Non stop exploring

I thought I would show everyone that I am completely flexible in many ways, so I slept in the swag last night. The forecast 0 degrees didn’t deter me. Nor did the enclosed space. I am tough. Well.... then I tried to get in it. Apparently you need to be either a contortionist or have flexible joints to be able to get in one of these things, and neither of those descriptions can be attributed to me. I finally got down onto my knees with my backside sticking up in the air like an oversized bike rack, and realised I was stuck. There wasn’t enough space for me to gracefully lie down fully, and with nothing solid to lean on, getting up again would be harder than a rhino getting out of a muddy water hole. So I just collapsed into a heap and lay there for a moment contemplating if I was ever going to be able to get out. Then the battle with the sleeping bag began. It was twisted and doing everything it could to be upside down and inside out and just generally making it uncomfortable. Finally... I was in the bag, getting warm and now realising that I was laying on a 1” foam mattress that gave absolutely no padding to my ginormous frame and felt like I was laying on a slab of concrete. Somehow I made it through the night and somehow I managed to get myself out of the swag in the morning (mind you I am sure the people walking past as I was attempting it were on the phone calling the fire rescue truck to help lift me up). I am flexible. Just not that flexible.

The caravan park was cooking pancakes for everyone this morning, but with a line of 100 people waiting, we all chose to not go back for 3rd helpings. We headed off into the Todd St Markets and browsed the stalls, then went to visit the historic Telegraph Station park. We chose not to spend the $50(ish) to look at the old buildings but could see they were beautifully restored. 

The kids went climbing over the rocks whilst we made lunch, then we headed to meet our friends at Flynn’s Grave. Here they got on some bikes and then rode for 17km to Simpson’s Gap. We drove there and cooked up some sausages on the free public gas barbecues ready for their arrival. 

The gap was amazing and provided tons of photo opportunities 

Tomorrow we are leaving the comforts of our park and heading into the West Macdonnell Ranges Park for 3 nights. This will be a free camping spot - no Telstra coverage, no power or running water and -2 degree nights. But there are some amazing walks and gorges to visit.