September 16th Friday 2011 Glen Helen

First time for months that I felt as though I was coming down with a cold but it could be hay fever with all the dust that’s here. Not long after getting up, I went back to sleep while Robert did the Glen Helen Gorge. Looking at the photos, it’s another lovely place with russet red, jagged rocks that hem the Finke River. To arrive at the gorge, he had to walk along a narrow path hemmed in by almost 2 metre high grass. Not sure I would have liked that bit too much – snakes!!! He didn’t see any but he was glad to get out of those grasses.

Glen Helen Gorge

Robert came running into the van, this morning to grab the camera as a dingo came wandering through the park and passed near the back of our van up the hill. He managed to get a couple of shots as it walked away through the long grass. It didn’t look skinny either.

Later in the morning we drove a short distance from Glen Helen to Mt Sonder Lookout. We could see Mt Giles in the distance with the Finke River meandering below. For those of you who are familiar with Albert Namatjira’s paintings, the mountains looked just like he painted them with purples, blues, greens and those amazing, ever-changing shadows cast by tall ridges as the Earth rotates and revolves around the Sun.

Mt Sonder Lookout

My crosswords and reading kept me occupied for most of the day (and another nap). Robert really wanted to check out the Finke River so armed with camera, I watched from the shade of the verandah of the pub while he went for a swim. He did get up to his neck and it wasn’t too deep but he didn’t stay in too long either – not far under the warm waters near the surface, the temperature changed very quickly and it was very cold.

While I was watching, I munched on a Calipo ice block. If you’ve had one, you’ll know that they are a cone shape covered in a water-proof wrapper. With the warmth of your hand, some of the ice begins to melt and once the whole thing has been eaten, tipping up the cone allows for the last bit of cool lemon to be savoured. I don’t know what happened but the front of my t-shirt looked as though I’d been splashed with water.

Bobby in Finke River

Robert was talking with some of the staff, who also had Calipos, down on the beach and theirs did the same thing but they weren’t holding a camera. I managed to wipe off most of the sticky bits but the automatic lens cover doesn’t close when the camera is turned off. The wide angle button is dodgy too. Could have been worse. I knew I should have bought a Magnum instead!

I know that feeding wild animals and birds isn’t the best thing for their survival in the bush but there have been a host of top-knot pigeons visiting us each day. I’m not a bird person as far as having them too close to me but out in the open spaces, I’m less phobic. We had plenty of bread so I threw a few crumbs their way. It started off with about half a dozen and by some form of communication, the numbers quickly grew to about 20 at least.

They’re a curious bird and a bit scatty and dithery; I through a few bits to my right and then quickly to my left and they didn’t know what to do. They looked like a pack of kids playing footy – following the ball en masse. So funny! They didn’t seem frightened of me because they came right up to my feet although they were quickly startled if another type of bird called or flew by. These birds make a very distinctive sound as they fly off all together – it’s like some sort of whistle that flaps at the same time. They also make a “hoo” call as they look for food on the ground. One male was putting on a display with his tail all fanned out whilst he did a dance in the hopes of attracting the hen but she was not at all interested.

Another bird that’s been a regular visitor is a piping shrike or Murray mudlark; mini-magpies with black bandit masks over their eyes. This one has been very insistent and is probably a regular caller with all the campers. It has been aggressive, persistent, pleading, piping and sometimes a nuisance as it wanders around the van looking for anything that may have dropped on the ground.

There’s no sullage here; all the water from the sink flows onto the ground and the piping shrike has heard the running water, found it and then enjoyed a sips. There’s plenty of water in the river for bird life and other animals. Apparently, dingos and wallabies are frequent visitors in the early morning and dusk.

Early start tomorrow as we have a long trip – first to Alice Springs to restock then we’ll see how far we get on our way to Kings Canyon. We may have to stop at Erldunda.