Oh me, oh my. I don't have the words or the pictures to adequately express my awe for the beauty, history, and geology of this area and what it means to me to be here.
We have taken a number of day trips over the last month or so, but today's was the best so far. It's been frustrating for me because we always go in the middle of the day when the light for photography is poorest, but I hope you'll get at least a little sense of the awe I feel for this place from this small sample.
After having a "roo bar" installed on the front bumper of our Mazda Friday, we headed out on our first 4 wheel drive excursion, on Binns Track, about an hour east of Alice Springs.
We spent the day in N'Dhala Gorge. Here Ken sets off up the canyon.
A special highlight of this area are the more than 5000 Aboriginal petroglyphs, hundreds or more years old.
A few weeks ago we enjoyed visiting the Corroborree Rock, also east of Alice. This rock formation was laid down 800 million years ago, and holds special significance to the traditional peoples.
Of course we see various species of Eucalyptus trees everywhere we go; I love the different types of bark.
We also recently visited the Emily and Jessie Gap Nature Park where we saw these several thousand year old Aboriginal art paintings made from lime and ochre:
I look forward to learning more about the native Aboriginal culture. I'd love to hear what you might like to see more of and read more about related to the Outback. Art? Geology? Flora? Let me know!
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Anything and everything you post is an education, as I am almost totally ignorant about Austrailia. (lowers head in shame). Thanks to a poster I do know the time difference between Perth and Melbourne and the States. LOL.
ReplyDeleteI also enjoy reading about daily life as that is rarely presented in a documentary.
Thank you for your great photos.
P.S. In case anyone needs to know ---the time stamp came up as Oct 19, 4:59 AM. Here on the West coast of the U.S. it was actually Oct 18, 12:29 PM.
ReplyDeleteWhat wonderful pictures! I think the aboriginal art/pictographs must be so fun to look for and find. I am interested in your thoughts about how the aboriginal people are treated (is it as bad as Bryson describes?) and your opinion of them.
ReplyDeleteVal
Wow, great pics! Love the art and bark. Thanks for sharing. It's all interesting, but flowers and wildlife would be fun to see.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you notice bark patterns, Glenda. It's amazing how many Aussies have no idea about our trees/plants. Our society has a history of being Eurocentric with flora, but with our climate changing, many are now starting to embrace Australian native flora.DDH and I have been growing them on our half acre place for 35+ years, and I try to show people how exquisite the often tiny flowers are. Instead of a front lawn, we now have a native garden with dozens of basically bright green(yes there are such shades nere :-) ) naitve plants,flowering their litttle heads off!Growing up in the Outback myself,I'm loving your enthusiasm.
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