9-10 July Finke National Park/Palm Valley

We spent the afternoon of our arrival at Palm Valley hanging around the campsite and enjoying the views while the kids made friends and played in the dry river bed. They had found large supplies of small paddy melons along the river bed which soon became the source of much play. Smashing, hoarding, counting, comparing sizes and ultimately as weapons in a melon battle. Surprisingly it didn’t end in tears and they all seemed to have fun.
The next day, after a sleepin and a BBQ breakfast we were ready for the 2 hour walk around Palm Valley. Palm Valley is known for the 12,026 (yes there are people who have actually counted them) Red Cabbage Palms that manage to survive despite being located in the middle of the desert. They are “relics from millions of years ago when Central Australia was much wetter and more wooded” and are found nowhere else in the world. Added bonus was the unexpected 4km 4WD track to get to the start of the trail. Quite bumpy, rocky, sandy and fun. The kids managed the 5km walk well with many “scooby” snack stops and word games to keep them going.
I wanted to do the 45min lookout walk in the afternoon but it looks like everyone is going to boycott. So I will try and entice them out in the morning. This afternoon it seems they would rather read books and play with the paddy melons. Fair enough.