After one night in Coober Pedy, we packed up our finds–mostly the worthless white common opal called potch, but also a few stones with embedded slivers of flashing color. Then we were again headed north for a few days in Alice Springs.

Brittany and Andy took me to a local wildlife park, including another cool bird show and lots of lizards and terrifying venomous snakes, fortunately all behind glass. I love the glam pose of this one.

Then we rushed out to a place called Angkerle Atwatye, but mostly called Standley Chasm since few can pronounce the name the indigenous people use. I asked, was told, repeated it–sort of–but couldn’t quite get it and forgot immediately, and I LOVE trying to pronounce other languages correctly. It’s just very much NOT English. The place is on ancestral lands of one of Andy’s coworkers and is gorgeous.

We were trying to catch the sun in the middle of the gap, but we weren’t the only ones with that idea. It’s very popular, both with humans–there was some sort of photo shoot hogging all the best spots while we were there–and the little moisture-seeking flies that attack eyes, nose, mouth, even ears. We’d left our fly nets in the car and the girls in cute hats didn’t seem to be going anywhere soon, so we grabbed what shots we could and hiked back out to have lunch in the cafe. Still. Worth the heat and flies.

A couple days later, we were back on the road south, then west to Uluru. 

We did NOT forget our fly nets . . . 

We hiked around up close for a while . . .

then staked out our spot for this:

As the sun sets on our Northern Hemisphere summer, I’m praying for you beauty (despite heat and flies literal or metaphorical) and a few moments to appreciate it in the midst of All. The. Things. I know. I’m praying anyway. 

Grace and peace to you, as always.

Time has gotten away from me, but there’s still plenty to tell about my adventures in Australia. If you missed the beginning, it starts with the Sydney post. Here’s the next installment:

After Kangaroo Island we were headed north to the Outback.

After one night on the road, we arrived in Coober Pedy, the “Opal Capital of the World.”

It’s a bit more than halfway to Alice Springs so was a good place to stop, and it was surprisingly cool for a place extensively covered in heaps of dirt. I shot this sign from the back so instead of the trucks in the parking lot, you could see the dirt hills in the background, remnants of previous searches for opals.

A lot of the most beautiful places here are underground.

Before we checked in, we had a tour booked at an opal mine. Even Bega was included and had a special doggie hard hat, in pink as the princess prefers. Very interesting and, of course, there was a gift shop selling gorgeous opal jewelry.

Then we were offered sieves and trowels to “noodle” in the dirt pile outside. We did find a few bits of color and had to pry Brittany away from the place, she was having so much fun.

But it was time to shower off the dirt and find drinks and dinner. Our host recommended this place, Big Winch 360…

There was live music, delicious food, and a massive terrace for watching the sunset.

The next day we were on the road again, for a long day up to Alice Springs. Sights like this kept it interesting…

Here’s wishing you interesting adventures and moments to be treasured, even if it sometimes feels like all you’re doing is sifting through a massive pile of dirt!

Grace and peace to you, as always.