So far the weather has been remarkable with warms days and mild nights. We have hardly seen a cloud in the sky since arriving in Alice Springs.
Today we left the caravan park around 9:45am and headed west on Larapinta Drive towards Simpsons Gap. First stop was at the memorial for John Flynn who was the founder of the Royal Flying Doctors Service. The ashes of his wife have also been placed at the memorial with a suitable plaque. The memorial has the West MacDonnell behind it and it is very peaceful.
We then headed to Simpsons Gap. There was more water in Simpsons Gap than in 2007 when we last visited. We find this part of Australia very spiritual with a dry river bed and the gorgeous white and grey gums both in and nearby the river bed. We did smile when we saw a sign that says “No swimming”. There was no water!
Next stop was Standley Chasm. Not that we agree but there is an entry fee to visit the chasm. If you want to see Standley Chasm at its best, you need to be there between midday and 1:00pm. The chasm is about 1.2k’s from the car park and the walk there requires you to cross the creek several times and ascend and descend small stepping stones forming crude stairs. But when you get there, the colours are magnificent. We arrived in the chasm about 12:45pm had watched the chasm being lit by the sun and then we watched the shadows descend as the sun moved on. Before returning back to our camp site, we stopped at the Royal Flying Doctor Service base. Whilst there, we looked at their museum and a film about the service. Unfortunately this base is not as good as the Broken Hill base which is actually located at the airport and you can see the aircraft in the hangar.
We had our evening meal with our friends in their cabin at the caravan park.