Central Oz Pics

On the 4th July we left to venture up to the Alice for a break. We went with 24 other fellow travellers from our local church. The reason for the trip was to visit the Titjikala Aboriginal Community to hopefully establish a connection with them & to support Pastor Phillip & his congregation. We were able to achieve this by being able to repair & make their little church more comfortable for them. After our few days with the people of Titjikala, we then went on to do some sight seeing & tourist stuff. All in all we had a wonderful time away with excellent company.

Our 1st night out was at Appilla. A real frosty & icy morning greeted us. Ma ma & Pa soaking up some heat while having our morning cuppa.

When we got to Alice Springs it was raining & this is the 1st time we have seen the Todd River flowing. (the locals reckon it is just a trickle!)

We had a spare avo so we ventured out to Trephina Gorge with 3 other families. (Waggies, Krause' & Pietsch's) Water was flowing in the gorge & it was freezing!

Our piece of real estate out at Titjikala

The younger generation found a good use for the wonderful mound of dirt.

All hands on deck. Work to be done. Insulating the ceiling of the church, shading the windows, putting in 2 new windows, fixing the large doors, putting up protection on the windows outside & a general tidy up.

Pastor Phillip & his congregation plus us visitors.

On our way back to Alice Springs we had a lot of water to negotiate after a thunder storm

After a lot of soul searching, Pa decided it was time to say goodbye to his OLD hat. His mourning period was very short lived. Had his new hat on in a matter of minutes.

We visited Hermannsburg & the Finke River was flowing. The cause way was damaged during the Jan '10 floods.

We visited Kings Canyon again. Such a beautiful place. Here is Pa doing a corroboree on the top of a rock

I remember Pa telling some of his kids that a piece of rock had just fallen from here about 15 years ago. AND he is still telling the same story!

Ma ma, Pa & Trevor Pietsch at Lambert's Centre of Australia

One of the most beautiful places in Oz. Dalhousie Springs. Had a couple of lazy hours soaking in the thermal pool.

Too hard to resist. Up early to have another soak & watch the sun come up. Fantastic!

Another lovely water hole we camped near.

The Sturt Desert Pea were out in flower. Spectacular

A group shot under the Curdimurka sign on the Old Ghan Railway Line.
(Ma ma, Kate, Leeane, Amy, Lauren, Kym, Hollee, Kath, Nathan & Trevor)