28th August
We have had 5 days exploring the beautiful West MacDonnell ranges. So much stunning scenery – rocky ranges, gorges, gaps and waterholes.
So many photos…this will be a long post!!
The moment you head west out of Alice Springs you are met with views of the MacDonell ranges for miles in the distance.
Our first stop was Simpson’s Gap – huge walls frame a pretty waterhole.
Further on, Ellery Big Hole was, for me, the prettiest waterhole in the area..
We spent our first night atop this lookout, near Ellery, with fabulous views in every direction. The twilight was beautiful and the stars amazing!!
The following morning, we did a 3km walk at Ellery – a great close-up view of the geology of the area.
We then headed to Ormiston Gorge to spend the night.
Nearby is Glen Helen Gorge, which has beautiful red walls.
We did a drive out to Redbank Gorge in the afternoon. It was the wrong time of day for photos in the gorge, but beautiful surrounding scenery. It was a nice walk along the dry riverbank that lead to a tall gorge that would be really pretty with more water. On the way back we got lucky and spotted 2 rock wallabies.
We had sunset at Mt Sonder Lookout and spotted this great free-camp on the Finke River, which would become our base for the next 3 nights.
The following day we did a stunning 6km walk around the valleys surrounding Ormiston Gorge, called the Pound Walk. It started off quite barren until he rose over the first saddle. The clouds made for interesting colours.
Then down into the ‘pound’
Across the plains
And finished by walking through the gorge
Our last day, we visited Serpent Gorge. The Gorge itself was nothing special, due to the lack of water, but we walked up to a lookout point with great views for miles.
We also went to the Ochre Pits – which is one of the largest and most accessible places to collect Ochre in Australia. The colours were beautiful!. Ochre is an important part of the Aboriginal culture and is used for body decoration, painting and medical purposes.
The West MacDonnell’s have been stunning!! But so dry at the moment! The waterholes are very low. And also there has been no rain since fires came through earlier in the year. It has left much of the landscape completely desolate. I would to come back again after a good wet season. But we have loved our days on the banks of the Finke River, and would have stayed longer if there weren’t so many flies!!
The Travelling Dixons 