Breakfast in yet another hotel, just the one night here. Each hotel has a different system but I’ve never seen this before. A good breakfast before our 6 hour drive from Ayers Rock to Alice Springs. Mount Conner in the Amadeus basin. It was on the seabed long, long ago. Fossilised sea creatures found there. We stopped to climb a red hot sand dune And catch a glimpse of Lake Neal, a salt pan in the basin. The sand was very soft. My feet and the backs of our ankles were covered in red sand when we got back on the coach. The seemingly endless road to Alice Springs; the Lassiter Highway. Alex never ran out of interesting things to discuss. We made a few stops. This one included a camel farm. On to the Stuart Highway to continue our journey to Alice. The Highway was maned after John McDouall Stuart who crossed Australia from north to south in 1862. We finally reached civilisation, the outskirts of Alice The old Telegraph Station is now a museum. It brought worldwide communication in 1871 and helped to establish Alice. The batteries of the time. Horrifying events, reflecting the attitudes of the times. (Hope the resolution is good enough for reading. )Personal accounts bring it home. A short walk from the Telegraph StationTook us to the ephemeral Todd River. It originates in the Macdonnell Ranges and sometime flows through the Telegraph Station. The smooth, almost triangular rock close to the water is the site of the original Alice Spring. A final stop before reaching our hotel, the ANZAC WAR MEMORIAL It provided views of the city And the Macdonnell Ranges behind. A quick sightseeing drive through the city to our hotel then it was time to get ready for the evening outing.
We all enjoyed a fantastic BBQ evening in a quarry at a farm outside Alice Springs, all finished off with the best stargazing session I’ve ever experienced. We saw the Southern Cross and much much more; the final touch.
Euros (a type of small kangaroo) came hopping across the track into the quarry.We stood against a fence to watch a boomerang demonstration by Danny, the cattle farmer.He had a very dry sense of humour and could really throw boomerangs way above the quarry. They all came back.The fire where Danny cooked the damper, the bush bread. Danny’s camp kitchen. He was very entertaining. The flies were only a nuisance in the early part of the evening. There was plenty of wine, beer and water to drink. Patricia’s new look!The steaks were fantastic. These are the medium rare ones. All the food was fresh, plentiful and delicious. Australian country singer Skipsy was another good entertainer. Of course Waltzing Matilda had to be in his programme. Checking to see if the damper is ready. Then serving it with cream and billy tea. It was delicious, like a rum flavoured scone. Back to Skipsy for more entertainment, with audience participation for the percussion section.
The finale was a superb stargazing session in the evening warmth. Graham was knowledgable and a good communicator, making excellent use of a laser beam as a pointer. With all the lights switched off the Milky Way above us was absolutely beautiful. Amongst many other planets identified we could clearly see the Southern Cross. (Do you remember that Patricia and I bought tanzanite crosses in the form of the Southern Cross, with money from Rosemary, when we were in South Africa.)
It was a very happy group of people in the coach back to the hotel. Tomorrow is another freedom day so we can relax and take it easy.
Australia and New Zealand 2020 