Australia - Part IV

 

Continuing this mammoth trip we last week told of our arrival at Alice Springs, but not how we got there. That was via the world famous

GHAN TRAIN
which crosses the Northern Territory from Darwin to Adelaide or vice versa

we opting for the down-hill trip with part of the journey taking us through the Simpon Desert and also, likely the main thrust during that 1,850 miles, the Olga and Uluru! Wildlife and views in no particular order started with our first veiw of the

OLGAS or KATA TJUTA

or
KATA TJUTA
a series of large, domes rock formations or 'bornhardts' located about 360 mils from Alice Springs.

SPINEY LIZARD

KORI BUSTARD

GREAT BOWERBIRD
and

nest strewn with any trinckets they can find to attract the girl of their dreams!

Our first view of Uluru
more famously known as
AYERS ROCK

HELLO-GOODBYE LIZARD

ABORIGINAL

ROCK PAINTINGS

Various

Veiws

A slap-up Meal

while watching the changing shades on the rock

as the Sun set.
Our 2 gentleman hosts, Driver and Guide, were a right pair of Herburt's and insisted that we should ready ourselves for the only surviving example of a certain species of Rubber Tree left on Mother Earth, so camara poised as we took the next bend in thetrack

Fooled Again
followed by a selection of images on the way back

FINKE RIVER

COMB-CRESTED JACANA

MAGPIE GOOSE

BAR-SHOULDERED DOVE

TORRESIAN IMPERIAL PIGEON

BLUE-WINGED KOOKABURRA
unidenrified

LIZARD

WANDERING TATTLER

GREY BUTCHERBIRD

CLAMEROUS REED WARBLER

GREAT KNOT

and the GHAN down to ADELAIDE

Black is Black - Los Bravos

 A Thing of Beauty is a Joy to Behold!

WAVED BLACK
no more than an Ink Blot but one of, if not THE, favourite from the whole pack!

No disrespect meant to the other First's of the Year on the day.

CRESCENT

EAR MOTH

CLOACKED MINOR
and

DRINKER

"but Clouds got in my way"

and during that process what is said to be a Brand New

LEONARDO HELICOPTER
with recent 'nose job'.

Just a small part of the

STARLING FLOCK

followed by an encounter that has been all to long in the coming there's

MUM
and

DAD

(a bit of cud-chewing)

and the c2 rapidly growing

CALVES
Otherwise, on the Gravel Pit

a 3rd attempt at nesting by the
Little Grebes.

Yesterday Once More - The Carpenters

It certainly was not but, there was a decent trickle from the Moth Traps and a bit of a Cross Section from other Wildlife!

Yet another interesting sky-scape to herald the new day and distract us from both Moths and Birds but We Shall Overcome!

In one direction a single juvenile

 PIED WAGTAIL

while in another a pristine

SWALLOW-TAILED MOTH

before
Mother and Child Reunion - Paul Simon 1972

with the Moth Traps still coming up with the goods,

BLUE-BORDERED CARPET
followed by the architype

BARRED RED
and by a quirk of nature, the same species but of a

Green Morph
you can only count them on the list 'once'!

After a final look at the Wags one more addition to the Moth Year List with

DUN-BAR

before heading further north and an encounter

with a couple of most obliging

FOXES

likely attracted by some out-dated meat we put down earlier?
Further to that a dalliance with a single juvenile

STONECHAT

that have proved to be less common than 

Rocking Horse Droppings
this year, and then just a final

SONG THRUSH
which is also rather unusual in the
Solar Panel Compounds - let's see what tomorrow brings!

The original heading was to have been Foxy Lady - The Jimi Hendrix Experience until the flash of inspiration in that other direction.

For myself no other band has ever got anywhere near to them, as much for attitude as the music.
l to r Mitch Mitchell (drums) - Jimi (Guitars / Vox) Noel Reading (Bass Guitar).

Rock trivia:- Hendrix could not make up his mind while forming the band between drummers Mitchell and Aynsley Dunbar (recenty 'sacked / dismissed' from John Mayall's Blues Breakers, another all time favourite, whose hand was shaken heartely all those years ago at The Anvil, Basingstoke, Hants and hasn't been washed since) the issue being settled by the toss of a coin!