Up the Centre

 Sunday, September 18 After a long drive to Winton for a night, the trip to Longreach only took us a couple of hours and we were able to drop off the van at the Longreach Tourist Park and head over to the Stockmans Hall of Fame. We have been through Longreach several times before but have never been to see the complex. It was well worth the experience. We had brunch in their cafe first, then watched the film in their theatre. Wonderfully done and on a huge wraparound  screen. As a bonus, I was able to use my new hearing aids on Telecoil, which put the soundtrack directly into my ears. From there, we went out to the undercover show ring where we were entertained by a very funny and accomplished stockman and horse trainer, who also played his guitar and sang his own compositions. The first horse he showed was a performer herself and participated in some very funny antics - collapsing when he wanted to ride her, pulling off the horse blanket, refusing to obey. Then when he tried to do her

 Friday September 16 2022 Another long drive from Alice Springs up to the Three ways turnoff to Barkly Homestead. We have been there before, so knew the drill. It was 38°! I had a bit of a float around in their pool to cool down. We finally got the air-conditioning on cold, after forgetting we'd used it on heater while we were down south. Duh!  No TV, no phone signal, so we read until bedtime (early), which meant we had a very early 7.30 am departure to Mt Isa. The road was very good for most of the way until the last 100 km or so to the border, which is hardly noticeable except for the few people who stopped for a photo of the smallish sign. Back in Qld! We're in Mt Isa for two nights (a) for a break to do some washing and shopping, and (b) because The Lions are playing Geelong tonight in the Aussie Rules preliminary final knock-out match (and the new series of The Handmaid's Tale was on last night). Yay, actual channel choices! We came to the Argylla caravan park where we

Saturday,10/9/22 We spent the morning mucking about, tidying up and doing nothing much until it was time to attend the first of the Desert Song Festival events. For this, we drove out of town to a property where the sound systems had been set up in the open air at the foot of a mountain range, with tarps on the ground and chairs arranged for seating. What a night! First we heard a violinist, Netanela Mizrahi, who played his acoustic violin with a sound loop providing his own accompaniment. He is of Brazilian ancestry, so the music was reminiscent of their rhythms and music. Wonderful stuff, and the sound system was very professional, giving us perfect sound even though we were outdoors. There was a classical guitarist, an African xylophone player, a choir of African children, a guy who played an instrument made from a gourd (don't know its name). But by far the highlight for us was the Arafura ensemble from the Darwin Symphony Orchestra, who were wonderful themselves, but an aborig

 9/9/22 B Today, I had an appointment at Hearing Australia here in Alice Springs,  arranged when I picked up my new hearing aids the day before we left home, just to check that all was working as planned. (More about this later). We took the morning to do some touristy things.  First stop was the Desert Park. We could have stayed for their informative tour showing the plants and their use by desert dwellers, and to hear some of the history, but chose instead to book for a night-time tour on Monday night to see the native night animals in their predator-free enclosure. Next stop was the Araluen Cultural Precinct and it was stunning. We spent an hour in the gallery, seeing the works of Albert Namatjira and others from the Hermannsburg  mission. He was a wonderful artist. This was our favourite, painted two years before his death. There were so many stunning works from other art collectives that it's hard to choose which ones are best to show you. So much variety, and many which were

 9/9/22 We arrived on Wednesday after an arduous drive - always the way when you're back-tracking - and settled in to our camping spot here in the outskirts of Alice.  I woke early, as usual, did the mound of washing and hung it on the line before Ian woke up. Then we high-tailed it out to Standley Gorge for a wonderful eggs Benedict breakfast at their Cafe before setting out on the short hike into the Gorge. We arrived before the lunchtime crowds and were able to watch the colours develop as the sun began to shine through the gap. So beautiful, with a little pool right at the end. The complex is wholly owned and run by the local Aboriginal people, with no government assistance, and is an excellent and well-conducted business. Lots of people were there, including bus-loads on package tours, catered for with a huge assortment of home-made cakes and scones for their morning tea. Most arrive in order to be there around mid-day when the sun shines between the walls of the gorge. On the

Tuesday, 6/9/22 We woke very early to go and watch the sunrise over Uluru, but it was raining.  It continued with spot showers, but enough break-throughs in the clouds for us to take the trip out to Kata Tjuta. We took the first turn-in to the Dunes lookout for a pic of the whole length of them.  Then we drove further around and undertook the Walpa Gorge walk. We both agreed that the Olgas are just as enthralling as Uluru. It was very windy and cold, but worth every step. Back 'home' to the van for lunch, and then off on our helicopter trip over Uluru and Kata Tjuta. What a wonderful day! Next stop, Alice Springs.