Glen Helen Tour Day 2

Colin packed the secnd half of my GF egg and bacon sandwich after breakfast, saying that he already had a GF chicken sandwich for my lunch. That was OK! I finished my breakfast sandwich at coffee break. Or should I say, morning tea?

Colin started us at the Mt Sonders lookout, different in the morning light. Then on over hill and dale of alluvial sand and stones where once a huge river or inland sea flowed. I think it was from a high point there - Tyler's Pass, I think - that we could see three of the MacDonnell ranges and across the desert at the end of the alluvial section, at a great distance, the walls of Gosse Bluff as red as the ranges. On we went up Davenport Creek to Roma Gorge - I hope I have that right as I cannot find it on a map. Access on foot was a bit of a challenge, but worth the effort. The narrow waterhole was lined with steep smooth rock, trees, and shrubs. As luck would have it, not only was there a flock of zebra finches, but a large flock of budgerigars. They are notoriously shy. However, as groups of birds took turns perching on a small ledge to drink from the water, we had clear views of both species. The one thing we did not see at any of these sites were rock wallabys. On to Gosse Bluff or Tnorala Impact Crater. A gap in the wall led us to a 5 km wide shaded sandy floor. Colin stopped for lunch at what could have been a camp site. Good grub, again. And wouldn't you know, we were visited by fairie wrens - the Slendid blue one. Didn't he just hop about and pose for JD's camera. Then Colin showed us a bower bird bower. In fact there was another bower, rundown and abandoned, nearby. But no bower birds to be seen. The best part of the Gosse, of course, was climbing the small incline to the boundary toward the centre of the crater bowl. From there we had a 360 degree view of the walls. There were two sets of signs at that point. One explained that the centre of the crater had exploded outward to create a far circular rim now seen only from space. Where we stood was debris that had fallen into the bowl as huge walls had erupted up from 5 km below the earth. I still have no idea what the meteor was like that hit in anicient times. But there are two aboriginal stories here. The first links the crater to a child that fell to earth. Two women, dancing in the milky way, danced so hard they rocked a cradle until the baby fell to earth and created the crater. The morning and evening star are the parents still looking for the child. I hope I am not offending by sharing this story. However, our guide told us so I believe it is okay to share it. The second story has to do with a community of people who used to live in the crater in ancient times. There was a conflict with a neighbouring community, which lead to a massacre, which made that half of the crater bowl a place of sorrow, like a burial ground. So the way was barred and visitors were asked to go no further. No one had lived in the crater since.

The longest ride up a river bed led into Palm Valley. We had heard it was impossible without 4WD. No kidding! As soon as we got to the start of the walk into the valley itself, we began to see palms here and there along the path. Some were called cabbage palms, and some seemed to be just the fronds growing straight out of the ground. The further in we went, the denser the palm growth until it was the majority of the vegetation. At the end of the walk, we came out onto the shore of the river that runs through the valley. Wide flattish rocks, pockmarked by shallow depressions. Many of them were rimmed with a whitish line. Colin explained how the water table would push water up through the rock, collecting minerals as it seeped through into small pools and leaving salt rims as it evaporated. After exploring the terrain of the valley floor, we started the climb up the side of the valley. Huffing and puffing and sweating gallons, I did it. On the way up we met a group of 8 or 9 aboriginal schoolboys in uniform practically running down the path. Weirdly, we may have met the same two teachers who were with them when we were in Kakadu. More on that later. From the top of the valley wall, we looked across the river bed at the length of the palm stand. Colin pointed out the large gap in height caused by the over-pasturing of the station that encompassed the valley. Cattle are no longer allowed into the valley and the palm growth patterns have recovered. The decent into Palm Valley was far easier. Colin had to push us a bit, having lingered too long birdwatching and discussing varioius sights.

What that meant in the long run, is that on our return to Alice Springs, eary enough for Colin to commute back to Glen Helen, we had to give Hermannsburg a skip. It is an important historic precinct. Everyone asked if we had gone to Hermannsburg. We drove by it. Enough at the end of two splendid days, thanks to Roger and Colin and the staff at Glen Helen Homestead. If you go to Alice Springs, give them a call. It's an experience you do not want to miss.

Glen Helen 2-day Tour August 24 & 25, 2016

Thanks to the recommendation of one of L & B's friends, we booked a 2-day tour by Glen Helen Homestead Lodge. In turn, we highly recommend it. www.glenhelen.com.au (I will come back to these blogs in a few weeks time, when I have other online links at hand and can post them.) After Uluru, this tour was the next big highlight of our trip. It was a personalized tour with an experienced guide willing to cater a bit to our interests while hitting many beautiful spots in the West MacDonnell Ranges that it was a little hard to keep track of of them all after the fact. Book the tour directly with Sheila, who runs Glen Helen Homestead along with her husband Colin, one of the guides. It includes meals and overnight at the Lodge.

On Day 1 our guide Roger picked us up at our accommodations in Alice Springs. We threw our little duffle bags into the back of the 4WD and away we went. Now I might not get all of these spots in order. I'd need a map for that. I may leave some out. But this is what I remember. First stop was Flynn's Grave, just past Desert Park on Larapinta Drive. Flynn was the founder of the Flying Doctors, a much respected and honoured man. His grave is marked with a huge boulder, a replacement for the first one that had been a sacred stone mistakenly taken from a place of women's business. This replacement was given by the local Arrernte community. On to Simpsons Gap, so called as it is a divide in the range. Then to Standley Chasm, which is a place where the water in flood has dug a pit where it is forced between the rocks. Beautiful! Ellery Creek Bighole was similar, but it is a permanent waterhole, even in the dry season and we saw it at the end of the dry. Each of these places has its own spectacular upclose view of the red walls and tumbles of rock that make up the Ranges. There were birds at some, and Roger was patient to wait while JD snapped a few photos. Roger assured us that on Day 2 there would be more birds to see. At some point along a river bed, possibly the Serpentine Gorge, we stopped for morning coffee. The legs of the folding chairs sank into the sand. No GF muffins, but nuts and terrific banana chips, an apple and fresh coffee. Alright! At the end of the morning, nothing had prepared us for the sight of the Ochre Pits. Here the Rainbow Serpent came alive and the notion that the ochre is sacred made perfect sense. Since ancient times, aboriginal peoples travelled to the pits to dig and trade the ochre in all its forms - red, yellow, white, and rare purple. The layers formed eons ago erupted into sharp angles and almost vertical stripes. The walk took us through a shallow canyon with an ever changing vista. Signs asked that we not dig or remove any of the ochre in respect for the owners and caretakers of that country. Of course, we came across one couple who had scraped a small heart and their initials into a saucer sized piece on the ground. All for the sake of a selfie. Romantic? Good grief. Thank goodness most folks show the respect requested or the entire site would be spoiled. Everything else that we saw was pristine and all of it was beautiful.

At Glen Helen Homestead we stopped for lunch and had our first look at the place. Roger gave us the historical background and a chance to look through the rooms and at the art. We checked into our Lodge room with ensuite. Very simple and comfortable. GF bread for my toastie! Good tea. The homestead is situated right at Glen Helen Gorge. There was still some water. However, it was shallow enough that we were able to cross at a narrow spot using stepping stones. When we reached the water hole, it was easy to imagine swimming there at the end of a long hot workday.

After our lunch break, Roger drove on to Ormiston Gorge, his personal favourite, and it was easy to see why. The path was above the river bed, less arduous than some. At the waterhole, the riverbed was wide, the rocks flat and smooth. The far side was a sizable beach, that a few people were walking. I chose to sit on a rock and write postcards while JD and Roger climbed to the lookout over the gorge. It was shady and calm by the water. A good place. When the guys got back, Roger took a long drive up a dry river bed to Redbank Gorge where there was water - a known camping spot for 4WDs. We walked along the shore. More birds. We ended the day with a drive up above that spot to a lookout to Mt Sonder, which tells the story of the sleeping pregnant woman. Her head, breasts, belly, and legs were visible in its peaks. Roger, who runs the bar at the homestead, surprised us with a cold beer for JD and a generous shot of Jack Daniels for me. Laughter all around as we watched the sun go down.

For dinner at Glen Helen Homested, we opted for mains and desserts from the tour menu - award winning food and leisurely service gave us the time to think and chat about the day. I can't honestly remember what we ordered, we were that tired, but it was terrific. After a nightcap in the bar, we settled in for a good sleep.

Alice Springs part 1

It is difficult to describe the beauty of the red centre. JD took tons of photos, but they never communicate the scale. For instance, the land beyond our Alice Springs rental's backyard sweeps across a long stretch of dried tall grass dotted with trees and up the high ridge of the MacDonell Ranges and into an unbelieveably high cerulean blue sky. There is an old tub outside the yard, filled with water, drawing kangaroos, a dingo (we never did see), and every sort of bird. The galas descend on one of the trees off and on, grey crowned babbler nests crowd another, and a whistling kite lights on the spar of a dead tree to rest just beyond the fence. 

In the evening, after the sun goes down, the ridge is sillouetted with a soft pink glow as the sky darkens. We had a full moon last week, making one night's nocturnal tour of Desert Park less dark, full of shadows, but still starry enough for our guide to point out the southern cross and my constellation, Scorpio. We wore red light head bands and saw malas (tiny kangaroos, one a momma with an even tinier joey in her pouch), banicoots, echidnas (one that took a stroll among the group's feet) wallabies, sticknest rats, and bilbys.

The Aruluen Cultural Centre galleries are full of Aboriginal traditional and contemporary arts, the natural history museum is full of Australian fossils, and which is located at a women's sacred hill, women's dreaming, including a sacred 300 year-old corkwood tree. The range is the origin of caterpillars in Aborginal belief, represented by a contemporary sculptured walkthrough. Hard to describe. But we did see a ring-neck parrot telling his own stories in the corkwood tree, a long-nosed dragon (!) (tiny lizard), and a gigantic grasshopper. 

As for the birds, as mentioned above and so many more, they are spectatcular and everywhere to be seen. So I am in awe and JD is having a field day! 

Self-direction and grace

I would be enjoying retirement far more if I could stop inflicting so much damage. I tore the cartilage in my right knee in November doing a Pilates class when the trainer insisted on adding a yoga cat stretch. I told her that I did not do anything on my knees anymore. But then I was foolish enough to allow her to talk me into it. That knee injury led to a wrecked shoulder in December as I required assistance in disembarking from a boat in St. Lucia in order to participate in a delicous local luncheon awaiting us on a beach. The crew members' enthusiasm in lifting me down did not allow me time to let go my left hand hold, thus tearing the shoulder. That injury shouldn't count as the trip was worth the subsequent agony but it definitely interfered with writing and other work on the computer for some time. I spent much of the first quarter of 2012 in physiotherapy, in addition to getting cortisone shots in my knees and huge new patella stabelizer braces. Things have improved immensely both for getting around and for writing again.

Otherwise, I am slowly moving toward a life of self-direction and grace through a process of re-discovering myself. I spend much of my time alone puttering about, following a leisurely sorting schedule that I have set for myself. This generates piles of paper for recycling and shredding and the occasional exciting bit of archival material. More about this process to come. I did go to the Arts Schools Network conference in Orlando at the end of January just to keep in touch and for the fun of it. However, almost every time I plan a visit to either of my old schools, CALC or Wexford Collegiate School for the Arts, something intervenes. I have seen very little of those I used to work with and time is rapidly running out for this school year.

I am editing the long neglected draft of this post as a start back to blogging from our brother and sister-in-law's home in Canberra, Australia. This three-week vacation is our third in this beautiful country and my reason for returning to my blog. I will be going overseas again late in June for a trip to France with a bunch of women out of Jacksonville, Florida. Another friend my age is currently, and successfully, undergoing treatment for non-Hodgkins lymphoma. That has reminded me that there is no time to waste. If I want to do something, it is better that I do it now while I am still able. Remaining happy, well, and active is what I wish for everyone.