Douglas Hot Springs

We decided to camp at the national park campground at Douglas hot springs for two nights. We arrived there to discover it was about 50ks off the highway (including just under ten ks of heavily .... dirt road) but once we got there we realised it was well worth the (pretty small) trip. The campground was really dry and basically just dirt but there were small firepit/bbqs everywhere. We found a fantastic site to set the van up right in the centre and we very quickly gained some neighbours. We set up the van then walked down the 10 metres to the springs, we noticed a HUGE group of people in one spot right at the centre of the creek resemblent springs. We figured they must be a huge family or somthing and decided to give them their space so we first dipped our toes in down river from them, looking for a less populated area. The water was icey cold. We then walked past them, following the "river" up and dipped our toes in. The water was scorchingly hot (60+ degrees), what a shock! So we went down to where the group was and jumped into the perfect temperatured water. It was like a hot/warm bath (dependent on where you sat) but we quickly realised that the spot where everyone was sitting was right where a cold stream that ran paralell with the hot springs, met up with the hot springs and the boiling and cold water mixed together.

We ended up pretty quickly becoming part of the big "family" that was infact not a family - just a HUGE bunch of tourists trying to get the best spot in the water. It was a beautiful, little, social enviroment and over the two days and nights we spent there we became very friendly with a number of different people from all different age groups. At one point we joined a group of 60 year olds and the next morning we were initiated into the brat pack of ten year old girls. Everyone that comes to the springs says the same thing "wow, this water is so hot you could cook an egg in here" so of course I had to take an egg down and try! Well two eggs. We cracked oe and put it in a foil "dish" we fashioned ourselves and sat it to float in the spring. It had cooked stringy bits through it but it never actually cooked. Then we sat one in its shell right where the water was bubbling from the ground (At its hottest), we left it there for over twenty minutes but unfortunately it didnt cook either. We had lots of fun doing the experiment and we had a pretty big group of tourists (including our helpful accomplices the ten year old girls) curiously awaiting the results. It was alot of fun.

We ended up befriending a small family that came in the second night and we had a great time sitting by the fire with them and another man in a neighbouring van, telling stories. It was fantastic!

everyone crowding into the part of the spring where the cold and hot stream meet.

trying to cook an egg unsuccessfully in the hot springs

Our big boy on his new bike

Our camp (to the left)





Cutta Cutta Caves

I wasn't keen at all to go into the Cutta Cutta caves as I have a sort of calustrophobic fear of squeezing through small underground gaps. However when we arrived (and did the 700 metre walk through the bush to the caves) I seen the entry and realised it was actually quiet open. I decided to give it a go. We walked in and the cave was beautiful, but the descent was a little scary. The caves go 200 metres accross and about 20 metres deep and are filled with the most beautiful stalegnite (or whatever those pointy things are called that hang from the roof and come up from the ground) formations. They were gilstening, sparkling, white, orange, absolutely beautiful.

There were snakes in the cave and apparently it is home to alot of bats but thats seasonal. I ended up getting scared about 80 metres in when we came to a section that required you to squeeze through a tiny gap. So I decided to go back out of the caves, thankfully because I was told the squeezes became more difficult from then on. Brent and Zac and our friends Barbara, Matt and Yohana kept going and all said it was even more beautiful and cathedral like further in. Unfortunately I forgot to leave the camera with Brent so we didnt get any photos right deep inside, only of the first 80 metres.

Zac and Johana walking to the caves

Inside the caves

Zachery absolutely loved the caves and Brent said he enjoyed climbing and walking through them. Apparently it got really hot and muggy towards the far end of the caves. Cutta Cutta caves are beautiful and are pretty cheap to go and see too. It was quiet a big deal for me to go underground into a cave so I feel quiet good about my small experience with them despite not going the whole way through. Brent and Zac thoroughly enjoyed the entire walk.

The entry to the cave

Katherine Gorge

The most iconic "landmark" in Katherine would have to be the infamous Katherine Gorge. This is a place I have always thought about visiting and I have always been absolutely blown away by the images of it. We decided that we must do a cruise along the Katherine Gorge while there so we booked in for a "two gorge cultural tour". The tour was on a fantastic big boat full of plastic chairs. The boat was guided by two wonderfully informative aboriginal men (whom also had us all in stiches of laughter with their stories and jokes).

We got in the boat and began our trip through the gorge, the sight was absolutely amazing. The walls of the gorge went up so high and there was alot og wildlife. We seen little freshwater crocs hanging out lazily on tree branches on the side of the river. At the end of the first gorge we got out of the boat and walked up to an enormous rock wall which had aboriginal artwork painted on them in red adn white ochre. The artwork was believed to have been there for over ten thousand years and there were a variety of stories about how it got there and what it signified.

We then got on the second boat and continued on through the second, and twice as spectacular, gorge. We learnt alot about the local tribe the "Jaowyn" people and their history and culture. We noticed that all throughout the gorge there are small sandy banks with signs on them saying "Do not walk on this bank" (or somthing similar) we were informed that all of these sandy banks are crocodile nesting ares and if you walk on them you wont nessecerily be attached by a freshwater crocodile (you would by a salty) but you will break/damage their eggs and possibly debilitate their breeding process. We also learnt that one of the banks was the spot where the Australian "crocodile movie" Rogue was filmed.

The gorge was breathtakingly beautiful and exceeded our expectations. The walk down to the gorge was beautiful and Zac had alot of fun pointing out the fruit bats in the trees along the way.

Whilst at Katherine we met up with some friends we made at Mataranka springs, Barbara and Matt and their little girl Yohana . We had a wonderful evening with them drinking beer and rum, eating nibblies and watching the kids play. It was fantastic. The next day Brent helped Matt do a service on his car and in return Barbara cooked us the most delicious dinner. I dont usually eat fish at all but I ate it all up that night and absolutely thoroughly enjoyed it, aswell as the beautiful salad she made. I definately cant wait to start experimenting with cooking fish now that I know I like it again. We ended up spending alot of time with Barbara, Matt and Yohana and discovered that they are wonderful, relaxed and alot of fun. It was great to make some friends along the way and it was great to all go to Cutta Cutta caves together, just South of Katherine, for a day trip.

Crocodile breeding sand patch in the Katherine Gorge

Katherine Gorge

Katherine Gorge

Brent in the pool with ac and Johana

Our first day at Katherine

We left Mataranks springs early this morning to head toward Katherine. I decided to have a try of towing the caravan and it was surprisingly easy! I actually enjoyed towing it and will be sharing alot of the driving with Brent now (although he goes a little faster than me - I do 90 and he does 100 and somtimes 110 - the speed zones out here are mostly 130 - how crazy is that?). I felt really proud of myseld for stepping up and giving towing the van a try, I towed it the entire way to Katherine (an hour and a half drive).

When we arrived at Katherine we decided to go to the caravan park our friends suggested to us yesterday, the friends we made at Mataranka - a young couple Matt and Barbara and their daughter Yohanna. We arrived at the caravan park and set up then just relaxed at camp for most of the day as we were a bit exhausted from the last few days of LOTS of walking at Mataranka. We then went for a drive into town and had a look at the Katherine hot springs along the way (they were beautiful and warm like the mataranka ones). We bought some groceries and booked in for a cruise of the Katherine Gorge for tomorrow.

We spent the afternoon/evening at camp chatting with our friends and watching their daughter and Zac play. They had an absolute blast together! They absolutely adore eachother and they play so well together. I love watching them play, its very cute. We ended up having a few drinks and eating a bunch of nibblies (instead of dinner). All in all it was a wonderful night and we now have plans for tomorrow night.

I cant wait to go for a cruise of the Katherine Gorge tomorrow.

Mataranka Springs

We spent two nights at Mataranks springs. It was absolutely wonderful! The springs are so beautiful and crystal clear and in the river next to the springs there are lots of freshwater crocodiles and turtles to spot, which kept us entertained for ages. I find it so crazy that there are signs saying "crocodile managment program being followed here" next to the rivers but you you are welcome to swim just at you rown risk. Its crazy being faced with that decision rather than being at a zoo or reptile park with these creatures and not having the choice to be in their habitat. Apparently the freshwater crocs dont generally go near humans but they have found the odd saltwater on occasion in there and therefore cannot say the rivers are entirely safe. But still, you can swim in them.

The campground at Mataranka springs was fantastic. It was really well spaced out and had a little pub at it too. We ended up having dinner and a few drinks at the pub one night and listening to live music for hours. Zac even made a friend, a little girl Yohana (Im not sure how to spell it). They danced the night away ont he stage and made the singer very happy. They also dug in the dirt and repeatedly took their pants off and ran around covered in mud! They were very funny together. The campground is also full of wallabies and they are really tame and will eat from your hand. Its lovely! Zac loved it and was patting them and playing with them.

We also did about 4 kilometres of walking at Mataranka, around the springs and out to a waterhole. Zac walked most of it on his own, he seems to really love bush walking!

The springs

Walking toward the trees through the rainforest (we seen a snake slithering around next to the path through the forest

Zoomed in photo of the croc we seen bathing in the sun on a log in the river

The "not zoomed in" photo of the croc on the log.


All in all Mataranka springs was a wonderful adventure and definately a beautiful place. There is so much wildlife including crocs, turtles, countless wallabies, snakes, peacocks and other birds. There are alot of beautiful places to view the gorgeous river from and there alot of really happy, friendly locals. There are some beautiful walks through the forest and its just a beautiful natural place. The springs are amazing and the most perfect temperature and the days outside are 32 degrees in the middl e of winter, gotta love that!

The Devils Marbles and Wycliffe Well

This morning we left Alice at about 6am and drove straight to Wycliffe Well. This is a town famous for all of the stories of "alien landings/sightings". There wasnt really anything there other than a service station with an Alien Exhibit and a wall covered with newspaper articles. Including a rather interesting story about a sex crazed emu who is burning out lovers faster than trucks burn out tyres. We had a read of a bunch of the articles and notices quiet a few about pop star Robbie Williams, apparently he is UFO m.a.d and ended up buying a big property in the area to try and see the UFO's for himself. Not sure how it went though. There were alot of claims of aliens hanging out among the Devils Marbles too.

The devils marbles shocked me as I was expecting one, beautiful stack of ginormous marble-esque rocks. Which we did see! But there were countless stacks of marble-esque rocks over a huge spanse of land. They were magnificent! We clibed them and went into the middle to the cave like areas. They were such a wonderful sight.

 

Alice Springs Reptile Centre and Museum

These blog entries are all a big behind as I have been out of phone range for a couple of days.

On the 15/7/2011 we went to the Alice Springs Reptile centre and we were actually pretty pleasantly surprised by what we discovered there. It simply looked like a signposted home from the outside, in the middle of a normal suburban street. But when we got inside it was four or so rooms (And an outdoor area) of lizards, snakes, turtles and a big saltwater croc. It was very cheap too I think it was $12 each which is just awesome! (it was free for Zac).

We slowly walked through all of the rooms marvelling over the variety of desert lizards espcially the really spikey ones. We went into the underwater viewing area and had a peek at the croc but he didnt move at all. You could see him in such detail though because he was practically up against the glass. Zachery was very impressed. We then got called inside for a reptile show.

A young woman went up the front of the room and showed us a huge variety of snakes and lizards. She had one enormous snake that she let everyone have a hold of. She lined all the children up on the stage (Zac included) and let the snake start from one end and slither accross all of them to the other end of the line. Zac was absolutely in his element and shocked everyone with how interested he was. We then had to (at Zacs request) stay back after the show so he could hold each of the lizards and ... sort of voilate an unsuspecting blue tongue lizard. The lizard was kissing Zac with his long tongue so Zac decided to share the love and licked the lizards tongue... haha. Ew!

It was such a fantastic experience! Zachery loved it and how "hands on" he was able to be. I highly reccomend it to anyone going through Alice Springs.

Awesome spikey lizard

I couldnt get a good photo of Zac with the snake as I was too far back because there were just so many people there.

Then we went to the local museum. Which also surprised us! It wasnt as big as a city museum but it was just as beautiful and had a wonderful variety of local information and artifacts. There were dinosaur bones, animal bones from all the animals found in the desert and many more. There was alot of extrememly interesting information on Ted Strehlow, a man who spent years and years with aboriginal tribes and learnt an unimaginable amount about their cultural practices and lifestyle. His researcha nd information is so extensive and so personal to the tribes he pertained it from that a huge majority of it cant even be shared for privacy reasons. There are annual conferences on the information and what can be released while still remaining sensitive to the aboriginal people and their practices. There is actually a book and a movie on it that I intend on reading/viewing when we get to Darwin if I can find it.

We seen some fantastic rocks that came from comets (I think thats what they are called... the ones that hit the earth and cause craters?) we seen pictures and models of craters aswell. There was alot of information on outer space etc. Zac was really tired by this point though so I didn't get to slow down and read as much as I would have liked to, due to a grumpy kiddie! But thats ok, I guess its a good reason to come back again?  :-)




 

Standley Chasm and Simpsons Gap

This morning we packed a picnic lunch and headed out to Simpsons gap, despite the drizzley rain. Simpsons gap is a gap formed in the mountain range after millions of years of floods and raging rivers flowing through Alice springs and wearing away at the range. The bushland at the gap was really lovely and we really enjoyed exploring the area. The rock walls were just enormous and there were huge chunks of fallen rock everywhere some the size of garden sheds or cars. The rock was really pretty too it looked like it was coated in a dirty pink coloured quartz. There was water at the bottom of the gap and small patches of water in the river blank that led down to it but it was norhing like I guess it would have been years ago when the wearing away happened. It was such a beautiful, serene place.

Simpsons Gap from the walk in

Simpsons gap

After Simpsons gap we drove another 40-somthing K's to Standley Chasm. When we arrived there we went up to the kiosk (As you have to pay $10 to go in) and there was a bulky, stoney faced aboriginal man working at the counter. I expected him to be sort of harsh and sick of being asked stupid questions by us tourists, but as I got closer he cracked the biggest, frinedlist smile. He was the most lovely, kind man. We paid our fees and began the 40 minute to 1 hour (round trip) walk to the chasm. Zachery did the entire walk by himself which was just crazy because there were parts where his tiny short little legs meant he had to climb miniature rock walls and not to mention that it began sprinkling on the way back and was ridiculously slippery. We are both so proud of him he loves bush walks and pretty much every person that passed us either commented on how great he was doing finding his way along the VERY rough tracks, or how well he speaks (which still shocks me because I thought he spoke fairly normal for his age!). When we came to the chasm we were all blown away with amazement, it was absolutely beautiful and at 80 metres high the cliffs were just such a brilliant sight. We explored the chasm a bit and took some silly photos of Brent and Zaccy posing among the rocks, then we sat down and ate morning tea in the rain on a rock. We then made our way back with Zachery refusing to be carried and walking just as fast as we were the little machine! We got back to the kiosk and the fireplace was lit and the man working was still at the counter. I asked him if we were able to order some hot chocolate each and he said he doesnt make them (they wenret on the menu)  but that he would do his best to make us some. However he got busy and completely forgot about them so eventually we went and asked (not that we were in a hurry, it was lovely sitting in front of the fire and watching zachery boss around all the elderly ladies whom were fawning over him and collecting sticks and rocks from the garden as per his demands). He felt so terrible tht he had forgotten them and he began making them immediately, I had a chat with him while he was making them and as I had heard every single tourist that walked up complaining about the rain to him. I said that we were actually glad it was raining because all the photos in the pamphlets are of it in the glistening sunlight so its sort of a treasured moment to get to see it in a different light and different weather conditions. I told him how beautiful the water was running down the rock walls and that even the big walk back was great in the rain seeing the colours of the rocks on the ground change as the rain drops hit them. I think it really shocked him to hear tourists who had no wet weather gear, had a toddler and were all soaked through, so pleased with their rainy day exeprience of the chasm. He was so cheerful and positive about it all and said that it was so great that we had enjoyed the experience despite the weather. He gave Zachery a free popper when we went to leave. I had such a nice day and it was so nice to meet a friendly local.

Walking through Standley Chasm

Walking back in the rain

Picnic morning tea in the chasm

warming up by the fireplace.

Free camping on the N.T(9/7) border and visiting Ayers rock (10/7)

I havn't updated for a couple of as on Saturday night we spent the night at a free camp on the border of the Norther Territory and last night was spent at Yulara looking over Ayers rock/uluru. I really wanted to free camp as we hadn't yet the entire trip and its just the best way to save a bit of money through not having to pay caravan park fees. You can camp for free at pretty much any of the rest areas along the way so we decided to stop at the border and camp for the night even though it was only a few hundred Kilometres from ayers rock. The last time we free camped (on our way to and back from Mackay) it was a wonderful experience but this one was not so great. The noises of the wildlife and random people the passed through in the middle of the night (not to mention the road trains) was just ridiculous and made for an almost sleepless night, mostly because I was a little scared and every sound made me think someone was trying to get inside the van (im not usually that bad so it was a bit of a shock). Then a very noisy group of people pulled in in the middle of the night. I was finally asleep until I heard some extremely loud noises that sounded like gun shots. I was absolutely terrified and woke Brent up, when we looked up into the sky (both pretty scared by this point) we realised they were just fireworks being let off haha (possibly left overs from "Cracker day" they have at Darwin where fireworks are legal for one day of the year).

In the morning we moved onto Ayers rock, it was absolutely wonderful. We spotted it from about 50 kilometres away from it and we were both blown away. In the glow of the sunlight it looked pink and bigger than we ever could have imagined it would be. We set up the van at the caravan park/resort quickly and drove straight out to the rock (theres a $25 per adult fee to see it up close). Once we arrived at the rock we went for a walk on it and Zachery begged, pleaded and cryed for us to let him walk to the top however the hill is so completely steep and seems VERY unsafe to climb. We walked a fair way up but then brought Zac back down when it became to steep, despite his protests and telling tourists angrily "my mummy wont let me walk to the top, shes mean".

Ayers rock is so breathtaking up close. The actual "rock" surface is so unexpected, despite knowing its a big rock before going there. Its such a shock to see such a large rock in one piece. Its unreal! We honestly could have sat/stood there and stared at it all day, even Zac. There are a few signs at Ayers rock that were put up to teach people to respect the requests of the aboriginal owners. When the government handed Ayers rock back to the traditional owners some time ago they made the owners sign a clause that said that Ayers rock would always be open for tourists to climb on. The aboriginal owners have put up signs basically begging and pleading that people not climb the rock despite it being legal. I didnt really look at the signs until after I walked up it but Im not sure if it would have stopped me, not because I am disrespectful just because the sight of the rock is just so alluring to walk on - I think its just natural human nature to be curious. The signs went like this "Please dont climb the rock, it crosses over some very special dreamtime points (paraphrasing) that we dont want walked through, also it is so dangerous to climb and if you climb you might die and if you fall and die your mum will cry and your whole family will cry and they will be really sad". It was really.. personal and simple. It sent my mind racing.

After Uluru we went to The Olgas, they were also a beautiful sight! You could also see Ayers rock again from the olgas (you could see ayers rock from almost anywhere out there though its enormous). The olgas were just so beautiful, the roundish shapes of them seem so natural but at the same time so unnatural because they look so perfect with the right shadows on them. We took lots of photos og the olgas but my camera is just continuously letting us down as once I zoom I lose any quality the photo had and all of the colours wash out.

When we went back to the van we realised that behind the van a few feet up a hill is th emost beautiful spot to sit and watch the rock. You could see it from such a perfect angle and the sand was the deepest beautiful red which made it even more beautiful there. We ended up watching the sunset behind us and it was great seeing the clour of the sky change the colour of the rock from pink to a deep red. We also woke up early this morning and watched the sunrise in the same place which was another beautiful experience.

It was actually quiet sad to leave Ayers rock. For some reason, despite it just simply being a giant rock, it is also so much more. I dont know if its just that we spend so many years hearing about it but never imagining being there, but once you get there its just so alluring, you cant seem to look away and even at the campground you are continually going up the hill to sstare at it. We also found ourselves peeking and peeking at it the whole way along the main road on the way out until we definately couldnt see it anymore, asif we were trying to just soak up as much of it as we possibly could. I highly reccomend seeing it, it is just, perfect.

We are now at Alice Springs and I am baffled by how big it is here, I expected a couple of shops along a bright red dirt road side. I am shocked at how huge this place is, its a city! Its enormous. But more on that tomorrow!

Ayers rock with the shadows of the clouds over it

Zachery very determined to climb the whole rock and he truly would have if we had let him!

I took this to try to really show the "rocky" texture of the rock, in most photos it looks like a mountain so I wanted to show the ridges and holes.

The very beautiful "Olgas" or "Kata Tjuta" (their aboriginal name)

Hanging out on the N.T / S.A border (we slept on the border for the night).

watching the sunrise and spread its rays over the rock.

Exploring Coober Pedy

Today we went exploring Coober Pedy and it was just awesome. We went into the opal showrooms first (not all of them because there are FAR too many to see them all). Brent bought me a beautiful opal ring for my birthday (an early present). We then went to a place called "fayes underground house". Its actually a home that is currently lived in however it is a huge part of Coober Pedys history. The house is a three bedroom dug out underground house and it was dug out by Faye herself, just 48 years ago. Faye is alive today and we seen photos of her however sh eno longer owns the house. The man who runs th etour "Colin" was absolutely lovely and showed us all through his beautiful home. He even had an idoor pool in the one room that was above ground. The underground house was extremely interesting as the temperature stays at a perfect 25 degrees celcius year round (yes, winter and summer). While in the house we met a man also on the tour whom was absolutely lovely (he was there with his equally lovely wife). He was telling us how great it is to see that young people are touring Australia and just living this lifestyle. He said that 40 somthing years ago his wife was six months pregnant and developed a bad heart condition and he almost lost her. He said that as soon as their child was born and she was well enough he bought a carvan and they began travelling (in the 70's) he said he just wanted to live and explore and enjoy life as he had become aware of how precious it really is. He was a wonderful man and his love for his wife was so apparent. It was lovely to meet people so like minded to us, people whom genuinely  had this journey change their life. For me, going underground was a huge step as I have an extreme fear of caves/mine shafts etc. I felt so nervous as we walked through but the fact that someone was continuously talking and that they had lived there for so long and been safe made me alot more comfortable. Thats not to say I wasnt pleased to come back out into the sunlight! hah!

We then went up to a look out that also housed a free "art" display. I wasnt very intereted in the art as it just looked like dirt piles and smashed computer screens but then again, each to their own. There was a free noodling spot that was actually inside a big metal bucket that also said "free opals" there was just a bunch of crushed rock/dirt in there but I sifted through the very fine particals and found a purpley coloured piece (well speck) of opal. The man came out and seemed really pushy and nervous, he shuffled us inside his home before we could even realise what was going on and took us into what I am assuming is a very much unlicenced opal shop (hidden in a dark room off the back of his home). He showed us his stuff and literally "yelled" at us "BUY IT BUY IT BUY IT" assuming we would give in and buy it. This was so unexpected and far more of an experience youd expect to have in a foregn country or city. His "workshop" looked fake/unused and im assuming his opal jewellery was the cheap, fake stuff you find at those "AUSTRALIA" shops they have at air ports. Probrably imported from hong kong, lol. It was a little scarey but we just said "no thank you" and he quickly turned off the lights and shuffled us out.

Every shop here keeps its lights off until someone comes inside. The towns electricity supply comes from a power plant run by diesel generators so electricty is a hot commodity. The people are very careful with it (aswell as water, of course). There is no where to attach our water hoses at the caravan park and water must be purchased for 20 cents for 30 litres. Showers are 20 cents for three minutes aswell. This hasnt been a bad experience for us though, its been quiet a great way to become aware of how lucky we are in the cities and big towns to have water so freely and readily avaliable. I love learning new things and am slowly developing a love of trying out new lifestyles, including ones that involve using things sparingly and being aware of our own consumerism. The water here comes from the Artisian basin and is brought in through pipelines and desalinated at a nearby plant. I have only really drank the water from our tanks so far but I will try some town water today and let you know about the taste, I have always wondered if desalinated water tastes any different.

When you drive around the town you see pipes coming out of the ground everywhere with whirly birds on top of them, these all lead to underground houses. 85% of coober pedys residents live underground we were told today, wow!

Lake Torrens and Andamooka 5/5/2011 (posted the day after)

A bush covered in salt crystals

Yesterday we went to Andamooka and Lake Torrens (again). We asked for directions this time and it turns out the other day we were on the right track to Lake Torrens we just had to keep going and going and going until we got to it. We drove through the bush for ages, we found a river and decided to get out of the car and go for a walk to the edge. Brent, Zac and I all found some pretty rocks so we decided to smash them open and see if we could find some opals or somthing else special. We found a bigger rock and we each had a turn at smashing them but we didnt find anything. We caught Zachery sneaking over to the car, opening the door and smuggling a load of rocks inside while he thought we werent watching. Its funny how early kids learn how to be sneaky, haha.

We got back in the car and continued on toward Lake Torrens (constantly wondering if we were going the right way because it seemed to take forever, driving along red dirt roads in the middle of nowhere). We finally came over a rise and spotted on of the edges of the lake that ran off into like a creek. We didnt end up following it to the body of the lake as the road stopped where we were at so obviously you had to come in from a different town or access road to get to the body. We could follow the creek with our eyes and see the body of the lake but it was too far in the distance for Zac to walk after how far he had already walked around by the time we realised.

The lake was extremely salty and glowed a bright white from all the salt. The salt under the water was rock solid like a solid (but spiky) glass floor and when I dug at it (in one tiny spot, just to check) it was over two inches thick. You could see the red tinge of the dirt through certain parts but mostly it was white. The salt was beautiful, like crystals and all three of us really enjoyed touching it and looking at it.

We also found some emu footprints they were so huge and the steps were so wide as though the bird was running extremely fast. They looked so cool and were perfect imprints because of the type of dirt/mud that was there.

Lake Torrens was a beautiful experience I really loved it, as did Brent and Zac. I wish we could have gotten closer to the body of the lake but the part we found was VERY interesting alone. It was a great experience and I highly reccomend it.

After Lake Torrens we drove back into Andamooka and took some photos to show everyone how the people have all just mined their own backyards. Its so weird to see and also to think of all the opals they must have found.

Zachery wanted to taste it, haha

Not so yummy haha

salt on the ground

salt

Our first glimpse of the outskirts of the salt lake

Zachery cracking open rocks

The rocks we found and decided to crack open

Brent and Zac walking along the river

The blogger website is stuffing up again and will not let me upload the rest of my photos so I wont be able to put up the Andamooka photos today of the mined backyards but I'll add them to this entry later and then re-post it.