After leaving Coober Pedy we headed up the Stuart Highway towards the Alice only stopping the once at the Henbury Meteorite Craters which lie between Alice Springs and the Yulara turnoff on the Giles Road but only about 12 Km off the highway. We took the time to walk around the rim of the largest crater (180m wide and 15m deep) as well as checking out a couple of the smaller craters. The craters, believed to be 12 or 13 in number, were formed some 5000 years ago from a single meteorite which fragmented prior to impact. The site is quite fascinating and well worth a visit. 

Once we arrived in Alice Springs we first acquired our permits to pass through traditional lands to enable us to take our chosen route to Kings Canyon via the Mereenie Loop road. We then set about locating the Caravan Park Avans brother, wife Margaret and their travelling companions the Breens were staying for a pre arranged catch up. We all went out to dinner where we picked their brains as to the condition of the great central road which was the way they had travelled to Alice and was to be our route home. As we had been to Alice Springs on several previous occasions we decided next morning to set out to the Macdonnell Ranges then onto Kings Canyon.

Our first stop was at the Simpsons Gap only about 23 km out from Alice. The gap has been formed by the Simpson River which while mostly dry is generally about 16 metres wide until it reaches the Gap where it narrows down to about 4 metres. This area forms a very important part of the Arrente aboriginals dream time.

Next we visited Standley Chasm about 49 km from Alice. The Chasm is a natural cleft gouged out of the red sandstone by a tributary of the Finke River. It is a place of Craggy red slopes rising out of a cool chasm floor with life giving pools. A place where nature abounds and the silence is everywhere. We enjoyed the harmony of the isolation of this place but we were on a mission (no pun intended but) our next stop was Hermannsburg Mission about 80 km down Larapinta Drive.