Thursday July 8
Beryl’s boss had recently left his new Toyota Landcruiser in Alice Springs, after needing to be back in Sydney for an important meeting. He jokingly asked her if we would like to fly to Alice and drive back to Sydney for him and we immediately agreed. Took our friends Bob and Sylvia along with us, as they needed a break. Nothing like a road trip with no time restrictions to get me excited,
Got a lift to the airport at 4.30am this morning and flew out to Alice via Melbourne. Had a lay over at Melbourne for an hour and changed flights for the last leg to Alice. We arrived at the airport and caught a cab to the Toyota dealer in town, to pick up the car.
It was interesting to see surface water in patches beside the road. They had heavy rain a few days prior to our arrival and the cabbie was saying some of the causeways across the Todd River were impassable. It was also a surprise to see how much housing and industrial development has taken place since we were there last. Where we saw bushland in 1975, was now housing and shops, industrial parks and new roads. Anyway, we found our hotel and checked in. Walked around town for a bit and got our bearings.
The locals were still living under bridges and in small camps in the Todd river and hanging around in parks near local watering holes. Not good to see.
We had a drive out to see the caravan park we stayed in for 3 months, back in 1975, and it was still there. Surrounded by fences now, and the bush setting we used to enjoy and see fantastic sunsets from, is now streets and streets of housing and subdivision.
We used to go to the Telegraph Station for picnics, back then, as it was the only place that had grass, and we found it to be much the same, apart from the fact you had to pay to go and see the buildings and historic areas. There was water running in the Todd here as well. We decided to eat our meals in the Casino restaurants, as they compared within a few dollars, to the restaurants/cafes in town. The rooms had no cooking facilities, so we didn’t have a lot of choice.
Friday July 9
Had a huge breakfast this morning and decided to show Bob and Sylvia some of the gorges in the West McDonnell Ranges. Drove out to Ormiston Gorge first and came to the first obstacle. The car in front had pulled over and was unsure of the fast flowing water spilling over the floodway. No problems for the Landcruiser. Had a few more of those before we got to the gorge. It was amazing to see the volume of water in the usually dry rivers. Fast flowing and icy cold.
Saw loads of dead fish, apparently due to the icy water. There was flood debris in the branches of the river gums and other trees, some 3 metres above the current level of the river, so it must have been a doozy of a flood. I recall reading reports of that, a couple of months ago.
From Ormiston Gorge we went to Glen Helen Gorge, a few klm up the road. Again, it was water flowing all around.
There was a bunch of caravans and tents set up here, with cabins also available for rent. Droves of people. Headed back towards Alice, and stopped off at the Ochre pits. Warning signs that a $5000 penalty was waiting for those who were caught taking any ochre samples. No-one around to check though. The literature all says that the aboriginals came to collect their ochre from this area, and still do, but it is a long way from Alice. Of course, there may be groups living in the vicinity.
From there, we by-passed Serpentine Gorge and drove to Ellery Creek Big Hole. It was certainly different to what we remember of the area in 1975. All of Alice and the surrounds was. When we used to drive out, there were dirt roads and you wouldn’t see too many people at all during the day. Today, there are amenities set up, parking bays, toilet blocks and camping/caravan areas and loads of tourists (including us). I recalled trying to wade across the pool in ’75 and after a few paces had to climb onto the rockface as it was so cold that it was painful. Today, it was a river running through there.
Onwards to Standley Chasm. This was very changed to what we remembered. Loads of people, gates across the entrance, camp sites, van sites, a kiosk and an entrance fee. None of us wanted to cope with wall to wall people and a photo shot without getting mobs of them in the picture, was out of the question, so we didn’t even stop to have a look.
Continued on to Simpsons Gap, and it was also very tourist geared, with toilets, visitors centre, parking bays etc. Not as bad as Standley Chasm, but we were there late afternoon and the crowds may well have thinned a bit. The wind was really chilly, but it is a lovely place to visit, so close to Alice. Back to Lassitters Hotel to get cleaned up and partake of the seafood buffet that night. Turned out to be a lot less than I expected, but the food was delicious and plentiful. It was a very warm, mild evening, which was surprising. A threat of rain for tomorrow.
Saturday July 10th
Had a late start today, as we were going to spend a few hours at the Alice Springs Desert Park. The Tourist Information centre had given us a 2 for 1 voucher, so we happily obliged.
There was a talk by a local Arrernte tribal man and he was really very good, explaining weapons and hunting/gathering tools and methods in this local, desert area. After showing us the tools, he also spoke about bush tucker and medicinal plants found around the area. He explained the relationships between the various skin names and kinship marriages. It was quite intriguing as he explained how they protect the gene pool regarding marriages. Being such small tribal groups, this was and is, very important. He did the same talk some years back, when Prince Charles was in the audience, minus the gene pool discussion and marriage of first cousins.
We walked around the park for the next few hours, and after exiting the nocturnal house, it started to rain. There were some great exhibits and walk through aviaries with the most gorgeous fairy wrens and bright red robins and chats. Well worth seeing and on the cards for a repeat visit.
We went back to Alice and did some shopping, then up to Anzac Hill for a sunset shot. Had a big dinner again at the Casino Samphire restaurant and went back to get a good sleep and an early start. Woke up to drumming rain, so we packed up and headed off for the journey south, after breakfast.