(photos: White-necked Heron, Ochre Pits, Glen Helen Gorge)
Breezy and 85 degrees. We all met at 6:45 and drove back on the highway to Ormiston Gorge and took a short hike up to an overlook and got a view of a large swimming hole with red rock walls. We returned to Glen Helen for our meager, but free breakfast and instant coffee, and then set out again to explore more canyons and try to see some of the unique birds of the region. We walked to the Ochre Pits, an area of gorgeous purple and yellow clay walls that the Aborigines still use for collecting materials for ceremonial body painting. The hillsides are covered in mounds of Spinifex Grass that look innocuous but are incredibly sharp and can pierce your pants and socks with ease. Many animals and birds live in and are protected by the grass and we were lucky to see a covey of Spinifex Pigeons, golden brown pigeons with red, black and white faces and a long plumes extending straight up from their heads.
We returned back to Glen Helen for a rare afternoon at leisure; Hil and I sat on the lawn looking at the beautiful Finke River and red cliffs beyond and read and painted watercolors.
Dinner of steak and spaghetti and more amusing visits from Flash.
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