Daniel's Big Australian Holiday!

 Day 12 - Sunday - 31/5/2026 Today we went to Redbank Gorge. When we got to the car park, we pumped up our lilos and headed down the walking track into the gorge. The start of the walk was pretty easy but as we started walking on the sandy riverbed there was a lot of rocks and it took us a while to get across especially since we were carrying lilos and wetsuits with us. Waiting at the water  When we got there, we put all of our things down and put things in our dry bags. Then we launched on our lilos into the freezing water where we paddled through the narrow gorge. At a few spots we had to get out of the water which was pretty hard to do because the rocks were so slippery. Once about three of us got out of the water for the first time grandma decided to bail and we launched of the rock because there was not much space on it. Swimming on the lilo We paddled for a little while longer but then we had to get out of the water again. This time there was a lot more space, so we wait...

Day 10 - Friday - 29/5/2026 Today we drove from Alice Springs to Ormiston Gorge and on the way there we stopped at a few places. The first place we stopped at was called Ellery Creek Big Hole. It was a very short walk into a rock hole with lots of water and rocks. A few people had recently been swimming but sadly we couldn't. Next, we stopped at the Ochre Pits where the aboriginals collected the ochre, ground it up and added water to make it like paint for ceremonies. Then we reached Ormiston Gorge where we went on a ranger guided walk to a lookout where we could see a lot of trees and the riverbed with lots of rocks and people swimming. The walk took about an hour except we didn't do the whole thing, we just went up to the lookout and back instead of through the gorge.  Day 11 - Saturday - 30/5/2026 Today I finally got to sleep in, so I was glad about that. At about ten we went on the same walk as yesterday but this time we did the whole thing where we ended up going in the bi...

Day 8 - Wednesday - 27/5/2026 Today we did another walk at Trephina Gorge this time in the gorge, in my opinion this walk was way better than the ridge top walk because it was shorter and more interesting. The start of the walk was the same as the start of the ridge top walk but the two eventually split off. As we started heading down into the gorge, we noticed some water and thought we might have to cross it and our predictions were correct. We ended up getting a piggyback on our dad to cross it. Near the end of the walk, we got to the aboriginal rock art which was pretty cool. Then we left Trephina Gorge and headed back to Alice Springs where we did schoolwork and then had a swim meanwhile my dad and auntie went shopping. Day 9 - Thursday - 28/5/2026 Today we got up super early and drove about 3 hours to Palm Valley, at the start the road was fine but then it became the worst one I had ever been on because of how bumpy it was. When we got there, we went on a walk around the big valle...

Day 7 - Tuesday - 26/5/2026 Today we drove to the Arltunga Historical Reserve and went to four different places. Before we went there, we stopped at a huge white ghost gum about 20 metres high!  Ghost Gum The first place we stopped at in Arltunga was the visitors centre where there was a bunch of old machines that people used to use in the mines at Arltunga like how they would carry ores out of the mines by filling up a bucket with them and then someone pulling it up on a rope. After that we drove to the old Government Works which is where the residents mining for gold at Arltunga in 1930 lived, they did not have much water, and many had a very short life due to the poisoning from cyanide and mercury used in the extraction of the gold. Most of the houses only had one room because of the time and lack of resources, and all the houses were made out of rocks because the trees were not big enough to collect the amount of timber needed to build the houses.  Grandpa a...

Day 5 - Sunday - 24/5/2026 Today at 8:30AM we got to have some free pancakes at our caravan park and they tasted super good, today was our last day at Alice Springs so after our pancakes we went to Trephina Gorge, on the way there we stopped at Emily Gap and Jessie Gap, but they weren't super exiting. When we got to Trephina Gorge we set up camp and then had dinner around the fire where we toasted delicious marshmallows. Emily at Emilys Gap Eating pancakes Day 6 - Monday - 25/5/2026 Today we went on a walk on the ridgetops of Trephina Gorge, before we started the walk my dad and grandpa did a car shuffle and parked one car at the end of the walk because the walk was 9 kilometres one way and so it would have been 18 if they didn't do that. The walk took us about 6 hours; the start of the walk was pretty hard and tiring but once we got to the top of the gorge, we had a beautiful view of our surroundings. At the top of the gorge, we also made some pretty big cairns from the rocks ...

Day 4 - Saturday - 23/5/2026 - 10AM Today we drove 30 minutes to Simpsons Gap which is a gorge through the Macdonald Ranges which is close to Alice Springs. At about ten we arrived at the gap where we were joined with a park ranger who told us some interesting facts about the area mainly describing the plants and geology. Throughout the walk through the gap, we were on the lookout for the endangered black-footed rock wallabies and near the end we spotted a few jumping around. The gorge was quite large with rugged cliff faces, huge rocks and flowing water from the huge amounts of rain. After that walk we drove another 15 minutes to a place called Standley Chasm where we had lunch at a cafe and then started the walk into the chasm. At the start of the walk, we were walking in a big valley but as we entered the huge chasm we were surrounded with sheer cliffs only about 5 metres apart. After we finished that walk, we went home and did schoolwork. Black-Footed Rock Wallaby Me & Seb sitt...

Day 2 - Thursday - 21/5/2026  Today was a quiet day as we had to do a lot of organising for the holiday and my parents went shopping for food and me, my brother and cousins did schoolwork with Grandma. Day 3 - Friday - 7AM - 22/5/2026 I woke up at 7 and started to get ready for the 3-hour drive ahead of us. Around 1 and a half hours later I hopped in my grandpa's land cruiser and set off with him, Suzie and Charlie to chambers pillar, everyone else was in my dad's car. The start of the drive wasn't so bad because it was on a bitumen road but shortly after then the road became dirt and bumpy, luckily a grader had driven over the road recently and made all the corrugations a bit less bumpy. The road went through the desert and over a few red sand dunes. We had a stop at a dry riverbed for morning tea that had a waterhole and hundreds of budgerigars were flying around. Once we finally arrived at Chambers Pillar, we went on a 30-minute walk up it where there was a spectacular v...