Off to See the Wizard - West MacDonnells

I’m way behind in my story as we have had very little internet access for the last few days, so I’ll continue on from where I left off.

On Friday last week we went exploring the West MacDonnell Ranges.  The road around the West MacDonnells runs in a loop.  We had travelled much of the southern part on our 4WD bus trip on the Wednesday, so concentrated on the northern side.  We left quite early and drove directly to Glen Helen, the furthest point we would visit, with the intention that we would see as much as we could on our way back and if we didn’t fit it all in one day, we wouldn’t have too far to go back to.

As we drove west we could see Mount Sonder in the distance, but not a place we were going to visit.

Glen Helen was accessed through a caravan park, so was a bit confusing at first.  Once we found our way it was a pretty place with beautiful reflections.  Some of the features couldn’t be accessed without swimming, so we didn’t worry about that part.  

We had to cross a couple of little water courses.  I loved the little causeways that had been made. 

Notice the culvert…..a hollow log.  It was very effective.

Back on the road, our next stop was Ormiston Gorge. We had been told this was definitely worth visiting.  The first site you visit is the waterhole.

On our way we stopped to watch a group of Major Mitchell Cockatoos.  We were mesmerised by their antics.

The waterhole is so pretty, with the cliffs overhanging the water.

However, it was a bit whiffy, as many fish were dying, due to lack of oxygen in the water.  Yes, there are fish in the middle of the desert, several varieties in fact.  The bream are the first to succumb.  Some of them were up to 10 inches long.  Very sad to see, but part of the natural cycle of things.

We enjoyed home made scones with jam and cream in the kiosk while there.  A somewhat unexpected treat.

The second place you could explore was the Ghost Gum Walk to a lookout.  See it way up above the water hole.

It looked like a hard climb, but it was surprisingly easy, with the steps at just the right height.  

As you climbed, the vegetation changed.  So many flowers I hadn’t seen before.

The view at the top was definitely worth the climb.

The next place we called into was the Ochre Pits.  This is where the aboriginals obtained the ochre to use as body paint in ceremonies.  There were several colours here.  Ochre could be a valuable trading item for the traditional people, but as there was quite a bit present in the West MacDonnells, it wasn’t traded very much in that area.

I loved the rainbow of colours at one spot.

Someone had been playing with the different colours.  Such a variety, considering they all come from the one spot.

By then it was lunch time and we stopped at a lookout.  The best thing was that we saw our first Sturts Desert Rose plants.  This is the floral emblem of the Northern Territory.  Apparently it is related to the cotton plant.

The next point of interest we visited was Ellery Creek Big Hole.  It is just that, a big waterhole, but rather a scenic one.

What had amazed us all day was the flood debris and how how high it was.  There had been so much water rushing down all the rivers and gorges earlier this year.   

It must have been a huge task to clean things up and get the roads cleared.  Some had been buried below incredible quantities of sand.

We were now getting closer to Alice Springs and therefore the more famous gorges, due to their ease of access.  Firstly, we visited Standley Chasm.  This was the only place we had to pay to enter.  The area is owned by the local aboriginal people.  There is camping here, as well as a cafe and gift shop.

You can see why it is such a famous place.  It is incredible looking up the sheer sides of the chasm.

After our walk, it was time to have some afternoon tea.  The tables were all painted with dot paintings, which was a nice touch. 

Even the loos were nicely painted, including the basin splash backs.

This area was one of the worst affected by the flooding early this year, due to the narrowness of the gorge.  I watched a YouTube video of it starting to flood.  In the end, all of the cafe area was flooded and the road badly damaged.  The road is still in need of a lot of repairs.  They have done extremely well to have things pretty much back to normal.

There are quite a few cycads in the gorge.  

I loved how this one was starting to sprout from what appeared to be a dead stump.

And again, there were some more new wildflowers.

All the places we visited are staging posts of the Larapinda Trail, which is a walking trail along the West MacDonnells and runs for 223kms.  While we were at Standley Chasm several people arrived from the walk to set up camp for the night.  Apparently this area has some of the prettiest, but hardest stages.  Many people complete the walk by doing various day walks, other do longer supported walks, while others complete the entire walk unaided.  It takes so long that if you go unsupported, you have to go out first to stash water and food. It all sounds a bit too hard for this little black duck.

Our final stops for the day was Simpson’s Gap.  It didn’t look all that impressive as we drove in.  

As you approach your opinion changes.  The sand is so fine it is like walking on the beach.

The jagged overhanging rocks are so impressive.  It wa pushing 5 o’clock before we got there but it was still a great sight to see.

There were two ladies working on paintings.  They were doing a tour with an art tutor and were loving every minute of it.

As the day was getting away from up by the time we returned to Alice Springs, we headed up to Anzac Hill again to watch the sun set, along with loads of other people.  

It was worth it.

We slept quite well that night, as it had been a big day.

The highlight of the day for Mick was Standley Chasm and for me it was climbing to the lookout at Ormiston Gorge.

Phew!  I never thought I would get this post uploaded.  I had to wait a couple of days after I started it before I could get the photos to upload.  Internet access in the top end has been extremely limited, with very little band width, even if it shows that you have four bars of 4G.  Hopefully, I will get things caught up before too long.