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Emily Gap is called Anthwerrke by the local Aboriginal tribe. It is named after the innards of the ayeparenye, nytarike and utnerrengatye (caterpillars), which were spilt when the arlperenye - green stink beetle (and man do they stink!) and enemies of the caterpillars, cut off their heads. The guts became rocks. This story is part of the Aboriginal Dreamtime, where the caterpillar beings, the main creative ancestors of Alice Springs, originated.
These paintings depict the caterpillar dreaming.
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Leaving Emily Gap. Notice how in this short time, the light falls differently on the rocks, and the colors have changed.
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Make a note of the relative cleanness of my truck, when you see pictures of it later. Emily was our first stop on our trip down the MacDonnell Ranges.
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Jesse Gap
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A honey ant on a gum tree. In the nest, there are honey ants with huge abdomens, they are a treasured sweet food for the traditional Aboriginals.
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Interesting bark pattern on what I think is a River Red Gum.
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Interesting rock formation along the Ross River Highway. I think the tree is a Desert Oak, but I'm not sure. The spikey-looking lumps are Spinifex grass, and are really, truly spikey!
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That same rock formation, from the middle side.
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The rocks were very sharp, with what I assume are water-worn patterns. This is looking down the edge of one of the formations.
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Gum trees are starting to bloom - Sept 1 is Spring in Australia. Note the little elf-caps on the flowers that haven't bloomed yet...
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Another rock formation along the way. This is from the Coroboree Rock parking area, but is not Corroboree Rock.
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Coroboree Rock
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This is a Dunny (latrine, toilet, potty, WC), you'll find one of these type at nearly every stop in Central Australia. They are suprisingly clean and non-smelly, but check for Redbacks (the Aussie version of the Black Widow spider) before sitting down! Seriously, I've never seen one in the toilet, but in some dunnies they do hang out inside. Leave 'em alone and they'll not bother you.
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Yellow Wattle flowers. They're very small, but very bright yellow.
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Corroboree Rock. The aboriginals once stored sacred objects here, but of course tourism has made that impossible. A long time ago, tourists were allowed to climb the rock, but now we're asked to stay along the trail, and treat it as one would treat a church, since this is a sacred place to them.
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Corroboree Rock, from the left and slightly back.
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Common photograph of Corroboree Rock, from the side opposite the road.
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Trephina Gorge
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Trephina Gorge, from near the entrance. This is a large, steep gorge that hangs a hard right back out of this photo. The sheer cliffs are of quartzite.
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A quick "Quigley Down Under" moment: This is where the Aboriginals fell when they were pushed off the cliff, but the baby was saved.
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