having an interesting time out here in Yeundumu during our first week.

Well the shop operates 8am to 8pm, 7days a week and Lawrie and I have been there a lot of that time. 
Helping with clearing up, recording stock ready for stocktake next Tuesday and even playing at being Chef for a day making steak sandwiches, bacon and egg toasties, cooking chips etc for the first time in my life.  Just shows there is always room for a 'first' no matter what the age.
We are enjoying the experience and certainly doing something 'different'.
Have no phone out here but do have the internet so hope friends and family are doing a 'read' now and again and will know what we are up to.
Visited a 'craft' evening last Monday and will be teaching how to knit tomorrow afternoon at another craft get together so of course I am in my element.  There can never be too many knitters in the world.

now out in the 'real' red centre

Friday saw us leaving Alice and heading for Tilmouth Wells along the Tanami Road.  It was bitumen all the way and the plan is to go out and visit Ruth and Malcolm (Lawrie's nephew) at Yuendumu the next day.  This section of the road is a mix of bitumen and dirt so leaving Destiny behind seemed the sensible thing.  The electricity here at the van park is a little touchy so boiling the jug was out of the question as it kept throwing the safety switch but the park itself is beautiful.  Grassed, with camp fire pits, showers and toilets and beautiful trees to offer shade in the hotter times made it a pleasant spot to set up camp.  The other problem however was that the gas hot water system was not working so there were no hot showers available without asking the staff for assistance and showering at their quarters. 

Our trip out to Yuendumu was interesting.  We had sections of dirt with dust and then bitumen sections as well.  There were some sections that had corrugation but it was not as bad as we had expected.    We enjoyed the visit and catching up with family and they agreed to come into Tilmouth for dinner and a campfire.  This of course meant damper twisties with syrup and that was our dessert for the evening meal.  What a great time we had around the campfire.  During the day we had discussed travelling out to Yuendumu with the van and staying for a while to help out with the business that Malcolm is managing.  Next day (Sunday) that is what we did.  Taking it slowly we brought Destiny along the dirt sections and arrived safely at lunchtime.  Our trip has again taken a slight detour but what a wonderful opportunity to experience living ‘right out’ in the centre.  Lawrie will be helping Malcolm with different tasks and I will be helping with the office work connected to the Social Club shop which supplies the community. 

No phone coverage but the internet is there so don't feel too isolated.

We will probably be out here for a few weeks so will be interesting and will just slow our trip to Darwin down a bit.  Not to worry, we hope to still catch up with some wonderful people we have already met during our time on the road. 

another day out at Alice

Today we went for a drive out along the Ross Highway heading east of Alice Springs.
Our first stop was at Emily Gap, then Jessie Gap, Corroboree Rock and then Trephina Gorge.
I will let the photos tell the story of their beauty.

rock at Emily Gap

dry river bed at Jessie Gap

side view of Corroboree Rock

face of Corroboree Rock

crossing the Ross River on way to Trephina Gorge

white gum in Trephina Gorge

rock face at Trephina

looking back along Trephina

Ross river running through Trephina Gorge

white gum blossoms in the Gorge

view when walking along the river bed

great place to visit, water (just a few inches deep) was running over sand and the gorge walk took us along the river then up along the ridge top, just magic.

now in Alice Springs

Our drive back from Yulara had us overnighting again at Erldunda.  We arrived in time for lunch so had the afternoon to relax and actually do some spinning and thus enjoying quite a few conversations.
We certainly enjoyed sitting out in the sun (out of the wind when possible) and found the few mice we saw running around amusing.  After a rather cool night with frost on the grass next morning when we rose we found one of the meeces dead in the grass.  Evidently a run of frosts is the one thing that will end the current mice plague.
Once packed up it is up the highway to Alice and meeting up with a couple (Anne and Jim) we met at Copley so parked side by side we were able to share stories of where we have been. 
Lawrie needed to check out the water pump in the van as it had stopped working so after a few phone calls and some help from Jim it was found to be working but the problem had always been the wiring in the van.  Seems there is some confusion as to which fuse is which but all is working now so we will wait till Darwin and have an auto electrician check everything out before we head west.
Wednesday the washing is done and then we head to the supermarket to restock provisions.  After that it is time to play tourist.

Alice Springs looking west from Anzac Hill

then swinging a little more west

then looking east

just love those reflections in the river at Simpsons Gap

Simpsons Gap

river bed at Simpsons Gap

west McDonnell Ranges along Larapinta Drive

just love those white gums, this one at Stanley Chasm

more of the west McDonnell's

our day out at Kata Tjuta (the Olgas)

the entry to Walpa Gorge

reflection during the gorge walk

the end of the gorge

rocks that have fallen from Kata Tjuta

they look like small rocks have been mixed up with mud and baked together

the first lookout at the Valley of the Winds

the rest of the walk takes you down into the valley

check out the small 'pimple' at the right side of the rock

how long before it falls?

some of the flora around the area

leaving tomorrow to head towards Alice Springs with an overnight stop somewhere

our day out at Uluru

we took a walk at the bottom today and here are some photos

rest anyone?

loved the colour

pool of water at the bottom of the rock

black marks are where water runs down after rain

the walking (climbing) path in the centre

splits and how long before the other piece falls?

colourful scars on the rock

camels just a few kms from the resort

approx 15km away from the rock

tomorrow the Olgas

our first day at Uluru

here are the first photos little sis

Mt Connor

view to the north of Mt Connor (check out the water!!)

Kata Tjuta (the Olgas) at sunset

Uluru (Ayers Rock) early afternoon

and then as the sun set

the ground at sunset

 scenery surrounding the resort

tea tree in flower

Hope you enjoyed our first afternoon