Thursday 11th July, 2024

Yesterday morning we had breakfast at the Standley Chasm café before taking the walk out to the gorge. As I remembered from five years ago, it is a fairly easy walk. There were tour groups going through as well, but fortunately we got to share about 15 minutes of quiet with one other couple and we took photos for each other. There is a still pool at the end which allowed for reflection of the cliff behind which was lit by the sun.

I had a bad moment when I realised that I hadn’t put the SD card back in my camera and had been firing blanks on the walk. The good thing was that I had the card in the backpack, so all was well and I took some photos of the walk on the way back.

Stephen had done the walk the day before, and wanted to try out another trail. He managed to catch up in time for photos at the end of the walk.

When we returned we had a hot drink at the café  before doing our final packing up. I felt very sad as we left, pretty much the way I felt when we left in the Winnie years ago. I’m glad we were able to go back there.

In Alice Springs we went to Coles which is in the centre of town. As theft is a problem there Stephen remained in the car whilst I went to the supermarket. I took so long that Stephen had had lunch by the time I returned. He then took the bags and went to do the rest of the shopping, mainly fresh fruit and veggies.

Part of the reason I was away such a long time was because the layout of the supermarket was very confusing, with yogurt and cheese in the same aisle as the toilet paper, etc. It was a real puzzle to find. But the other reason is that there was a fight outside the store between rival families, with weapons such as spears being brough to the fray. The security staff called the police and closed the shutters at the front of the store. They made sure it was safe before letting us leave. This was reported in the news as part of the reason for the curfew, but in fact happened in the middle of the afternoon. I wasn’t scared and actually didn’t see much before the shutters came down, but I could see that the police had arrived and were trying to arrest someone.

I’m amazed that after hearing so much about Alice Springs being unsafe we were there when something happened. I don’t think anyone was actually hurt, thank goodness. The problem seems to be that families have come to town for Territory Day and stayed for a while, causing problems for the local families.

We checked into a caravan park and had a very busy time. Stephen connected us to water and power, then sorted the shopping. As we have stocked up a bit that was a big task. He had bought himself some new socks, so I organised the washing. The caravan park had a small laundry near to us, but the washing machine didn’t seem to be very good. On the other side of the park they have an excellent laundry with about seven washing machines and four large commercial dryers. There was a change machine which actually worked and they also have washing lines throughout the park. Still, there was a lot of tooing and froing on my part.

In the evening we were able to relax knowing everything was done.

This morning, after packing up, we headed to the Olive Pink Botanical Garden. There is a very nice café and the park is very beautiful, with trees and plants from different regions. We had lunch at the café before heading into town.

I wanted to buy a French Press and by researching online had found a place that might have what I wanted. It turned out to be a very interesting store with lots of different goods, even baby clothes. Of course the baby didn’t want to try the garment on! The woman who owns it has been there for 40 years.

She had quite a variety of bodums some much cheaper than others. I had an Aeropress, but unfortunately when I was cleaning it a few days ago I seem to have thrown away a vital part. So the French Press is to use instead.

The store was in the part of Alice where we lived as children. I enjoyed walking around.. All was quiet and it felt very safe.

By the time we left it was mid afternoon and our destination was here at the Tropic of Capricorn marker, only about 30 kms from town. Having only a short distance to drive meant that we could enjoy being in Alice for a few hours. Again, we felt the tugging of wanting to stay longer. The mild, dry weather is lovely. It was a bit warmer overnight than we have experienced so far. For once there was no dew and the clothes I had left on the airer were pretty much dry by the time we left.

We chatted with our neighbours for a while before leaving the caravan park. They are going to places where we have just been and asked about camping possibilities on the Great Central Road. In turn, they were able to give us some pointers on navigating the booking website for NT national parks. It’s a buggy website with definite quirks.

Tuesday 9^th July, 2024

Yesterday morning we woke to a thick mist. I had hoped to photograph the effects of sunrise on the surrounding hills/mountains and river, but instead have some photos and video of the mist. Still, it was very beautiful and the mist had cleared by the time we were ready to leave.

We went first to Ormiston Gorge for a walk out to the waterhole, then a delicious lunch of vegetarian focaccia sandwiches and hot drinks. This is a particularly popular spot and there were groups of older school children on the walk as well as families taking picnic hampers down to the waterhole. Someone kindly took a photo of Stephen and I together, using my camera, rather than one of our phones.

Our next stop was a hillside free camp with beautiful views. We wanted to get rid of our rubbish before going to Standley Chasm but the bins were full and the area quite messy. We moved on. The next stop was at Ellery Creek Big Hole Campground where we parked in some shade and had a cuppa.

Our final stop on the journey was at Point Howard Lookout, which had besides beautiful views some good camping areas. It is a designated 24hr Rest Area, with tank water (needs boiling) and many bins so we could finally get rid of our rubbish. It was tempting to stay, but being low on drinking water meant that going to a proper camping area seemed a good idea.

We stayed here at Standley Chasm about five years ago in the Winnebago, in one of the powered sites. There is drinking water, toilets, a couple of showers and campers kitchen, as well as a very lovely café. When we were here last time they offered evening meals, but now it closes at about 5.00 p.m.

They also have an overflow area where we stayed overnight. It was fairly good for the Starlink and the Sherwood was the only obstruction recorded. Today we’ve driven back into the main area and found a spot in the car park where we can stay overnight tonight. We had more of a choice this morning than last night when we arrived.

We have internet via 4 bars of 4G, but very slow. I checked the obstructions to see if the Starlink could do better, but the car park has too many obstructions. Still, life is not always just about internet, of course.

This is also a popular tourist spot and gets extremely busy during the day. Fortunately it quietens down at night. Did I mention that it’s school holidays here in the Territory, so kids of all ages are here. We like isolation (no one else came into the overflow area last night, but occasional bustle of serious walkers with large backpacks, walking sticks and large hats as well as families and occasional older persons is nice for a change.

We are still experiencing desert chill, with cold nights and mostly mild temperatures during the day. We are getting very tired from moving each day, and having a two night stay here in Standley Chasm is just what we need. Even though our travel distances are short we fit in little side trips and sight seeing, and often arrive at our destination in the late afternoon.

I would say that the Western MacDonnell Ranges is one of the most beautiful areas I’ve ever seen. I’m very grateful that we have the opportunity to be here, especially as we are getting older. It’s quite something that neither of us have serious health issues that impact our ability to do this, even doing the little two step climb up into our loft bed in the Sherwood.