Day 1

Bus was to pick us up between 7 and 7:30am which gave us the chance to see our first desert sunrise. We walked from Telegraph Station to Wallaby Gap and then on to Nicks Campsite (named for the son of Glen Murcott who designed the encampment to be demountable. He died young.)

dawn in Alice Springs

Harry got the first hot spots taped

the going is rocky but territorians build excellent staircases

see how green

we were often very close to the edge

a bonsai like hackea in bloom

There were flowers everywhere and birds hiding in the trees.

All the campsites are much the same so we only had to learn once how to use the bucket shower, the long drop loos and the outdoor vanity. The tents are cubes of canvas that you can stand up in and there were enough of them for us to have one to ourselves if we wanted to sleep alone. The first night I heard gentle snores from both sides.

The stars were amazing despite the light clouds. Clever Robin (not Margy's school friend Robin O'Sullivan, the other schoolteacher Robin) has an app on her phone that when you point it at the sky tells you which planet or constellation that you are looking at.