Palm Valley

6 am and we swopped our 5 star luxury berth on the Ghan for this 4x4 bone shaker.

The first half of the journey was on metaled road after which we took off cross-country to find the aptly named Palm Valley.  This is the Australia of the travel brochure, arid, red and dangerously beautiful.

 Driving up the almost dry Finke River bed with the 4x4 nearly tipping over on the uneven rocks,
 

we got into the valley. The fauna here is a left over from the last time Australia's interior was a tropical forest, some   100,000,000 years ago.  

The palms survive thanks to the meager water supply in the valley which becomes a torrent on occasion.