Day 4

We broke camp early then visited a dam that was built to supply a hotel that only lasted about 10 years but has stuffed up a gorge forever.

We then took the Inarlanga trail to the Ochre Pitts.

there are some weird mistletoes

and the earth moves

cycads grow for centuries

the other Robin, Fi and Harry

Then we drove to the Finke River (oldest river to run in the same banks in the world) for a chance to get a cup of coffee or an icecream. Harry and Laurie swam in the river.

We slept at camp Fearless (named for Sue Fearless a mountaineer.)

Day 3

We walked from camp up the Serpentine George then along the ridge to Coutts Point

Janey

Fergus

the red seems to dissolve out of the rocks

Mt Sonder way in the distance

where the teeth were cleaned

Day 2

We drove to Simpson's Gap which we walked.

 Then drove to Standley Chasm. Some of us climbed up to the lookout: so worthwhile.

lots of different fuschia type flowers

We ended at Charlie's camp where we slept for 2 nights.The first night was very cold with a heavy frost. We learned to go to bed with beanies and our canvas covers zipped up.

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.

Pre trek

I got to Alice Springs on the day before we had to get there to have time to see what was left of the Beanie Festival in the morning before our briefing. The exhibition will continue until July 17 at the Araluen Centre so Harry and I walked there in the morning. We got there at about 9am and it didn't open until 10 so walked back a way to get some more water: it is thirsty country.
The beanies were delightful.

There is an art gallery  beside the temporary exhibit gallery which has a wall and a half of Namajira's and other well known aboriginal artists.

Later we went to the Reptile Show where they have one crocodile and lots of splendid snakes. My favourite was the spiny devil.

This caterpillar is in the gardens of the Aralueun Centre

perentiespiny devil

reflected croc

Then we were breifed in a shop where we met our guides Ben, Wes, Alison and trainee Maddy. They told us what we would be doing (same as in brochure) and what extra things we might need.

Larapinta Trail

I couldn't post on the trail because we had no wi-fi. I will reconstruct the trip in day by day posts which will be photo heavy because it was so wonderful that I have forgotten what we did when. 

Snow, 2015

We are back home from a short stay at Falls Creek. We had planned on staying the usual full week but the booking officer advised against staying over the weekend when CSL booked out most of the lodge. 

The snow was great. We had three days of great skiing and one day of fog before we left. Just as we arrived on Sunday night a guest's boy was taken to the medical centre with a sore ankle. He came back with a full leg cast and diagnosis of a broken tibia. 

The next day, just as we came in from skiing, the same family was told that Mum was at the medical centre. She came back in a cast on her broken ankle!

Needless to say they were in a room at the top of the lodge. I talked everybody in our dungeon room downstairs, into changing with them. They left the next day. 

After that auspicious start, the only other casualty was Julie the manager whose cold (caught from Tony, her husband) got really bad, so they left early too. I got my exercise on the foggy day by helping him dig out their car and carry down their loads of luggage.

So I didn't get much knitting done this year. But I did teach Margit (Reto's mum) and Julie (John's friend) how to knit Entrelac. And I got some Fractur calligraphy practise for the first class that I missed on Wednesday night.