Gorge-ous Gorges

Today we ventured out into the West MacDonnell Ranges. We skipped the Hermannsburg section (where Albert Namatjira lived and painted) to keep it to an easy day's trip, but visited most of the major sites (we had to skip Serpentine Gorge and Ellery Big Hole because the access roads are unsealed and you have to stay on sealed roads with 2WD rentals). The drive alone was worth it ... the ranges are just incredible, almost an oasis in the desert and a sight to behold. We decided to drive out to the end of the sealed road at Glen Helen and then work our way the 134 km back to Alice Springs. All up about a 300km round trip with the various detours to visit the sites.

So our first port of call was the Glen Helen "Resort" (their word, not mine) at the Glen Helen Gorge on the Finke River (which drains into the Simpson Desert rather than an ocean):

Just up the road (before it reverts to gravel) there is a lookout that has great views back into Orminston Pound as well as Mount Sonder:

Our next stop was the very pretty Orminston Gorge. A few people (some in wet suits!) went for a swim in the chilly waters but we opted out on that:


Just up the road are the "Ochre Pits" where the aboriginal people collected ochre for face and body painting. There's a lot of Ochre in these ranges so it wasn't traded a lot but in others places in the country the aboriginal people carried Ochre 1000's of km to trade. The various colours were incredible. There is a $5000 fine for anyone who tries to take Ochre from the pits, but this does not apply to aboriginal men (the women do not collect it for traditional reasons):


After skipping Serpentine Gorge and the Ellery Big Pool we arrived at Standley Chasm. This has to be seen to be believed! It's a 20 minute walk from the Kiosk (where we had lunch) but it was well worth the effort!


Our final destination before heading back into "The Alice" was Simpson's Gap:


All up a great day ... but the swim in the pool was very very welcome when we got back to the caravan park!!