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We were going to head into the West Macdonell Ranges first thing but were feeling a bit tired so first we did the usual things that you do in town - restock the supplies and getting the other bits and pieces you need. Found some slippers for the girls, seeing it is starting to get cold and a few things for Angie's birthday.
Headed out to look at the range after lunch. The ranges are pretty spectacular and have a very distant colour to them. It is a very amazing landscape with the rugged range dominating the landscape. Simpson Gap is a narrow gap in the range. We walked up (or down- had trouble deciding which way the water would flow) the dry sandy creek bed to the gap though couldn't walk thru as there was water in the creek at this point. The cliffs were a deep red and with the eucalyptus trees it was a lovely spot to stop.
We also checked out Emily Gap (East of Alice). It was a bit of a surprise to see no one there. Simpsons Gap had people everywhere but at Emily it was just us. And more surprising was that it was also a rock art site - with the story of the three caterpillars (a creation story). Very different art to what we saw in Kakadu - which was based on fish, turtles and crocs.
Back in town we visited the old Telegraph Station (a few km out of town) which was built at the actual Alice Springs. We discovered that Alice Spring is not actually a spring but a section of the creek which has a granite foundation so the water can't escape. Mills (one of the surveyors for the Telegraph line) found the water hole a few weeks after rain so it looked like a pretty good place to base a station. There wasn't much water in it today.
Also restocked the drinks. We have been used to the tight restrictions in purchasing alcohol in the NT (only purchase after 2pm and limits especially on casks) but at EVERY bottle shop in Alice there is also a police presence.
KB
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