That's an impressive hunk of rock..!

Sunday, July 26, 2015
Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia
Day 9 – That’s an impressive hunk of rock…

Cool start today, a bracingly cold amenities block made sure that my shower was memorable! We took some time to shake ourselves out of our ennui and eventually made it down to the visitor information centre by mid morning . Picked up some good info and decided
to head out to Trephina Gorge in the eastern Macdonnell Ranges, about 75km east
of Alice.

We had a nice coffee in the mall along with the grey and blonde armies (grey nomads and Scandinavian backpackers). I am actually starting to feel a bit out of place, but then I look in a mirror! I have never seen so much grey facial hair in my life as I have during this trip,
I am so glad I shaved off my beard, I feel positively youthful amongst this mob!

We zipped around looking for somewhere to buy the gas fitting I needed, eventually being directed to Desert Dwellers, a camping goods store. This is a good store, lots of variety and they actually had what I needed! I thanked the owner profusely for being open on a Sunday!

Weather was good on the way out to the gorge and we took some good photos, I think G summed it up well in saying that around every corner the landscape changes . There were
some very impressive “hunks of rock” as the ranges here are very skeletal, very
little soil mantle or vegetation for that matter. It’s been said before but it’s like the bones
of the continent sticking through the surface.

We had a bite to eat out at Trephina Gorge, chatting to a couple who were setting up a T’van camper for either lunch or the night, probably the latter. Nice little unit, they’d been away 3 months and were returning to Victoria.

We decided to do the “Panorama Walk” around the gorge, 90 minutes recommended time. Probably about right. The first 10 minutes was pretty much vertical to the top of the gorge rim so when I did a panorama video I was puffing like a steam train on the voiceover!

Fantastic views though, in every direction there was something of interest and it offered a great view of the gorge. There were plenty of photo opportunities of vegetation versus red rock versus impossibly blue sky .

Graeme wandered down the gorge when we returned and I did some tidying up back at the car. We chatted afterwards before heading back and decided to stay an extra day and do a day trip out to the west Macdonnell ranges tomorrow before heading out to the rock the day after via Kings Canyon.

We tootled back to town and checked out a cheap shop that happened to be open where I managed to get a card reader to get the photos off my SLR. Did I mention that I forgot to
bring by SLR battery charger!  

Had an interesting chat with a guy who used to do marine cabinetmaking as he filled my gas bottle back at the van park. It’s amazing what backgrounds many of the people have who we have run into on this trip. I’ve chatted to several backpackers, a team of young-uns attending a search and rescue exercise, a Ukrainian in a coffee shop, a Dutch (I think) girl working a counter jumper at a servo, an Isreali girl on a working holiday, a metalworker from South Australia who made his own pot belly camping stove, an accountant from Manly travelling alone with only her Labrador for company and many more. Cool.

Finished the day with a great meal at the Red Ochre Grill, kangaroo and macadamia salad, yummmmm.
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