Recently we took a day trip to Palm Valley which is within the Finke Gorge National Park, an east-west running valley in the Krichauff Range 123 km southwest of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory, Australia.It's a pleasant drive during the cooler months and requires a four wheel drive vehicle after one reaches the Aboriginal town called Hermannsburg, which was once a Lutheran mission township.
The Palm Valley palms are red cabbage palms found nowhere else in the Northern Territory. Although the region is now arid, the presence of palms reflects the time when Central Australia was tropical.
We've been to Palm Valley on several previous occasions and although it hadn't changed any since our previous visit, it's still good for the inner being to get out and be surrounded by the beauty and ruggedness of nature.
Christina and I took grandson Tory along for the trip and were accompanied by friends Robyn and Darrell Wallace.
Tory had a great time exploring the landscape here and there and running about like a ferret. We did quite a bit of walking and climbing before having a picnic lunch.
Apart from the walking we do among the hills surrounding our house, Tory hasn't done much "exploring" in the outback, so it appeared to be a good change from tennis, bike riding and football, to get some exercise climbing rocks and running along the dry Finke River bed.
We didn't see any lizards during our trip ... it's probably too cold for them at this time of year, but there were some lovely honeyeater birds, a few hawks and a variety of ants, butterflies, dragonflies, and various bugs with which to entertain ourselves.
When we travelled home, the sun was setting over the beautiful MacDonnell Range reminding us that both had been here for many millions of years and would be still here millenia after we are all gone.
By the time we had arrived back home at The Alice it was late afternoon. Tory sat in my chair (yes, MY chair), and within seconds fell asleep as can be seen in the strip photo at left.
He's such a handsome fellow, I have no idea where he gets it from.
Everyone had a great time. Our next trip will probably be to the old gold mining region of Arltunga which is north-east of Alice Springs.
Robin
