Ballet, The East McDonnell's and Triple J's One Night Stand

So much to tell! Friday night saw us dressed up in our fanciest caravanning clothes (jeans and a collared shirt essentially) and off to the 'ballet' (said with nose in the air and pouty lips). Cinderella as a ballet was being performed by a local dance company. The costumes and set were actually quite impressive but the performance...somewhat amateur and schoolish. The kids enjoyed it (especially Piper) and in the end, we felt somewhat cultured. We woke refreshed Saturday morning and prepared for a day out to the East McDonnell Ranges - first stop - the Corroborree Rock - a thin sacred slab jutting into the air like the massive bony spine of an ancient dinosaur. The rock was so thin in places there were actual holes where you could see the sky shining through on the opposite side. After a quick saunter around its base we headed up the road to the N'dala Gorge, touted to be filled with thousands of ancient aboriginal rock carvings. Unfortunately, Bessie wasn't likely to make the river crossing so we ended up walking our way in and perhaps didn't get far enough  to discover these purported carvings as none divulged themselves to our eyes as we wandered. It was still breath-taking, with amazing rock walls towering out of the ground, and plenty of insects and tadpoles to amuse the kids. Our keen naturalist, Aidan, spied what he thinks was a legless lizard (looks like a snake to me) on the way out and we caught a snap for Facebook.

From N'dala we turned Bessie towards Arltunga - a former gold-mining town which had long since been abandoned and made into a historic reservation. The drive in was exciting as it was predominantly dirt road with a few bouncy bits. After some lunch we had a wander and Cole managed to get socked on the head with a metal handle the boys were using to lift some rocks (like the miners used to do) - no serious head injury though - pride hurt mainly! Jen insisted on getting a photo of the police station so we let her have her way and then trundled back to the main road - destination - Trephina Gorge and the John Hayes Rock Hole (for the promise of a swim)!  After a quick snap by the massive 30m Ghost Gum we sadly met a 'Closed Road' sign blocking our way up to the Trephina Gorge. We turned back and then took the road (4WD only) toward the Rock Hole, making it about a kilometre in before being forced to stop by a gravel speed bump which threatened to bottom us out. A good 3 kms up the road (in stifling heat and half a bottle of water) we finally found the rock hole - a beautiful little oasis with cool clear water pools and a small waterfall. Once surveyed thoroughly and having sufficiently cooled ourselves, we trudged back to Bessie. Parched and tired we drove back to town fantasizing about iced tea and Gatorade as we'd completely run out of fluids. The sun was slowly setting in the sky and the starlings seemed intent on gathering in the middle of the road. There is nothing quite like the thud of a flying animal hitting the grill of your car - something I hope not to get used to - although 8 or 9 thuds later and the cringe was becoming a bit less than the initial. Poor little birdies! Back in Alice we grabbed some needed fluids and enjoyed a Thai dinner before we made our way to Triple J's One Night Stand - a free concert being held at the main stadium of Alice showcasing some up and coming Australian bands. We were mainly interested in catching the John Butler Trio and made it just in time for them to take the headlining stage. The kids were dancing fools - literally throwing themselves around the ground and doing the funky chicken - dance lessons may be in the cards! John Butler truly impressed with his guitar skills and we managed to make our way out of the melee of people at the end of the night - home, to bed and ready for another day of exploration!