We arrived at the Gap a couple of minutes late but the tour had just commenced and so we joined in. This is part of a series of free guided walks, talks and slide shows offered at a range of national parks around the Northern Territory, you can do just one, as we did or any of them if your are in the right location at the right time.
The wind was very cold blowing through the Gap and so it was quite chilly as we stood and listened to the guide explain about the flora and fauna in the gap, It was very interesting to hear about the way different trees and plants provided food and medicine for the aboriginal people. We also learnt that Simpsons Gap was originally Simsons Gap and the extra ‘p’ was added some time later, by who no-one knows. They also do not know why it was called Simsons Gap in the first place.
There was a water hole at the end of the gap, and it was rather amusing to see a “no swimming permitted” sign a fair way down the creek where it was all sand and no water to be seen.
We then headed to Standley Chasm for a walk through a track and into the Chasm itself. We did have to pay to get in here and it was shown that this was all on private land and not part of the National Parks.
We headed off, the first part was fairly easy and the initial part of the Chasm was accessible to all who wished to walk the track. It then turned into a difficult climb and we quickly realised that we had gone far enough and that it was time to turn around. Even though we thought we had become experienced bush walkers and climbers, we new our limits!
After the walk we retuned to Alice Springs to sort out a few things, including a car that seemed to be misfiring at low revs. I found a Hyundai dealer and booked it in for the next morning to make sure that everything was ok as we had many kilometers to travel between here and the next major city Darwin.
Back to relaxing, gee holidays can be hard!
No comments:
Post a Comment