Kings Canyon was amazing. We got up around 5am... something you just get accustomed to doing when the days are as hot as they are here in the desert. A beautiful hike took us along the rim of the canyon. I couldn't resist a dip into the cold water in one of the swimming holes near the mouth of the canyon. The landscape reminded us a lot of southwestern Utah - minus the kangaroos :)With the heavy rains the 4WD track we were going to take back to Alice was closed so we had to alter our route, which was actually for the better. We decided to explore the East MacDonell Ranges instead, as you guessed correctly, east of Alice. We camped in the beautiful Theraphin Gorge, virtually by ourselves and cooked a wonderful Safran Risotto and enjoyed a 1/2 bottle of red wine, australian of course.
The next morning we completed two more hikes near our campsite and also visited the ghost town of Arltunga, a "flourishing" gold miner town in the late 19th century. Continuing along true outback roads we arrived in Gem Tree last night around 6pm.
Today, we enjoyed the hard work of fossiking for zircon in the gem fields east of Gem Tree. After a hard 6 hours of work we did manage to find approximately 12 zircons that can be cut into various pieces of jewellery. It was an exciting, back-breaking adventure... So, here we are back in Alice and our flight to Auckland, New Zealand leaves 2morrow at noon. We had a wonderful time on this unique continent, saw heaps, but haven't even scratched the surface of what this country has to offer. Thank you Australia for a wonderful time and goodbye.
2 comments:
Hey Markus,
So sorry to miss your call. It was Saturday night, not Sunday night. You still need to get your timeszone calculations straight. Renee and I and the kids were actually over at Diane Go's house for dinner and games. It was a great time. Isaiah told us later on the ride home, "That was fun!" He enjoyed the ping pong and pool.
Can't believe you guys chose to sleep in the back of the 4WD. That never equates to a good night sleep. Man heat or mosquitos. I would have gone nuts! Did you curl up completely in the peapod with an ice pack? :)
Give us a call again when it's convenient. We are usually home Tue Wed Thu and Sun nights.
Hope to talk to you soon.
take care. have fun in New Zealand.
Justin
no worries mate. good to hear that all is well. the peapod was an additional cushioning, but would have been too hot to do it up all the way! we'll probably call again once we're back in switzerland.
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