Day 2 - some more detail

We started the morning early, the boys were meant to be up at 7 but most were up long before that. The pleasure of camping and rising with the light. We had a delicious breakfast: the usual cereal etc and then eggs florentine!!! The boys tucked in with relish (actually with Hollandaise). Packed up and on the road, we headed to Ormiston Gorge - a 1.5 hour drive through beautiful countryside with dark red escarpments. When we arrived we wandered down to the gorge and the boys eagerly scrambled over the rocks. A couple of photo shoots that will look absolutely spectacular and then we had a rehearsal/sound check, much to the delight of the several families who were picnicking. The boys were a little hot and tired by the time we walked back to the parking bay and to the small amphitheatre where we were met by ranger Daniel. He talked to us about the area and the wildlife and the boys were enthralled while passing around various skulls and skins. Lunch was a welcome next activity with salad sandwiches and rolls that the boys had prepared for themselves in the (parents, take note, they are capable of making their own school lunches ;) ). An hour or so of playing in the shallows and general free time before they were called in for a quiet time (lying down on their own and staying quiet - one of the things we practice daily at Summer Schools and Weekend Workshops for exactly this reason). Soon after, the concert, "A cappella at the gorge" started, part of the Desert Song Festival. We heard from Asante Sana, Central Australian Aboriginal Women's Choir, Poco Tutti, several individual performers, and our own boys. It's hard to describe what it was like to hear the boys standing with their backs to a natural sound shell of more than 50 metres high (estimation is not my strong point) and their blended voices resonating and floating out across the water to where people were sitting. We estimate that about 400-500 people were there, which is pretty impressive considering the distance from Alice Springs and the distance of Alice Springs from anywhere! As soon as we finished singing, we had to scamper back to the bus for the trip back to Alice - Mr Ancell imposed a silence rule for the second half of the trip and most of the boys had a nap. Back to camp for a quick 2 of our 3 courses of dinner, a lightening change into reds and off again to one of the schools in town for the Finale concert of the Festival for which we provided the first half. Although very tired after a long day, the boys put on a great performance for a very appreciative audience. We came back to the camp at about 9.45pm and after sorting out their reds, the boys were sent off to bed, tired but very satisfied.