Lap Around Australia East MacDonnell Ranges

East MacDonnell Ranges

We are back at Wintersun caravan park at Alice Springs and will be here until Wednesday morning.  Ian and Kathy have the air-conditioning in their Landcruiser being repaired on Tuesday morning. We used the time after getting back to the campground to do a couple of loads of washing and the girls sat around chatting and crocheting for much of the afternoon.

On the way here yesterday from Mt Ebeneezer yesterday we finally came back into phone and Internet coverage to receive the news that Barb's Aunty Dot had passed away during the night. This is not entirely unsurprising news given that Aunty Dot was approaching the vast age of 97. That's a good innings by anyone's standard! But Barb was feeling very upset anyway because she was very fond of her Aunt and regarded her as a substitute mother figure since her own mother (Dot's younger sister) passed away in 1989. Vale Aunty Dot!

Today we are heading out on the Ross Highway to explore the East MacDonnell Ranges. The drive out there is quite spectacular in itself, although the highway narrows to one lane and it's not much fun having to get off onto the dirt edges to let cars pass.
Our first stop was Trephina Gorge where we enjoyed some morning tea together before heading off on the walk around the top of the gorge and down onto the mostly dry river bed.

The scenery was simply stunning. How can the sky be this blue? The walk was not too bad either and even Karen managed it (with a little help from Steve who fashioned a walking aid for her from a big stick.
After the big walk we were ready for some lunch. We drove further on to the Ross River Resort. This turned out to be a very pleasant place to eat. Not at all expensive (although the cost of fuel at their bowser was the dearest we've seen so far)

The station is no longer running cattle. They have moved completely into tourism now and have cabins, conference rooms as well as a campground with a pool. Also they have horses and offer trail rides. It would be a great place to stay.
We called in for a look at Corroboree Rock on the return journey. It wasn't a long walk to circumnavigate the rock, and it was interesting to view it from all angles.

Next was Jessie Gap. Of course I had to take a picture and send it to my daughter Jess. She was pleased with the name and the picture. It was very pretty here with magnificent Ghost gum trees in the dry river bed. It looked for all the world like a painting.

Our final stop was Emily Gap. It was getting cooler by now and we were all pretty much gapped out by this stage, but it was worth looking at. It contained some aboriginal artwork on the walls and it would've been a shame to miss it.