East Coast Road Tour 2012

Huge Grasshopper (Could this be a Locust?)


Baby Tawny Frogmouth Owl

Monday June 1st
Alice Springs - Lazy morning, cleaning, washing and rearranging items in the van. The McDonnell Ranges Big 4 caravan park here is just fantastic. The surrounds are beautiful, situated just before you go through Heavitree Gap into Alice. The park has organised events on each day. We missed the free pancake breakfast on Sunday morning (Rats). I’m going to the Star Gazing tomorrow night and on Wednesday there is a chap reciting bush ballads.Vicki and I did some retail therapy while Alan and Reg did the supermarket shopping in the afternoon.
Tuesday June 2nd
Alice Springs - Having hired a car we drove out along the West McDonnell Ranges. Our first stop was to walk in to see Standley Chasm. The walk,classed as easy, was along a dry river bed complete with large and small rocks. The chasm is amazing especially as we were there at midday and saw the sun shining right through the middle of it. We then drove another hour to Glen Helen Gorge which is where the Finke river forms a deep pool as it goes through the gorge. Alan saw the most wildlife for the day and night, i.e. Striped Grunter (fish), Tawny frog-mouthed owl (baby one), a huge grasshopper and later that night a kangaroo hopping through the caravan park.
The Star Gazing evening was terrific. Andrew, the astronomer, had his telescope set up so we could view Saturn. He pointed out the planets of Venus, Mars and Saturn, as well as the stars in the Zodiac signs.
Wednesday June 3rd
Alice Springs - after a little deliberation we decided that we will stay another day here because our spot in the park is just so beautiful and peaceful. Today we visited The Royal Flying Doctor’s Service and The School of the Air. For people living in the outback these two services are a vital part of everyday life and survival. They both offered a short film followed by a talk from a tour guide. We felt they were both worth the visit with us seeing a School of the Air lesson in progress. Our last tourist spot was to go to the highest point (Anzac Hill) in Alice Springs for a view over the city. From there you can really see how the city is nestled in the middle of the range.