Hermannsburg is a bit of a shock; rubbish all over the place, coke cans, drink bottles, chip packets. Local residents with 5 cars parked in their yards, a few on blocks: it gives the impression of a wild town. The hot food takeaway is enmeshed with security screens. The community run supermarket has a very small fruit and veg section, and frozen meat; good to stock up. Sultana bran was like 13 bucks at the general store, so you have to be selective on what you get.
The signs up request you respect the locals; don't go around snapping photos of the town. It's the first time we've experienced a town quite like it.
Palm Valley has thousands of red cabbage palms, and a prehistoric look to it. The cycads are not actually palms, a prehistoric type tree from millions of years ago. Quite a surprise after travelling through a lot of semi arid area. The gorge has permanent water that is released slowly by the stone and rock.
Lou worked on an animation for a school subject. He made a dog and two human characters, then moved the figures around to make a clay-motion picture. Nice work!
Wiki says: Cycads are seed plants with a long fossil history that were formerly more abundant and more diverse than they are today. They typically have a stout and woody trunk with a crown of large, hard and stiff, evergreen leaves. They usually have pinnate leaves.
The individual plants are either all male or all female. It's amazing to see these places with a whole series of waterholes. They would have been critical to surviving droughts and the desert.
The palms cling to the rocks all over the place.
The trees put roots straight into the rock.
