As we departed our camp dingo friends, the road was rough ahead.  Just under 2 hours of driving on an unsealed corrugated mess, we found ourselves at the Aboriginal community of Hermannsburg which was the site of the old Lutheran mission.  This was a rather large culture shock.  We had a tour through the historical grounds from back in the late 1800s.  The purpose of this mission was to intergrate natives into white culture.  This was also the place where the famous aboriginal artist Albert Namatjira grew up and marked his place in history. After the tour, we went to the local supermarket to buy a loaf of bread (which we’d been longing for since Coober Pedy!) and was actually reasonably priced, unlike the diesal at $2.37c/L!!

A blackboard from the school at the mission

We continued our trip back down the road onto a “4WD only” track that headed toward Palm Valley.  This path followed a similar suit to the one earlier that day although some sand and dried up river beds made it entertaining.  Making it to the camp site just before the Valley we bunkered down and relaxed by the Finke River and had hot showers!  We had heard mixed stories about the last of the 4×4 path into the Valley itself and weather or not it was only taken by experienced drivers, otherwise we’d have to walk an extra 8km.  So stragically having dinner at the communal kitchen we striked up a convo with some other campers in regards to the matter.  Mixed opinions all round!  “Definitely need to be very experienced!”, “Need high clearance.”, “Nah you’ll be right mate.” and “You’ll have fun! Just go over and down all the boulders!” was the talk of the kitchen.  Our unsettled minds went to bed thinking what the hell..lets give it a crack in the morning..

The next day lead to more fun and adventure!  Waking up we made our way down the unknown track into the Valley.  Low range and a nice slow pace, we navigated through some contraversial landscapes to find ourselves out the other side and into a gorgeous Valley filled with Red Cabbage Palms. These palms grow only in very particular areas around Australia and if all were put together around the country it would fill a small area of 1 square km.  A 5km walk lead us around the top edge of the Valley to gain an oversite of the entire place and its magic.  This then lead back down where we were taken among the palms and along the riverbed.

Back at the car we made our way down the track in which we came for a bumby yet exhillirating exit.  As we made our way back on the riverbed track we came to a halt as a member of the grey army had his caravan bogged to the axles in sand.  A learning curb for us, yet a trying time for another couple who had been with him for over an hour before we arrived, we attemped to get him back on the road.  Working with this old timer who didn’t want a bar of anyones advice, what took another hour after four more cars piled up, he managed to get some distance untill he was back on solid ground.  From here we had a clear path ahead to the Macdonnel Ranges..