Look at the colours of the rocks up above Standley Gorge. This was my first hint that I might be going to see something special.

First off – crisis averted! My bus buddy is Eve, a lovely woman from Canberra. She’s had an interesting life, having done farming, truck driving (she can back up a semi!) and all sorts of other jobs. I’m so relieved I won’t be stuck 24/7 making awkward conversations with Jill.

Anyway, let’s get back to Standley Gorge. When I went on the camel ride, Isabella from Brazil came here to the chasm. It was in the afternoon, so maybe that was why she wasn’t all that thrilled with it when she came back. So I hopped off the bus this morning with LOW expectations.

(You know, sometimes that’s the best thing, isn’t it? You sometimes get an amazing surprise, which is what I received.)

I should have felt in my waters that it would be good because Standley Chasm is named for a teacher – Ida Standley (1869 – 1948).

She was the first teacher in Alice Springs, and she was ahead of her time in suggesting that maybe it would be good if the black and white kids all sat in the same classrooms at the same time, instead of white kids being taught in the morning and the Indigenous kids in the afternoon.

It didn’t happen, of course, the White Australia policy being what it was.

But she was greatly loved in the area and so this place was named in her honour.

The rocks look like the bark of the trees. This was down by the path in the shade.

The cliffs on the right side of the path were a pale apricot colour like this. Absolutely beautiful, but the light wasn’t right to capture how they looked. The left side of the path was catching the morning sun.

Like this. Isn’t it incredible?

It was so quiet. I could hear a bird chirping and eventually I found it. It was some sort of honey eater. I stood for a while and watched it fly from blossom to blossom.

I haven’t used any colour enhancements. The rocks are exactly like this when the sun hits them. It’s just amazing. The oranges and yellows are intense.

The Chasm itself has a flat, easy track which winds its way along a creek until the end. Unlike most of the rivers we’ve seen here, which are upside down, this one actually has water in some places that you can see.

The group spead out along the walk, so no one was in anyone else’s face. It was quiet and calm, which made it easy to stroll along and soak in the beauty.

Here’s the entrance to the Chasm itself.

I was halfway in, looking back the way I’d come.

Here’s the end. The water in this pool is very cold, as no sunlight touches it. Merrilyn put her hand in it, then a few minutes later put her fingers against my cheek. They were still icy cold.

Turning back towards the path back to the bus, where morning tea awaited us.

I absolutely loved this place.

On the way to Ormiston Gorge, some of us were lucky enough to see a small flock of budgerigars keeping pace beside the bus for a few moments before they swooped away. They were iridescent green and it was so exciting. My brother used to breed them in a large aviary in the backyard when we were kids and now I’ve seen them in the wild.

I have Eve to thank for pointing out the windw for me to see them. I was looking in the wrong direction.

I also have Eve to thank for giving me a lot of very practical advice about my trip wending my way down to the Snowy Mountains after I drop the Ligas off in November. As I mentioned, at one stage Eve was a truckie and she drove along these roads up in the Top End.

She seems to have no doubt that I can do this – which gives me a lot of confidence – and she knows where I should stay and how I can make the car and me safer as we’re travelling. We had a really interesting conversation as the bus drove along.

We also saw BRUMBIES! Ever snce I read ‘The Silver Brumby’ and the rest of the series as a child, I wanted to see one. Today was certainly the day for catching up with childhood things.

Ormiston Gorge was ok, but it was the walk up the cliffs that was the most important part.

“If you’re considering doing the Rim Walk at King’s Canyon tomorrow, then this walk will be a good test to see if you can make it,” said Colin.

Hmmm… I was thinking about tackling this, but because I’m fat and unfit, I wasn’t sure if I could make it. I decided to give Ormiston Gorge a crack.

As you can see, I made it. I found that if I stopped when I started to get out of breath and let my heart rate and breathing calm down, then I was good to go. The first little bit of the walk was steep, but in what seemed like no time, I was up on the lookout with the rest of the group.

I’d brought a towel and my bathers, but I decided not to go swimming. The water was cold and only the Tasmanians said that it was ok. I climbed a mountain today. Let that be enough!

We stayed up there for a fair while. Tracey, the bus driver, climbed up to join us, while Colin was back at the bus putting together lunch.

I spotted the first fly net of the trip! You can either wear them over or under your hat. I’ve noticed that tourists from other countries are wearing them most. Honestly, for Aussies, the flies so far have been pretty good. You have to do the occasional ‘Aussie Salute’ but so far, I’ve been happy to keep my Ghan fly net in reserve.

After lunch Eve, Janet and I walked down to the waterhole to take a closer look. Janet is the other solo traveller and she’d great value. Very positive and upbeat all the time. The three of us climbed down the hill together before lunch and although she has a dicky knee, she worked around it and kept up the pace while carrying on a lively conversation.

The wattles are starting to bloom. We used to have one in our back yard when we were kids and when they bloom, you know that spring is here.

Here’s what we found. It actually has a sandy beach, though the water looked a bit murky, to be honest.

Here’s Eve, communing with nature. It is a very beautiful spot. I can imagine that when the weather gets very intense, this would be a fabulous place to spend the day and cool off.

On the way back to the bus, I heard a ‘peep peep’ sound. I instantly knew what it was. There were wild Zebra Finches hanging around near a tap, taking a drink. Along with the budgies, my brother also had Zebra Finches. They make a sound that is unforgettable.

Not-so-fun fact: You can’t keep Budgies and Zebra Finches in the same aviary. The Budgies don’t like them and they bite their legs off. We didn’t experience this back in the day. Simon was told that when he wanted to get the finches, so Dad built a new aviary for them. Thank god we avoided that trauma!

On our journey to the King’s Canyon resort, we passed by Gosses Bluff. This is the remnants of a meteor impact, which took place millions of years ago, “on Wednesday afternoon at 4 o’clock,” said Tracey.

The interesting thing about this is that the scientific and indiginous explanations are very similar.

Scientifically, a meteor composed of ice and gas crashed into the Earth, raising up this huge crater from the ground with the impact. The meteor was absorbed by the earth that it hit.

The Indiginous story is that the North and South stars had a baby, and it fell from the sky into a huge cradle. The baby disppeared under the earth an when we see the North and South stars, they’re looking for their baby.

Pictured from above, it looks very much like a cradle, doesn’t it?

Before we got here, Tracey gave a talk painting the King’s Canyon Rim Walk as being extremely challenging. Lots of scrambling around on hands and knees to get over cliff faces etc. I began to feel that maybe I was ging to attempt something that was too hard for me, especially when I heard that ‘Heart Attack Hill’ right at the start isn’t 300 steps as I thought … it’s 500. Yikes.

I had a quiet chart with Colin at Gosses Bluff and he asked if I had any knee or hip problems.

“No,” I said. “I’m just fat and unfit.”

We decided that I should give it a go. They take people up the first 200 steps and if they realise that it’s too much for them, they go down and join the rest of the group for an easy creek walk a couple of days later. That seemed fair and reasonable to me.

Though once I start something, I like to finish it…

When we arrived at the resort, we checked in. My room has two queen beds, so I have OPTIONS. (Or as James from Ireland would probably say… “Notions.”)

We had a great night. There are enough lovely people here to dilute the one who irritates me, so I’ll just do the dance of avoidance.

Tomorrow is the Rim Walk. We have to ge up before the crack of dawn to get there in time to get most of it done before the sun gets too hot.

Wish me luck!

Dad joke of the Day:

After I finished yesterday’s post, I decided to go and visit the School of the Air.

The School of the Air was started in the 50’s, bringing education to the children living on far-flung properties across the Northern Territory. The woman who started it was a teacher and she realised that if the mothers on these cattle stations didn’t give their kids an education, then they simply didn’t get one.

We all found out during the COVID lockdowns how rare it is to find a parent eager to take on their children’s education! It was the same back then.

I found this tour fascinating. I was the only one there, so I suppose I had a very personalised experience, which is fine by me!

When it started, the classes were all done by radio. The first classes were done by a teacher talking into a microphone and broadcasting to a particular cattle station or roadhouse. She had no way of knowing if the kids were fighting, listening, or if they were even there!

(The following photos are all “quilts.” They give the kids a theme, and the kids make their patch at home and bring it with them when they come into Alice Springs for one of their social weeks. They put the “quilt together as a group. )

When the two-way radio came in, things became a lot better. One of the women I was talking to was a teacher during this time. She said that if she couldn’t hear a particular student, she’d ask the other kids if they could hear him. If someone said yes, then they’d relay what the teacher said, and if the ‘silent’ kid had a question, he’d ask his mate and he’d relay the question to the teacher and the answer to the student.

Nowadays, it’s all run by satellite, which is subsidised by the NT government. It’s much more flexible, meaning that if the parents want to dig a bore, for example, they’ll take the kids and tutor with them. When it’s time for the face-to-face lesson, the kid will log on, have the lesson, then go back and help the parents and do the schoolwork when they get home.

Kids living on trucks or travelling around Australia also benefit from the flexibility.

(This ‘quilt ‘ was made from metal. The kids had to design a patch showing what their home produced.)

Each family has to have a tutor. Sometimes it’s one of the parents, but most families hire one. Each child has half an hour face-to-face with their teacher each day. The rest of the time, they’re working through material that is mailed to them every two weeks.

The socialisation of these kids is looked after as best they can. Four times a year they all come together in Alice Springs. The kids get to see their friends in real life and interact with them. They get taught swimming, they perform plays and generally have a good time. Most of them won’t go to a “regular” school until year 10 when they’ll board in Alice Springs or interstate.

(I liked this one the best. It’s the kids from a local police station, and they’ve put handcuffs on it!)

Having taught through the first two lockdowns in 2020, I know how hard the teachers must work to make the classes interesting and engaging. It sounds like an easy gig, but it certainly wouldn’t be.

As we were talking, I mentioned that after I drop the Ligas off at Uluru on their Crazy Road Trip, I was thinking that maybe I’ll come up to stay in Alice Springs for a couple of days.

The woman I was talking to lit up. She’s now sold me on the idea of going to the Alice Springs Desert Park. David Attenborough rates it as one of the 5 best parks of its type and he’s visited it twice. I’m thinking I could do some walks, see the Park, then go home.

This is where my life may have changed. This woman suggested that I drive up to Tennant Creek, then turn right, head across for a bit, go down through Dubbo and instead of going home, go straight to my Snowy Mountains holiday.

Hmmm….

At 3 PM, we all met up for the beginning of the Red Centre part of the tour. Unfortunately, we’re a full bus of around 20 people, so I’m going to have to share my seat with someone else. There are 4 solo women travelling, so we’ll work it out.

We were taken to see John Flynn’s grave. His ashes are buried under this rock.

John Flynn began the Royal Flying Doctor Service and by doing so, he saved countless lives in the Northern Territory and beyond. He had the idea for ages, but was spurred on by the story of what happened to a guy called Jim Darcy in 1917.

Jim was an aboriginal stockman who was thrown by his horse when there was a cattle stampede. He was badly trampled. His mates took him to the nearest house and they radioed Perth for help. 2 doctors were servicing the whole of Western Australia at that time, and both were busy. Not surprising… have a look at the map of Australia and see how big WA is.

His mates suspected that he had internal injuries such as a ruptured bladder, so they decided to operate.

The local postmaster did the honours, with his mates holding him down, because there was no anaesthetic. The postman sewed up what he could, and they waited for the doctor to come. This only prolonged the inevitable, and Jim Darcy died 2 weeks later, a day before the doctor finally arrived.

Can you imagine??

The School of the Air used the same tech as the Flying Doctors. Both services changed life in the Outback from then on. People were no longer quite so isolated.

When Flynn died in 1951, he requested to be buried in the Outback. People went to the Devils Marbles to grab a rock. Later, when Land Rights started to become a thing, there was a huge stink kicked up because the Devils Marbles is a sacred site and so the rock might be sacred. There was a lot of argy-bargy, but in the end, sanity prevailed. They took the rock back, went outside the sacred site and chose another one that looked identical. This is the rock we see today.

Flynn is on the $20 bill, not that we see too much “real” money nowadays.

After a swing by Anzac Hill, which I saw yesterday, we went back to the hotel. The people on the tour seem nice, so I’m optimistic about the fun we’ll have. Tomorrow is a WALKING DAY, with Stanley Gorge and Ormiston Something-Or-Other, so my time in the walking group with Blogless Sandy will come in handy.

Guess what Tracey the bus driver said to us?

In a climate like this, if you’re walking you should be drinking a LITRE of water an HOUR.

omg

Also, just over one of the ranges is Pine Gap, the US Intelligence base. The tour guide, Colin, said “It’s a very well-maintained base. Whenever you meet someone from there, they’re always a gardener or a janitor or something like that. No one ever seems to have a job that actually involves army intelligence!”

***

I thought I was finished for today, but I’ve just come back from dinner.

OH MY GOD HELP ME NOW!

There are 4 solo women. I had dinner at a table with one of them, while the other two were at another table.

Jill is the most vapid, boring woman I’ve come across in a month of Sundays.

Stupid, too. She was talking about all sorts of racist stuff about her Chinese Great Grandfather WHILE WE WERE SHARING A TABLE WITH TWO THAI/AMERICANS. For goodness sake – read the room, lady!

Kill Me Now. The other two women looked like they were bonding beautifully.

My problem is that the bus is full, so the 4 single ladies will have to sit next to someone. If I have to sit next to Jill for the next 6 days, I won’t be a happy camper. My only hope is that I suggest that we rotate sharing seats, so I only have to deal 1:1 with her for a couple of days, not the whole trip.

Ugh. Just venting. It was awful. The only good thing was that she went to bed early, so we three had a great talk after she left. They’re a father and son – the wife/mother died 6 months ago so they’re travelling together to give the Dad something to do that’s positive. I love that they’re doing a father/son experience. It should be a THING, like a rite of passage. They clearly love each other – it was good to see.

But I think it won’t be too long before I’ll be actively avoiding Jill.

Dad joke of the Day:

Just me and my mate having a laugh.

But I’m getting a bit ahead of myself. I had to publish the last post before the day was finished because we were getting to NO INTERNET places.

I had a fantastic time on the Ghan and it was all down to the people I met there. Let’s face it, there’s not a lot to look at outside, This next shot was taken from my cupboard cabin during the day:

… so it was what was happening inside the train which made all the difference. To prove this, there was a couple I met from Platinum Class who felt unwelcome there, so they came down to Gold Class with us and were having a fine old time.

When I got back to my cabin after dinner and drinks, this was what awaited me:

The bed was comfy enough, but I didn’t have the best night’s sleep. The train’s movements were erratic and being in a car where there were shared toilets and bathrooms, every. time someone went to the loo in the middle of the night and let the door bang… annoying.

I don’t know if I’m the only one who does this, but when I know I have to wake up early for something, I tend to wake up every hour or so to check the time. Even though the girl looking after our carriage promised she’d knock on the door at 5:45, my brain still made me check.

So why the early start? We were getting up to watch an Outback sunrise.

When the time came, we got off the train and made our way to where the coffee was being served. There weren’t as many people there as I would have thought, considering the number of passengers on the train.

Here you can see Marla siding, with people queueing for coffee and standing around one of the fires.

Before we got off the train, we saw a fire engine go past. Safety first!

So this was what we started with.

Some people ask others to take photos for them. I, as you know, usually take selfies.

Remember how Rhoda from the Canada trip taught me how to take panorama shots? Can’t waste that knowledge.

Once the sunrise was over, I went back to my cabin. I’d been coffeed and fed with a bacon and egg slider, and I wanted to see if I could get some sleep before the train started up again. As it was, I slept for two solid hours and woke up feeling great!

It was a bit of a thrill to pass across the border into the Northern Territory. I’ve never been here before. (Only one more state to go… WA.)

Isabella from Brazil was over the corridor from me. The poor thing. She’s only 31 and had hopped on a train full of geriatrics! She is a doctor and is living in Sydney for a year to get a bit more experience in her field. Her plan was to leave the Ghan at Alice Springs and make her way to Uluru for a few days.

Our trips will overlap, so we’re hoping to catch up at the Rock. I’m hoping for her sake that she finds a younger crowd at Uluru so she can have more fun.

I tell you what The Ghan has SERVICE. I tried to find a fly net for my hat in Melbourne and couldn’t get one for love or money. Here? I mentioned it and Kylie pulled one out from behind the bar.

“Here, take it,” she said.

I was so happy.

Camel ride time!

Naturally, as an inexperienced horse and camel rider, I was placed on the biggest and widest camel. All you have are stirrups for your feet and a metal arch to hold on to.

For the first ten minutes, I was hanging on like grim death. The guy in front of me was hands-free, merrily taking videos and drinking from his water bottle like a big show-off, while I was stuck, thighs gripping the camel and my hands gripping onto the arch.

Then I realised that my phone was slipping out of my pocket. That distracted me. I grabbed it, then took a few quick photos of my surroundings.

Haha!

When I said they were quick, I meant it. Look at the angle. I was still too nervous to let go and properly feel the rhythm of the camel.

I got better as we went along, though.

It was a harch place in some ways, but when the Welsh woman on the camel behind us stopped yapping about how calm and peaceful it was… well, then it was.

At the halfway point we stopped and the woman leading the camels took photos for us, using our phones. We ambled our way back to the camel farm, where we had refreshments and then we were driven back to town.

On the way, we were taken to Anzac Hill, the highest point in Alice Springs.

Here’s a panorama shot of Alice Springs. The town is built inside a bowl, with two mountain ranges pretty much enclosing it. All of this was once under the sea. Now it’s in the middle of a continent. Isn’t it incredible?

When I got back to the hotel, I walked into my room and got a hell of a surprise:

I wasn’t expecting anything to be on my bed, so when I first saw this out of the corner of my eye, I let out an involuntary “Ahhh!”

Upon closer inspection, it looked like a wedding cake. Was I in the right room? The last time I was in a bridal suite was 37 years ago!

Then I found this on the table.

How nice! My birthday isn’t for another 4 days, but hey. I’m not complaining. Let the birthday celebrations begin!

While I was eating my fruit platter and chocolates, I messaged Georgia. Apparently, Melbourne had cyclone-strength winds and the power has been out for hours.

I guess Fortunate Frogdancer strikes again. I’m at the Hilton.

Now that I’ve finished this, I’m off to take a look at Alice Springs.

Dad joke of the day:

This is just before I set off to the station. I’m saying goodbye to two VERY unimpressed dogs. I’m experimenting by using a backpack instead of my leather satchel bag as my everyday bag. (So far, I’m not loving it…)

I took a room in the Novotel at Tullamarine because my flight to Adelaide left at 6:30 AM. Even with doing this, I underestimated the time it would take to get from the hotel room to the plane. By the time I’d walked the length of the airport and got through security, time was a’ticking.

I looked at the board and my flight was marked as LAST CALL. Now I’m no athlete, but I RAN to the gate. I got there just before the gate was closed. omg. If I missed that flight, I would have probably missed the train.

Lesson learned. From now on, I’m flying over the night before.

It’s almost 5 PM in Juneau Alaska, where Megan and I were only a couple of months ago, so it’s perfectly fine to have a glass of bubbles at 10 AM here in Adelaide.

So far, I’ve only seen one young person here. She looks like she’s travelling with her grandmother. Everyone else who has black or brown hair is using hair dye. This is NOT a cheap trip.

Naturally, when I got to the terminus for the Ghan, I was 3 hours early and the first one here. They welcome everyone with music, bubbly and good cheer. They make it a celebration.

The Ghan is 648 m long and the trip from Adelaide to Darwin is 2900 and something kilometres. It’s an iconic trip to take in Australia, being on many people’s bucket lists. No wonder they welcome people with open arms – it’s very special.

The single cabins are located on the last two carriages on the train. I laughed when I opened the door to my “cupboard.” It looks like Harry Potter’s room under the stairs. I took one step when I had my back pressed up against the table and I was in the hall. It’s tiny.

Behind the door is a little basin, with individual toiletries. I was so happy! I love bringing home those little soaps and shampoos and they’re hardly to be found in Australia anymore.

I have to share toilets and showers with the rest of the carriage. Not ideal, but it’s only for a couple of nights. Most of the time I’m staying in hotels with 5 star luxury.

This is the lounge car, where people go to socialise. I met a lovely girl from Brazil in the cabin opposite mine. She’s 31 and is a doctor. She’s using her holidays from a hospital in Sydney to travel to Alice Springs in the Ghan, before splitting off and heading to Uluru. We headed off here to have a drink and a chat.

While we were there, we met Beverley and Janine, who live very near me, as it turns out. Small world and all that.

Here’s one for the foodies. We’re not going to starve.

Isabella and I shared a table at lunch with Marissa and Suresh, all four of us solo travellers. Suresh and I stayed back after lunch for a long chat, which was nice as the salt bush plains swept past us outside.

We talked about Financial Independence and our plans for inheritances for our kids. He’s got a far bigger pot than I do, but we both had similar ideas on what we plan to do.

He originally comes from Kenya and when I said I was going there next year, he mentioned that there are flamingos there.

Imagine!

Flamingos!

The pressed tin in the dining room was a nice little nod to the past.

So far, I’m having a good time. The people here are very warm and friendly and are perfectly ready to have a chat, unlike the people on the Irish tour. I met two couples from Tassie while we were waiting to board, and they’ve taken the same long trip that I have, so I’ll be bumping into them again. They’re in the Platinum part of the train, so we probably won’t mingle until tomorrow night when our tour splits from the train and we head off to the resort in Alice Springs.

I’m using my phone to hotspot this and I’ll post while we still have internet.

Tonight during dinner, the staff will turn this sitting room into a bedroom. The bed is pulled down from the wall. I’m looking forward to being rocked to sleep by the train’s motion tonight. It’ll remind me of the ship to Antarctica.

Dad joke of the day:

I should have saved this one for next September when I’ll be there!