stephen blyth’s blog

It’s unseasonably wet in the Centre at the moment. The Todd River in Alice Springs is usually a sandy ditch, but at the moment water is actually flowing through the river bed. Temperatures are below average too. A maximum of 14 degrees is expected, ten degrees lower than the May average.

It would be churlish to complain - desert communities need all the water they can get. However, my plans have been disrupted. I was going to camp for three nights out at a Ormiston Gorge in the West McDonnell Ranges, and visit the former outback mission where pioneering Aboringinal artist Albert Namatjira lived and died. The cold is putting me off and some routes are closed due to flooding.

Instead, I’m hanging around in Alice Springs, where there’s lots to do indoors, including museums and art galleries. I’ve found another public library where they’ve got some really good multi-media material on local Aboringinal tribes.