Standley Chasm

There’s much to see in the MacDonnell Ranges near Alice Springs, we spent a day visiting only some of the closer attractions.  Some of us were still recovering from our round of gastro and we didn’t want a huge day in the car.  I snapped a few pictures from the car as the scenery changed.  Our first stop was Standley Chasm.  It’s on private land owned by the Iwupataka Land Trust, so there is an entrance fee which we paid and started our walk.  It’s only about a twenty-minute walk to the chasm, quite a pretty walk with a varying landscape as you go. I was anxious to get there while the light was good since light only enters the chasm for a short time while the sun is directly overhead.  What a sight! The light changed just during the short time we were there, see the shadows on the floor of the chasm have moved? There were plenty of rocks to sit on while we had a snack.  🙂 Everyone had a turn standing in the hole in the wall of the chasm. Also a turn climbing, this looked scarier from the ground but it was really more like steps.  At least that’s what I told myself as my children climbed. More rocks to examine, more climbing to do. This might be my favourite picture from that day! On the way back down the trail these two picked up sticks and pretended they were the aboriginal weapons we’d learned about at Uluru.  A long stick with a shorter one that attaches at the end, when thrown just right that shorter piece goes flying and can knock out a kangaroo with one hit.  Of course the real weapons are much bigger than these.  We’ve been seeing these gorgeous red dragonflies lately in the NT, they are so brightly coloured that you just can’t miss them. We called this the rainbow tree, we waited while another family took pictures here too.  With that strategically placed bench I imagine it’s in a lot of pictures. TurboBug had a stick so he was happy.  It’s amazing how often we can use these to keep him moving.  Quick, hit the rock up there with the stick!  Look, there’s another rock, go hit that one! We were lucky to miss a school group who was just coming out as we were going in, but even toward the end of the season there were plenty of people on this walk.  It was quite hot but this walk had plenty of shade.  Not to be missed if you can get there the right time of day.