the Aboeiginal people believe it was created when a baby fell from a lady of the Milky Way. This was a lunch stop boiled eggs, crackers and cheese.



We also managed to visit Glen Helen “Resort”, Ormiston Gorge and Ellery Creek “Big Hole” which all, have permanent swimming holes, surrounded by majestic red cliff walls, before arriving back at AP just as the street lights came on. A big day but saw some more of Australia’s wonderful natural features.

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