Friday, August 20, 2010

Settling in to Alice





Having tentatively settled in to Alice Springs it was time for our first little explore. we headed west along Larapinta road into the west Macdonnell ranges. We first stopped at Stanley Chasm, owned and managed by the local community,which consists of a long narrow canyon containing a small flowing stream, and culminating in a dramatic fissure in the red rock cliffs which formed a claustrophic corridor complete with a distinct overhang. Simpsons gap was next, another gorge in the rock, but on a larger scale, and complete with rock wallabies (apparantly). On the wild life side we have seen a number of lizards of various sorts, the bower of a bower bird, but not the bird itself, and numerous of the 187 species of birds which inhabit the ranges. On our drive back to alice, we observed 2 eagles circling quite low over the road in front of us. As we approached, both suddenly dived in what seemed a co-ordinated movement, landing just in front of the car, but without, as far as we could tell, catching anything.
Since our arrival, the temperature has hovered in the low 20;s, and we have been struck by how green the countryside appears - a explanatory statistic from the local paper - last year, total rainfall in Alice was 77mm, this year to date 499.6mm!

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