Gemtree - Fossicking

 Garnets and Zircons

    We new once we continued up the stuart highway the we could get into some gemstone hunting and a place called Gemtree is exactly what we were looking for.

We had to check for road closures in these areas because it does'nt take much to rain out a strip of roadway.

A quick stop at a local art piece to mark the silly section of the trip...

The diggers getting dirty in the middle of Australia.

What a dig

Once we got the hang of digging to the rightndepth we made some headway into the gem collecting

The riverbeds were all dried up but you can definately see where the water flows when it is the rainyt season.

Thought i might try my hand at metal detecting the riverbeds.. And found a $2 coin under a gum tree... Go Figure.

Dinky - The Singing Dingo

Stuart Wells Road House

On the trip north to the upper Northern Territory, you cannot go past a  stop at the Sturat Wells Roadhouse. This infamous road stop is home to an Australian icon. DINKY, the singing dingo.

Not much here to see but a a novelty, non the less. You are greeted by his owner Owner Jim Cotterill, and then he takes you into the local bar area to be entertained by Dinky.

Firstly, someone has to volunteer their piano playing services to get the Dingo into position.. and then.......

Well just watch the video and see!

Hot Air Balloon Ride

 Come Fly With Us

One of our trip 'Bucket List" adventures was to Hot air balloon over Ayers Rock, but with the weather not on our side we took a Helicopter ride instead. That loeft the Hot airballoon ride to be carried out at another time. 

That time was in Alice Springs. The weather was spot on to go up and this is how it happened.

Bitterly cold morning of 2 degrees, but this is what is needed for hot air to rise i guess.

After about 30 minutes travelling against the wind through paddocks and bush terrain, we arrive at the lift off site. Then the filling of the balloon takes place.. at least another hour of prep time

Then we are all loaded into the Balloon as the sun starts to rise. they predict the time peerfectly for the best experience

Lily is smailing hut very nervous to be going up...

Some beautiful scenery from the balloon 

We earned our Hot air balloon certificates. 

Another adventure off the bucket list

Alice Springs

 

ALICE SPRINGS

21-5-2012 

We have arrived in Alice Springs.

 

 After being in the Red Centre its going to be nice to chill out at the Alice for a while. The kids need a break from being on the road so we made sure of a nice van park for a few days...

During our stay we catch up with Brian & Merrilyn for a quick tour of The Local Botanical Gardens. Decided to capture some of the outback Flora

 

 

Alice from the Anzac Hill Lookout

Kings Canyon NT

 Kings Canyon

Camping just near the entry roadway to Kings Canyon we met a man who delighted in entertaining the girls with some campfire magic.

This was a place that everyone said"you have to go". The problem for us was 2 small children that couldn't cope with walks further than an hour or 2 at most. So we decided to do the creek walk instead.

This shorter and easier walk travels 2.6km (return) up along Kings Creek and leads you into the floor of the Canyon where you too can be rewarded with spectacular views.

The upper rim walk is uphill and about 4.5 - 5 hours to complete. 

Our chosen walk takes less than an hour to complete.

Here you can find a spot to sit or relax along the way and observe the bird life.

The Park Service has spent a lot of money on making this walk as easy as possible and for the first few hundred metres even wheelchair bound visitors can make this section with some assistance.

At the end of the Creek Walk is a raised platform with signage that tells you about this amazing place. Take a few minutes to just sit and relax and take in your surroundings.

On a hot day the Canyon floor is the place to be with tall trees and plenty of shade. This sheltered environment will help make wildlife spotting easier too.