Today we packed our camp but,before leaving, we had one more walk to do into the main part of Palm Valley, the Arankaia Walk. It was going to be another very hot day.

 This was one of my favourite walks of the trip. A really beautiful place.
Palm Valley is the only place in Central Australia where Red Cabbage Palms survive, a reminder of the area's tropical past.  

Cycads can also be seen growing among the rocks. Some  of these are aged between 200 to 300 years old.

Ghost gums provide a contrast between the greenery of the palms and the red of the rocks.

Behind a rock we spied the tail of a rock wallaby who kindly posed for a series of photos.

It was a steep climb to the top but well worth the views.

And down below we could see the cars.

Footprints and squiggles in the sand. 

Our Landcruiser did not let us down at any time.

On the way out we stopped to look at the cycads

As we left Palm Valley we saw a small group of horses.

Enjoying the views on the drive back towards Hermannsberg.

 We had a quick stop at Hermannesberg to stop at the shop for refreshments before visiting Albert Namatjira's house.

From there we detoured to Tnorala/Gosse Bluff.

"According to Aboriginal belief, Tnorala was formed in the creation time, when a group of women danced across the sky as the Milky Way. During this dance, a mother put her baby aside, resting in it's wooden baby-carrier (a turna). The carrier toppled over the edge of the dancing area and crashed to earth where it was transformed into the circular rock walls of Tnorala.

The Aboriginal and scientific interpretation of the Bluff are similar in that both have a celestial origin.

Around 142.5 million years ago an object from space, believed to be a comet about 600 metres across, crashed to earth, blasting a crater some 20km across. Today's land surface is about 2km lower than the original impact surface and the bluff is about 5km in diameter, reduced over time by erosion.

The remnant crator was named Gosse's Range by the explorer Ernest Giles in 1872 after H. Gosse, a fellow of the Royal Society.

Title for the Reserve was granted to traditional owners and is now jointly managed with the Parks and Wildlife Commission." (www.parksandwildlife.nt.gov.au)

Mark climbed to the top of the lookout.

After leaving Tnorala we turned onto the Mereenie Loop Road to go to Kings Canyon. You need permits to travel this road as it passes through Aboriginal  land. No stopping is allowed except at Ginty's Lookout though we did made an unscheduled stop in a dry creek bed for a quick lunch.

The road wasn't that bad as it had been recently graded though care was still required.

The view from Ginty's Lookout.

1.  the George Gill Range.
2. Kings Canyon is part of the Watarrka National Park in the Northern Territory, Australia. Sitting at the western end of the George Gill Range, it is 323 km southwest of Alice Springs and 1,316 km south of Darwin.( Wikipedia)

We almost missed the sunset at the Kings Canyon Resort.

Finke Gorge National Park covers an area of 46,000 hectares, and includes the impressive Palm Valley. Palm Valley is home to a diverse range of plant species many of which are rare and unique to the area, including the Red Cabbage Palm for which the Park is well known.This species of Palm is restricted to this area, having a population of around 3,000 adult plants.(http://www.parksandwildlife.nt.gov.au/

Our first full day in Palm Valley dawned with an early start. Because it was so hot, in high 30's, low 40's we decided to start off early for our walk. Our walk this morning took us to the Kalarranga Lookout and then we continued on the Mpaara Walk which took us two hours.

The park is of cultural significance to the Western 

Arrernte Aboriginal people.

We followed the story on the walk.

The path, in sections, was narrow and steep.

We made it to the top.Not bad for someone with a bad knee.
And the views were worth it.

 The sand sparkled in the heat.

Yellow-throated miner birds were only too happy to share our lunch back at camp.

 After resting for a while after lunch Sharon called us down to the river behind us where she had spotted a perentie lizard. These are not often seen so it was a treat to spot one. Despite the heat we went for a walk along the river bed.

It was nice to see some water in the river.

We had more bird company in the afternoon with this crow and baby magpie. 

And this Australian Ring-necked parrot was feeling the heat....just like us.

In the evening we had more visitors in the shower....frogs, mice and big beetles. The snake also made a return visit before sliding into the maintenance room between the ladies and gents toilets and staying there, probably with mice to feast on.