​May 1-3 2017  Our stay in Alice was too short!
The weather and colour are wonderful (fortunately we struck idyllic weather)
A day or so to do the usual stuff like washing, stocking up, etc and then we drove the Ross Hwy east to explore the magic of the East MacDonnell ranges – our favourite as they are not so much on the tourist trail.  We visited Emily and Jessie Gaps and Trephina gorge – tranquil places where one could imagine water wearing down the rock over the millennium to create passages through these awesome ancient ranges.

Emily's Gap. Last time we were here it had water in it.
Of course the water is there but flowing underground like the Todd River.

Jessie's Gap. The two sister gaps are similiar but Emily's is more beautiful with more
 shady trees.

This 'caravan' intrigued me - had colour painting all round and plants growing at the windows.
Looked like a real hippie gypsy caravan to me with mirrors, music, intriguing smells and
mozzie repellent plants at the windows. We had quite a chat. 

The MacDonnells, which stretch 400 Km on either side of The Alice, were formed over 300 million years ago. The Dreaming stories of the Yeperenye people who are tied to this area tell of a great spirit in the form of a caterpillar forming the range.  Magical stories.  We saw some of the rock paintings which the signage says tells a little of this mythical, mystical tale.

This tells the story of the three caterpillars which are part of the Dreaming of this regions. 

We visited Ross River ‘resort’ which looks like a former camp with lots of small
huts.  The river is vast, albeit with little water when we were there, but you can see the width it grows to when there’s water around. We crossed many flat dry river beds – big and small, their sandy beds fringed and broken by massive River Red Gums. Magnificent trees!

This beautiful ghost gum is estimated t be over 300 years old.
We passed by many such giants and lesser giants.

Then we headed north east to visit the ghost town of Arltunga, Central Australia’s first town which sprung up when alluvial gold was discovered.  Rubies and garnets were also discovered in the area, but no mines remain.  It’s a harsh environment and a long way from anywhere. It’s hard to imagine the privations the miners and their families endured in the quest for ‘wealth’.

The remains of Arltunga mining. This equipment was brought up from Adelaide by horse and cart
 over 1500 Ks!  You really have to have travelled the roads to appreciate what that might have been like 150 odd years ago.

Again we were struck by the remoteness, tranquility and silence of the area - we travelled there 6 years ago. It is soothing and yet intoxicating.  A few of you might remember that on our last trip here, we took an ‘adventurous’ 4WD track through the Harts Range via Cattlewater Pass. Big mistake! There was a bit of water down the track which varied from a creek bed to a narrow saddle between two steep valleys to slippery-dip mud climbs which we weren’t aware of till we got there! We got comprehensively bogged.  I mean 5 hours to pull ourselves out!! and then a couple of hours to change a wheel, collect all our rescue gear and get back on the track again, by this time it was dark. We retraced our steps but got lost - of course!Fortunately we were rescued by the man whose property we were driving on, apparently. We drove the 100 K back to Alice very sober creatures indeed but oh what an experience! An adventure of a lifetime NOT to be repeated.  This visit we found that the track has been closed …. hmmmm, interesting that. We are rather less adventurous these days – I think!

This is nothing like the Cattle water pass.  This is just
a stretch of the route we toke back to The Alice - The Garden Road named for the property
through which we were driving.  

We have seen only one dingo this trip, but we have seen 'evidence’ of camels.  The other major wild life is the flies! We have equipped the car with homemade fly screen curtains so we can open the windows or doors to get the breeze but NOT the flies.  You have to be here to understand!

Hardly wild life! this beautiful creature would have hopped in to the car if I'd opened the door for him.
He and his friends had the glossiest richest red brown coats that I've seen.  Gorgeous!