Mind the Gap

Daddy got to go to Sydney and Canberra for a week, so Thomas and I had our own adventures. We filled a magical Sunday with magical stuff. First: church, and promised a dollar, Thomas was good. Considering early martyrs paid with their lives, a buck isn't so bad. Plus, the exchange rate is currently 92 cents.
The plan was swimming in the backyard next, but since we were finally graced with a cooler day (temps had hit 110 the past week), we skipped that and Thomas found one of those ridiculous airplane tragedy movies on the telly. Written 20-odd years ago, it had become a comedy with flare guns shooting down fighter jets and flight attendants in mini-skirts climbing ladders - often.
By 2 p.m., we were ready for real-life and headed to Emily and Jesse Gaps.
No one living knows who Emily and Jesse were. Rumors they were daughters of an explorer have been proven untrue, but they have nice gaps. Local "Gaps," BTW, are not places to find deals on sportswear, but natural openings in the McDonnell Range which runs along the south side of this area.
They are about 10-15 minutes' drive away, but since I forgot to look at which road they were on, it took about an hour. When you visit, remind me to take Ross Highway.
Emily is first and very pretty. It is a registered sacred site and one of the most important in the "Dreaming Trail" of the aboriginal people who believe the caterpillar beings, who created the topography of this area, came to the surface here and spread out across the Simpson Desert. There was a major battle here between the caterpillar beings and the stinky beetle beings with great losses especially to the caterpillar side. Their guts dried and formed the rocks on which Thomas now climbs.
I can't seem to find out how old the rock paintings are, but they were there when Europeans came in 1871 and up to 13,000 years before that. They are maintained by generations of people who inherit the responsibility. Local mineral clays are used, mixed with animal fat.
The paintings are roped off and there is a barbed-wire fence a short way into the gorge. Like many places here, there are implied rules, but no way to enforce them. So, it is up to the individual. This individual chose to not cross the barbed wire even though there were about as many footprints in the sand beyond it as before it.
Hey, sacred is sacred and no one should have to pay me a dollar to be good.
Next stop: Jesse's place about 5 minutes down the road.
Our fly nets were very handy on this day as the other few tourists we saw spent a lot of energy constantly shooing.
I can't stop thinking of Jesse as the Jan Brady of the gaps. She's not quite as pretty... her paintings are ok, but she's no Marcia, er... Emily. Emily gets the exciting Caterpillar - Stinky Beetle battle. Jesse gets compared to Emu fat. There are some important ceremonial objects buried there. Both sacred sites are only for "initiated" men. If "initiated" calls to mind scary scenes from Roots and articles from National Geographic, you've pretty-much nailed it.
Same barbed wire a short distance in, same easy way around it if you want.
Next: back to visit our old friends, the wallabies at Heavitree Gap. This time, we were early but found them already waiting. This time, they were almost scary-friendly, climbing onto laps and digging into the food bag like crazy goats at a petting zoo. Thomas spent his time "training" them to sit up for food and follow a rock he had rubbed the smell of pellets into. We sat with the wallabies and watched the sun set on our really fun day.