Gorgeous Gorges

We drove out to Ormiston Gorge today.  We are beginning to understand what is meant by the term "just up the road" in Centralian - in this case it was about an hour and a half 's drive away and bearing in mind that by midday it is usually quite warm we were on the road nice and early this morning.  We stopped at a lookout to have some breakfast and then had a quick walk (and a cup of coffee) at Glen Helen Gorge. This is one of the few permanent waterholes along the course of the Finke River.  The children wanted to stay and play in the water but we persuaded them to come away, promising that we'd come back if they didn't like the next place.

It's amazing to see trees clinging to the cliff face, somehow finding nourishment in the crevices!

After they'd seen Ormiston Gorge, the children had no desire to go back to glen Helen or anywhere else!  It was a beautiful spot- a deep, clear waterhole between spectacular walls of rock.  The rock here is quartz-based and reflects the sun in sparkling colours.  We lounged on the sand watching the falcons circle overhead while the children played in the shallow water near the edge and climbed on the rocks.
One really nice moment for Philip and me was when Esther stood at the edge of the water and sang "We are Australian" for us. The acoustics in the Gorge are wonderful and she didn't have to raise her voice for it to sound out clearly.
It was with reluctance that we left, and we've promised them that we'd try to come back once more before we leave Alice.