The Red Centre

Collecting wood for the camp fire

Ayers Rock

Piti Aboriginal Bowl for collecting foods

Sleeping in swag bags under the open sky

Climbing Kings Canyon

Garden of Eden Water Hole at top of Kings Canyon

At top of K C Ridge

With Cousin Francine Aztec Hill, Alice Springs

The Adelaide Jewish Community were very warm & welcoming.The new young Israeli Rabbi invited us, when we visited the community shop, to eat with his family Friday night; this was later followed by a member of the community insisting we joined his family for shabbat lunch.We found they have a small Jewish primary school & are struggling hard to keep together their community. On the Sat. night , we were fortunate to obtain tickets for a brilliant jazz concert with James Morrison and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra featuring music from Louis Armstrong & Ella Fitzgerald.

Flying over Central Australia and its desert, we saw so many shades of red and of green and even salt lakes. As the days continued and we explored the area, we saw numerous geological wonders, from the grainy red sand to imprints of ancient seashells high on mountaineous ridges. We witnessed glorious sunsets which lit up "mesa" (table) rock formations, such as Ularu (Ayers Rock). We heard an indigenous woman tell an original ancestor myth of the battle between Serpent-Woman and Wicked Lizard-Man, pointing out their forms on the rock-face. We learnt why Aboriginal sacred areas must not be entered. We climbed the immense red rocks at Kata-Tjuta which have been smoothed by ancient inland seas. We scrambled up and down the sheer gorge that forms Kings Canyon, glimpsing colourful birds and rare plants as we carefully watched each footstep lest the sandstone crumble. After our 3 trekking days (7-8 km on foot per day) with a small group and a 4 wheel drive mini-bus, we returned to Alice Springs for an alternative Shabbat with Maurice's cusin, Francine, her family and friends.