MAY 2016 : Heysen Trail, Flinders Ranges, South Australia : Day 6 : Melrose via Alligator Gorge to Adelaide

A deafening cacophony of birds as we awoke in Melrose.

On closer inspection we discovered they were corellas.

An old teamster carriage, originally drawn by bullocks, which transported wheat in the 1800s.

Our walk today was a leisurely one, through the Alligator Gorge. No alligators ... the name is a mystery.

      

Walking down to the gorge.

Alligator Gorge is part of the Mount Remarkable National Park and is quartzite.

The gorge has been formed by constant flow of water in the wet seasons.

                                           

                                                Some narrow passes

        

           Huge gums washed down the gorged and lodged against the quartzite cliffs

        

             Life in the leaf litter

        

          Huge flat terraces in parts of the gorge

      

        Nicole, Wes and Ben - our attentive guides.

                                       

                                              A few hundred steps to exit Alligator Gorge

         

             A final shot of our illustrious group

        

           Travelling south we saw farmers clearing their land after harvesting their wheat crop

          

              ...... some road trains...

          

             ..... old and new technologies...

        

           ..... Salt lakes.....

        

 Wes, our guide, has so impressed Tasmanian school children with his exploits that a local author has

 created a children's book to recognise him. He certainly enhanced the week for us with his endless enthusiasm and deep knowledge of the Flinders Ranges.

         

We flew out of Adelaide to another adventure in Perth, where we will spend the next 7 weeks helping with babysitting two of our granddaughters, Pippa and Harriet.

M&M