June 23^rd

Camped near De Rose Hill and quite close to Stuart Highway among the Mulga trees. Luckily we were not disturbed by traffic. John found a delightful example of a Harlequin Mistletoe in Bloom. Mistletoes plants love to grow on Mulga trees.

We crossed the border into the Northern Territory and immediately took a turn westward along Mulga Park Road. It was wide, red and corrugated. It was lined with a bush of Mulga trees. Many cattle were suffering from lack of fresh grass. A mob of young camels crossed the road ..it was our first sighting of these odd looking animals. It is a pretty area with mauve/purple hills in the distance.

Generally the sand is a red/brown colour and red rocky outcrops dominate the scenery as we travel.

There is a slight wind today with some raised dust/sand. The temperature reads nearly 22 deg. As we turned north we could see the image of Mt Connor dominating the sky. It is a large sized mesa mountain…compared with the rounded shape to Ayres Rock but not as large. We would really like to be able to camp near it or climb it but such activities are forbidden.  Eventually we camped in a gravel pit as close to Mt Connor as we can even though we cannot see it from here due to trees and the undulating terrain. There is a small amount of passing traffic which we do not expect to be disturbed by. Again the sunset is a brilliant orange/red. All sunrises and sunsets have been so very bright on the morning and evening horizons.

Harlequin Mistletoe

Mob of wild camels

Stones around our camp