To Broome and Back!: Day 24. Exploring the Ross River Catchment. 4/06/2015

Another warm sunny day greeted us this morning so we decided it was the perfect time to wash the floor of Calinda. She was looking a bit grubby, red dust around her edges, smears and balls of fluff hiding in her corners. She now looks a treat. Nearly as good as the Grid Girls roaming around town yesterday.
Had lunch before setting off on a 200 km drive along the Ross River Highway in the direction of the Ross River Resort. The scenery on both sides of the road was stunning, the beautiful McDonnell Ranges, changing colour and texture along the way. We stopped at Emily Gaps Nature Park which was a very pretty gorge. The rock art featured 3 caterpillars who are beings of great significance to the Arrernte people. At this spot Intwailuka, an ancestral hero, is said to have cooked and eaten caterpillars on his dreamtime journey.
We continued on to see Corroboree Rock then Trephine Gorge before arriving at the Ross River Resort. The present Hotel is the remains of the first homestead in the area and was built in 1898.
On our return journey we came across some brumbies who weren't frightened and posed for a photo.
The drive along the Ross River Highway reminded us of the Flinders Ranges with many creek and river crossings that were all dry.
Early dinner tonight so we could enjoy some free entertainment in the park tonight. The evening was called Songs of the Outback and featured a singer/songwriter Barry Skipsey who also is a photographer of some note and many of his photos formed the slide show on a very large screen.
We missed The Ghan passing through town but our fellow traveller Don was on the job and managed a photograph for us.