Saturday 6th July, 2024
We packed up and went into the Canyon at about 4.00 p.m. It gave us a chance to see the layout of the walks and test out the flushing toilets, very clean. It’s unusual to have septic tanks in national parks, but very much appreciated. There are also some drinking water taps.
The highlight was seeing a brown falcon. I saw another photographer with a big lens taking photos of it and after our short walk the falcon was still just sitting on the branch waiting for me to have a go (not). Anyway, I have at least one photo that stands up to being cropped.
The nights are still very chilly, but last night at Ginty’s it was slightly warmer, a welcome change.
Yesterday we packed up everything, again, dumped our toilet, filled up with water and fuel, and did some shopping. Phew! I bought some freshly baked rolls and when we arrived at the Canyon Stephen made us cheese and tomato rolls to take on our walk. We were leaving at 12.00, so this was a good idea indeed.
We did the River Walk, only about 3kms return, but very much worth doing. There are lots of little birds that are very hard to photograph, even when they are enjoying a puddle and flying in and out constantly. At the end of the walk there is a platform and seating with a view up the cliffs. This was a great place for our picnic lunch.
On the way back we walked separately, as we usually do, so that we can stop where we like and not hold up the other person. I was using the DJI Osmo pocket to try to capture bird sounds, but they are pretty faint when I play them back. I also checked out the first few steps of the Rim Walk. Although in photos they are appear to be not clearly defined, in reality, the steps are fine, you would just need a good sense of balance. We did the walk 30 years ago when Stephen was doing his around Australia Greyhound trip and I flew to Alice Springs to do a tour of Uluru and Kings Canyon with him. It will have to do.
Our fuel guage and reported range on the car dash were not showing the correct amounts, so we topped up a little, just to be sure. We may be able to get fuel at Glen Helen, and it’s only about 390 to Alice, but we need fuel for the diesel heater and it won’t work if we get down under half a tank. The fuel guage adjusted after a few kms, but the range indicator still didn’t report correctly.
We are doing the Mereenie Loop, a mostly gravel road that will take us to the West MacDonnell Ranges. The gravel road is rough, but is only 155kms long. People who’ve done the Great Central Road will consider it a doddle.
There is a short section of bitumen to get to Ginty’s, fortunately as the road became very steep. It is a popular stop over with at least 15 other campers here last night. Some sections are very stoney so we had to work out how to get to a camping spot without going over rocks.