A Town Like Alice

There is ash slowly falling around me as I type from a large bushfire approaching Alice Springs. It is burning towards the Stuart Highway from the North. No prizes for guessing where we are! We have been listening to the warnings on the radio and I checked the fire alert website (www.firenorth.org.au if you are interested). The authorities have issued a statement that they have enough teams (with extra volunteers doing double shifts) and they expect to stop it before it reaches the city. Lachlan's eyes are like saucers and we sincerely do hope they stop it before it reaches the outskirts of the city, as even our World Record packup time would be too slow if it gets here!! The wind direction is expected to change around midnight which should turn the fire back on itself. If not, I guess we will have a faster than planned departure from here.

We've also filled in the Census form tonight, and Ella and Lachlan both have notes out for the tooth fairy, so it is all happening in the Red Centre!

We had a slow start to our first day in The Alice, as we were all exhausted. The kids all woke up themselves, instead of us doing the "Up! Eat! Pack! Go!" routine. Lachlan made us pancakes before we moseyed on down to the Todd Mall Markets for lunch. We visited the fantastic Mbantua gallery and museum (thanks for the tip Mind) where we spent an absorbing couple of hours admiring Aboriginal art (including some Albert Namatjira watercolours) and boning up on traditional culture. Marcus spent ages studying how to make spears. He is looking for spearwood wherever he goes now! Lachie and Ella both started their art collections there with small dot paintings. We had intended to go to the Desert Park as well, but energy was in short supply, so we went back to camp. The kids and Dave jumped into the freezing pool for a few minutes and even the kids needed a hot shower to warm up afterwards!

Painted Finches in their nest

On our second day here, we ended up spending an entire day at the Alice Springs Desert Park. It was established in 1996 and has just had a huge new visitor's centre added. There is an audio guide to the 31 stops around the park, narrated by Aaron Pedersen (the actor of Arrente/Arabana Australian Aboriginal descent). It was just fantastic. We spent about an hour in the Nocturnal House, where we were all delighted with the antics of the bilbies and the other mammals.



One of the signs at the start claims "You will never look at the desert in the same way again" and we have to agree with that claim. The movie presentation was outstanding, with a jaw-dropping surprise at the end and the whole place superb. Go if you ever get the chance!

Wired for sound - enjoying the audio guide

West MacDonnell Ranges early in the morning

Today, we have gorged ourselves on gorgeous gorges! We got up before sunrise and headed out along the West MacDonnell ranges as the sun came up, bathing the hills in a warm, soft glow. It was a beautiful drive out to Ormiston Gorge, and quiet too! (All the kids were feeling carsick when we got there which was the reason for the peaceful drive.) The loop walk was flooded, so we climbed to the lookout to view the gorge before walking back around to get to the waterhole at the bottom. We were all stunned by how large the gorge was. We found a cave near the waterhole so we climbed up to rest in the shade for a while. The roof of the cave was completely covered in wasp’s nests – fortunately none of them were home!

Hard to capture such a grand spectacle

The waterhole at the bottom of Ormiston Gorge

Heading back towards Alice Springs we stopped at the Ochre Pits next. The earth’s layers have been twisted and heaved upwards, becoming exposed as the water has flowed through over time. The colours are amazing, and the local Aboriginals use the area for their ochre for ceremonial purposes as well as for their art. It is a highly significant area to the traditional owners, and you are asked not to remove any of the ochre, to the kids' disappointment.

Another short drive took us to Serpentine Gorge, where the kids voted the picnic the best yet as we had boiled eggs! After re-fuelling we walked – or hopped and scrambled – a kilometre or so along the mostly dry, rocky river bed to reach the gorge. It was well worth the effort – a fairly dark, brooding place with sheer cliffs rising each side. Ella was thrilled as the many of the rocks were purple, although that made the walk back difficult as she wanted to collect most of them! She also had a moment of sheer panic thinking she had swallowed her tooth (something we’ve been through twice before!). Fortunately, she hadn’t, so we got her to pull it out back at the vehicle before we had to suffer the unpleasant consequences!

Ellery Creek Big Hole was our next stop. This is the largest permanent waterhole in the area, and a place well used by traditional people. It was freezing cold and full of dead fish, so no-one was tempted to swim, although it must be a very popular place on hot days!

We decided to finish the day by walking up to Standley Chasm, which was also fantastic. The kids could almost see the dinosaurs eating the cycads on the cool walk up between the cliffs, and the chasm was awesome. The rock walls have been scoured and polished over millenia with torrents of water and rocks pouring through the opening after cloudbursts. We sat on the cool, smooth rocks and tried out a bit of acapella singing in the chasm. The acoustics were great! The singing was not!

Simpson's Gap was the last of the day's agenda, but it was almost 5 o'clock and there was smoke everywhere, so we decided to head back to camp. It turned out to be a good decision as there is another fire raging there.

Stay tuned ...