Exploring Australia&NZ Day 7

Day 07 - Friday, April 22, 2011- Aboriginal "Dreamtime" Tour; Walpiri Tribes; Walk to the Standley Chasm and Visit Simpson’s Gap

Today was Good Friday and everyone had warned us that everything would be closed today so it was a great day to go to the Bush and explore the Outback.

We met on the bus at 8:00 – the temperature was a cool 63º and the humidity was 57%. Our kind of weather! We met our new driver Darren who grew up in Alice Springs. He was able to give us even more information about the local area and customs.

We retraced our path back past the airport out into the Bush to meet Conrad (from our dinner last night) who lived with the Aboriginal People. Conrad gave us a history of the native people especially focusing on the older generation.

The children and grand children are getting further and further away from the traditional life of the Walpiri Tribe who are thought to originate in Sri Lanka and are Caucasians. From the oldest known history, these people located here 40,000 years ago and were hunters and gatherers.

Conrad talked about the communal society that became Australian Citizens in the late 1960’s. At this time most of the natives are still not educated, prefer to live in open spaces, and have not adapted to modern ways.

While we were listening to Conrad out in the Bush lands, we saw and heard many species of birds. Among the most beautiful were the yellow ring-necked lorikeets, similar to a parrot, crested pigeons, magpie larks, Australian magpies, and a curious beautiful brown kite who kept circling our camp.

We were served morning tea and another piece of the Bush Bread, “spotted dog” that we made last night. Conrad then explained more about the medicines and plants and grasses used for drugs and medicines.

Our first experience with the tiny Outback flies was not fun. They are very persistent and annoying as they search for moisture around your eyes, ears, nose, and mouth!

Because there was a death in the tribe and the members were observing “sorry time” and were in mourning, we did not have an opportunity to meet many of the Aboriginal people. Two women, Mary and Lucy were in the encampment painting and we were able to talk to them.

They displayed their art work and Conrad interpreted as we chatted a bit. He told us how timid they are about having their photos taken. He advised us never to take close-up pictures, but only from a distance. This is where a zoom lens comes in handy.

Our last experience learning about Bush life was to practice throwing a heavy non-returnable boomerang. We took turns showing off our skills aiming for a stuffed kangaroo. It was safe to say that no animals were harmed in this experience – we have many vegetarians in this group tonight!

At 11:30 we thanked Conrad and left for Standley Chasm. This natural gap in the red sandstone slopes rises 242 feet on either side. We hiked up to the end of the rock formation and took pictures of the sheer rock walls.

Leigh was ready for us with an excellent picnic lunch with salmon, tuna and chicken after our 40 minute climb. Darren had us all back on the bus and on the road at 1:45 driving on to Simpson’s Gap. The hike through the Gap was about 20 minutes. The colors of the red rocks, bright blue skies, and the green vegetation was a photographer’s delight!

After returning to the hotel at 3:30 Gennie did a little laundry, I sorted photos, and we started the journal for the day. By 5:30 we were ready to host Jim and Mary Ann who joined us for the “picnic” we had purchased at the supermarket yesterday.

There was no late night partying as we have an early morning wake-up call to drive six hours to Ayer’s Rock tomorrow.

Accommodations: Crowne Plaza Hotel - - - Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

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