We have made 2 trips to Ross River in the last few months. Ross River Resort, again using the term resort loosely, is about 50 minutes east of Alice Springs. In my opinion the drive east looks considerably different than the drive west. The trees seem bigger and more plentiful, there are fewer hills and many more chances to run into livestock as the cows practically line the road. It also my first experience with a 1 lane road, 1 lane for cars going in both directions - you are to pull to the gravel side if you see an oncoming car - fortunately there are not many cars!
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| The area around Ross River |
Our first trip was in November with about 7 other families. We could have not asked for better weather, the temps were perfect and fly season had not arrived. The couple that manage the resort were amazingly friendly and made the whole group feel welcome. In the reception room they have a tank with a snake in it, the manager told us it was a "two can" snake, if you get bitten you will have time to drink 2 cans of beer before you die since the nearest medical service would be too far away - comforting thought! We were there for 1 night only, a night that JD said he was not planning to drink much - oops, some times things do not work out as planned! The guys spent most of their time 4 wheeling, which meant driving through a creek/river to get to the path-I think the water was a little deeper than they thought because while they all made it through, the mechanics in Alice were thankful for the extra work the following week due to water damage!
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| JD pointing - trip 1 |
Our first weekend was so perfect that we decided we need to do this again so the trip was planned for February. We had a few more families join us this time and we decided to stay for 2 nights. Upon our arrival on Friday night we discovered the folks that work there had rescued a joey just a few days earlier. I was so excited, this was my first chance to hold a kangaroo. I could not help but laugh when later that weekend when I headed to the bathroom they yelled watch out for the joey, sure beats watch out for the scorpion which I heard while camping at Kings Canyon!
The next morning we decided to hike Trephina Gorge, which is about 10 minutes away from Ross River. Driving into the gorge we came across a perentie lizard, and while he was a good 2 1/2 feet that is still small for Alice - we have seen much larger ones on the golf course. We decided to take the rim walk around the gorge, of course with the mandatory fly net, water and sunscreen. The views were amazing and nothing like walking up a canyon to make you feel like you should be exercising more!
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| Trephina Gorge |
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| On top of the gorge during the rim walk. |
After our walk some time in the pool was much deserved, we spent the next 6 hours in the pool so we could stay cool and avoid the flies. JD, after a few drinks, decided he needed to cool off - clothes, shoes, sunglasses and new hat! That evening we had an amazing Mexican potluck dinner, smores by the fire and fun with friends - another great weekend, even with those damn flies!
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| Fly nets and Australian fly swatters |
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| JD pointing with Trisha - trip 2 |
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| Smores anyone? |
