Day 28 Along the Ross Highway

Along the Ross Highway. Doesn't that sound boring. Well today was anything but boring. It started with a free pancake breakfast and then, after lunch, we headed east along the Ross Highway and into the East MacDonnell Ranges, a round trip of 192km. We visited Emily Gap, Jessie Gap, Corroboree Rock, Trephina Gorge, the John Hayes Rock Holes and the Ross River Resort. The resort was at the end of the highway and was barely worth a glance. Can't say the same about the other places. Both Emily and Jessie Gaps were breaks in the range through which the water obviously rushes in the wet. They had sandy bottoms with ghost gums in the sand and on the rocky ledges of the gap, showing stark contrast to the red and ochre coloured rocks. Corroboree Rock was a smallish monolith and was itself a contrast to the massive, tortured, weathered rocks which formed the main range. Every corner we turned around provided us with that "ooh-aah" experience and on the return journey, looking into a setting sun, we saw a completely different picture painted from a completely different palette. To top off an exciting day, we travelled 4km down the worst road we have even traversed in the Land Cruiser, truly 4WD country, to reach the John Hayes Rock Holes. We spent a lot of time in creek beds with the worst realisation being, we had to come back over the same road. While the rock holes were picturesque, there was little water in them. The sun set on a fantastic day as we drove into our caravan park.