Day 3 Larapinta: Hugh Gorge to Rocky Gully

Tree on rock.
We had a much needed sleep in. Today was a shorter and less arduous day. We will be 1/2 way to Ellery Creek at the camp site.
Meal time.
The water was good and clear here, but we were diligent about filtering it. Our spirits were good after freshening up and being well rested.
Water.
The sky was overcast, temperature cool. There was a promise of rain in the air.

Damage assessment to our bodies: Mike's feet is blistered and knees are in pain, his right foot is bruised from the pounding of the rocks. Me ? I'm fine, tired but a satisfied kind of tired, my training has paid off.

checking feet.
Much easier terrain wise than the two previous days, bland in comparison of the spectacle afforded by the rugged ridges and  gorges.  Though pleasant in its own right, it is basically the scrub you would see for thousands of square kilometres in central Australia.
scrub.
Ghost gum flat, has well, ghost gums ! They are adorned with huge dark clumps, which is due to a boring insect attack (from my lay opinion).
Ghost gums.
Flies. Lots of them. Maybe the rain or just the different locale. Flies. Lots of them.
Flies.
We encounter a couple heading the opposite direction. People few and far between. They had travelled from Mt Sonder, and have arranged food drops every 4-5 days.

The remains of a skeleton at a track marker. I wonder if water was an issue and the poor animal gave up, or maybe a survivalist trekker having a good feed or, one can can continue to speculate and still get it wrong.

Skeleton.
Rocky gully lived up to its namesake, as of most place names here.  Mike was hobbling and arrived at the camp site 15 minutes after me. My foot was now sore with all that walking on the hard surface but manageable.
Rocky gully.
The camp site was just about all rock, making it hard to pitch the tent. The pegs barely penetrated the soil.  The flies also made the task even more difficult.
hard ground tent site.

It started to rain at about 4:30pm, who would believe it ? I was thinking about the people we met, and how the open air camping would fare ! It was getting quite chilly, so we had to don thermals and down jackets.

The trip notes on the info pack have been accurate and a contributed to the success of our trek. "Tent posts on solid ground, Can be a bit dusty and scrappy. Located in the open. Great halfway overnight campsite.

Info pack.

The most important thing about the campsite is that there is water. The national park rangers ensure they are well provisioned, and they spaced right at the moment when we needed a refill.

Water tank.

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