Alice again, West and East MacDonnell Ranges

After dropping Grandma at the airport we drove back to Alice Springs for a night to stock up and do some washing before heading out to the West MacDonnell Ranges the next day.  Sue, Dave and Jack were staying at Glen Helen Gorge and we wanted to try to get out there the following day to see them before they headed home.  

As we were only staying one night, we skipped the Big 4 and went to the slightly cheaper Heritage Caravan Park.  It is perfectly fine but has fewer frills (no pools and no fancy playgrounds or jumping pillow) so they don’t charge the premium prices.  We found three unexpectedly good things upon arriving there.  The first is that they are dog friendly, which meant that we camped opposite a couple with two very cute, small dogs which Ben instantly fell in love with.  He made friends with them immediately and spent most of the time we were there sitting next to their dog beds giving them cuddles.

Benny and his new friends.

The second thing we discovered was that it was the second last night of an arts festival called Parrtjima and that there was a free shuttle bus from the end of the street.  Lou was tired and not that enthusiastic about going but Jenny was keen so we had a quick dinner and headed out.  It turned out to be an interesting experience, with a variety of displays on show.  It was held outside, at the Alice Springs Desert Park and involved light displays of numerous Aboriginal artists.  They beamed designs onto 2.5km of the West MacDonnell Ranges, recreated canvas artworks on the ground using overhead lighting from a gantry, there were huge illuminated witchetty grub type balloon insects and giant umbrella like lamps with artwork lit up on the surface.  We froze in the cold night air but enjoyed the outing.  

Artwork beamed onto the ground from above.

Lights on the ranges.

The mushroom / umbrella lights.

The witchetty grub lights.

The third thing was that they had a ‘family’ bathroom with a bath! The lady at the front desk gave us the key and said we were welcome to use it. Jenny and Ben took full advantage of this the following morning. It was their first real bath since leaving Melbourne.

The next day we had to find a caravan repairer to get a quote for a pin to fix one of the legs on the van.  There are only a couple in Alice Springs and we were unlucky enough to choose the one that is run by the most opinionated, rude and aggressive woman either of us had ever met.  It took Jenny 10 minutes to explain our simple request because the woman kept interrupting her and while her husband looked at the issue, we were bombarded with her very poor opinions of every caravan brand, every road, most cars, most manufacturers and pretty much any topic we brought up in an effort to change the subject.  The husband said the part would be $20 which we agreed to but then they charged us $50 labour for 15 min work – cash only (“we don’t do plastic.  Never have. Never will!”) 

We were glad to escape and get on the road to Glen Helen Gorge where Sue, Dave and Jack were staying.  We watched the Grand Final with them (go Doggies!), walked down to the gorge and then had dinner.   Ben and Jack spent most of the afternoon running around madly and jumping off the steps - they were in heaven. 

Glen Helen Gorge

 Unfortunately, our dear friends were flying home the following day and we were very sad to see them go. 

We spent the next few days exploring the beautiful West McDonnell Ranges.  We found an awesome free camp called the Serpentine Chalet Camp Area.  It says not to take caravans in there but we could see heaps of space (the place was empty) so we took the van very slowly down the short bumpy dirt track and it was totally fine.  We stayed there for three nights and aside from one car that parked at the far end of the camp area on the first night, we had the place to ourselves.

The only other people we saw there were a couple of shabby looking 40 something guys with missing teeth and dirty singlet tops who pulled up outside the van in a ute about 5.15pm one evening and beeped their horn.  One got out and and asked if we had seen their friend, a tall Spanish girl in her early 20s, who had set off to walk a section of the Larapinta Trail at 9am that morning.  She was due to arrive at 5pm at the trail head a few km along the road that runs through the campsite but was late.  We thought it was a bit early for them to be too worried, it was only 15mins past their planned meeting time but they seemed quite concerned.  He told us that she was tall and Spanish about 5 times and then they set off back to where they had dropped her that morning.

We kept an eye out for her but since we didn’t see any rangers, police or rescue crews going down the track that night we assumed that she had turned up.  

Tyler Pass and Gosse Bluff

Tyler Pass is a great lookout that provides 360 views of the amazing landscape around it.  The West McDonnell Ranges and Mt Sonder are on one side and Gosse Bluff, 15km distant is on the other.  Gosse Bluff is a massive crater where a meteor hit 142 million years ago.  It was really windy but we made the climb to the top of the crater and managed to get some great photos before anyone else came along.

You can see the 142 million year old crater behind us.

Panorama of the ranges.

Roma Gorge

Roma Gorge is at the end of a 4WD track that branches off the highway.  Most of the track is along a creek bed that looks to have been dry for years.  It was a fun drive in but the destination was even more fabulous.  In addition to being a beautiful location in its own right, the gorge is home to hundreds of petroglyphs – Aboriginal symbols and pictures that are carved into the rocks.  We saw some similar symbols painted on the rocks at Uluru in the ‘teaching’ areas, symbols for water and food.  The Roma Gorge ones however, are not painted, they are etched into the rocks all around the waterhole area of the gorge and you have to be careful not to stand on them (or in Ben’s case, not to do parkour on them.)

Looking down the gorge.

Petroglyphs.

The gorge is also home to hundreds of bright green finches.  They zoom around the gorge before heading back into the foliage of their trees for a moment, and then burst out of the leaves again for another loop.  They are so speedy that catching them in a photo is really difficult.

Speedy finches..

Redbank Gorge

Redbank Gorge was a great surprise.  We had read that you might be able to swim through the gorge but other people had said that the water was stagnant and full of dead fish so we weren’t quite sure what to expect.  We took Ben’s Wahu vest just in case. The walk in is lovely.  The trail runs along the dry river bed and is part sandy, part rocky.  We saw a good sized rock wallaby bounding along next to the trail about 20 feet away and were lucky that he stopped to nibble on some foliage adjacent to us.

Wallaby along the trail.

Jenny and Ben playing Power Rangers.

Walking the trail into the gorge.

When we arrived at the waterhole we found the water a bit muddy but ok to swim in.  The walls of the waterhole narrow to about 6 feet wide before opening up again though the gorge and we could hear a group of people splashing around on the other side.  We were still on the shore contemplating a swim when they paddled back towards us on 3 inflatable tyres and a giant inflatable paddle pop.  They offered the tyres to us, having been given them by the people swimming before them. 

 

We had stupidly brought money, cameras and keys and only then realised that we couldn’t very well take them in the water with us.  Lou volunteered to stay behind while Jenny and Ben floated off with the GoPro, promising to bring back video.

Jenny and Ben floating into the gorge.

The water was really cold, and Ben started shivering fairly quickly so they only went through the first section of the gorge.  The water was a bit manky there too so they just took a quick look and returned to shore.  It would be awesome with a bit more water flowing through it to clean it out a bit and we have added it to our ‘revisit next time’ list.

A grey nomad couple had arrived just after us and brought an inflatable boat with them.  They started pumping it up before Jenny and Ben went in the water and were having a terrible time trying to make the manual foot pump work.  They had pretty much given up by the time Jenny and Ben got back to shore so we ‘payed it forward’ and gave them the inflatable tyres to use. 

  

Ochre Pits

The Ochre Pits have been used by the local Aboriginal people for thousands of years. They contain vertical seams of different coloured ochre which are ground, mixed with water and used for painting and ceremonies.  You are not allowed to take any ochre from the pits as they are still used (there is a whopping $5000 fine for disturbing it).

A short walk this time.

Amazing vertical lines of ochre.

Ormiston Gorge

Ormiston Gorge was a great challenge.  We did the Ghost Gum walk which is well signed for the first half of the walk and completely unsigned for the second.  The walk has two sections where you need to cross the water.  We walked up to the lookout and then along the rim of the gorge before climbing down the edge of the near permanent waterhole, which thanks to recent rains has far more water in it than is usual for this time of year.   

Taking a break in a shady cave.

Looking into the gorge.  Beautiful Ghost Gum.

Due to recent heavy rains, there is more water in there than is usual at this time of year.

Across we go!

We waded across and the water was only knee deep, which we expected.  We’d been told that the other crossing was chest deep but there were no markers indicating which direction it was in so could only assume we were heading in the right direction because we could only go one way if we wanted to be heading back towards the carpark.  We followed the occasional footprint in the sand and eventually got to the point that Sue and Dave had told us about a few days earlier.  You come to a huge barrier of rocks and can either wade around them in the murky water, or ignore the “Danger! Do not climb the rocks!” sign and climb over the rocks.  The murky water looked more than chest deep and really was pretty manky so we ignored the sign and started climbing.  It wasn’t too bad, we’d done similarly difficult climbs at Karijini so we just had to pick the right spots to come down.  Ben was fantastic and careful and we made it down to the sand without a problem. 

Ellery Creek Big Hole

After the hot walk at Ormiston Gorge we were looking forward to a swim at Ellery Big Hole.  Ben was glad that we didn’t have a huge hike to do to get there - he is sick of having to earn his swims.  We arrived just as a tour bus pulled up and it was a bit like the movie Cocoon as all the oldies piled out of the bus in their bathers.  One woman was in her bra and undies – they were so hot that modesty was a secondary consideration.

Getting ready to go in.

When we arrived Lou noticed a water bottle, chocolate milk carton and can of Coke floating in the reeds at the shore and mentally cursed the inconsiderate idiots who hadn’t taken their rubbish with them.  It was only when the first of the oldies got in and squealed that we considered the water temperature.  When Lou saw a guy go and pick up the water, milk and Coke and realised that they were full and he had been using the water as a fridge, she knew that the swim was not going to be the relaxing dip they had been hoping for.

"It's too cold to go in any further!" (He did though..)

And indeed it wasn’t.  It was the coldest water that we have encountered all trip and we each lasted no more than a minute (ok, Jenny probably lasted 2 but Ben and Lou were in and out in a flash)! 

When we travelled with Ross, Barb and Daniel, Ross always preferred the cooler water, to the point where he didn’t even get in at Mataranka because he dislikes the warmth.  As he emerged from Ellery Big Hole, Ben remarked “Ross would love it here!”

 

Serpentine Gorge

Much to Ben’s disgust we did two walks at Serpentine Gorge.  The first was into the gorge itself to look at the waterhole.  It was low on water so we saw some huge tadpoles in the shallows and lots of dragon flies.  There were also heaps of wasps so we steered clear of those.   The second walk was up to the lookout and it was pretty steep and hot.  It was about half way up that we both agreed that whilst we have absolutely loved the desert and all the amazing gorges we have seen, we miss the ocean and are keen to get out to the East Coast.

The lookout at the top of the gorge gives you great views out across the West MacDonnell Ranges.

 

Rocking the orange fly net.

 

Mummy Pumpkin and Junior Pumpkin.

Simpsons Gap

At Simpson’s Gap we had to play ‘avoid the tourist’ in order to take any reasonable photos.  It was tour bus central and there were people everywhere.  The Gap is great to see and is surrounded by impressive rock falls.  Ben had a great time climbing and jumping off boulders, which we are used to but which freaked out a lot of the oldies :)

Got a snap with no other tourists in it!

View back towards the road in.

First jump..

Second jump..

East MacDonnell Ranges

We were going to camp out in the East MacDonnell Ranges but we felt like we needed some time in one place and Ben loved the water slide at the Big 4 in Alice Springs so much that we stayed there and did day trips.  

Jessie Gap and Emily Gap

Jessie and Emily Gaps are really close to Alice Springs and are associated with Arrernte Aboriginal Storylines for the Three Caterpillars.  There is some really vibrant rock art, the white lines representing the caterpillars. 

There are also lots of interestingly coloured rocks which prompted a game of Power Rangers (Ben’s favourite show at the moment) and became our ‘Energems’ for a while.  If you’re interested, Jenny was the Black Power Ranger, Ben was the Silver one and Lou was the Green.

Stripes represent the caterpillars.

Saw this awesome branch twisting around another.

Power Rangers - Energise!

Corroboree Rock

Corroboree Rock is of great cultural significance to the Eastern Arrernte people although oddly, it is unlikely to have ever been a corroboree site due to a lack of water nearby.  It is thought to have been used to store important ceremonial objects.  I guess ‘Important Ceremonial Object Rock’ doesn’t have the same marketability.

In front of the rock.

Trephina Gorge

Trephina Gorge was sensational.  We did a walk along the top, looking down into the gorge which is currently a dry sandy creek bed.  There are gorgeous trees and the trail winds down into the gorge and you walk along the sand to get back to the beginning.  The sandy creek bed is really wide and full of flecks of fool’s gold.  Ben enjoyed trying to pick up the individual sparkling particles and when he got sick of that he found some great rocks to jump off.  

Steep climbing!

Karate Kid poses.

John Hayes Rockhole

The John Hayes Rockhole is near Trephina Gorge, down a 4WD only track.  We have been down many tracks that are marked 4WD only and most have been pretty easy, hardly deserving of the sign.  This one was definitely a 4WD only track though, with big rocks and deep ditches to negotiate.  We realised how far we have come since our first 4WD attempt.  This track would have freaked us out 8 months ago, and we probably wouldn’t have been confident enough to do it but now we found it really fun and we proceeded without any worries.  Little did we know that a day later we would tackle one that made this one look positively tame!  We owe a big part of our 4WD development to travelling with Ross and Barb.  They are very experienced and we did a number of drives with them, picking up tips and techniques on the way.

Jenny had spoken to some people at our campground who had been to the rockhole and said there is a chain of waterholes that you can float through (similar to Redbank Gorge).  We took pool noodles and Ben’s Wahu vest, walking a short 100m trail through some trees to the edge of the pool.  As with some of the other places we have visited, the waterhole could really do with some more water.  It was borderline suitable for swimming but Jenny was keen to get across to the other side to look at the pools through the gap in the rock.  Ben will go anywhere Jenny goes so he was keen too.  Lou looked at the murky water and was not keen but in the spirit of doing things as a family, reluctantly got changed into bathers.

In they went..

Jenny and Ben had waded in with some squeals as they couldn’t see the bottom and it was pretty slimy.  They eventually got in far enough to float and swam across to the far side.  Lou, being far less enthusiastic, had taken her time and was only entering the water as Jenny and Ben were exiting it to explore the far shores.  After about 5 steps on the slimy bottom, with muddy water just above knee deep, Lou saw a long leech wriggling around just in front of her and decided that there were plenty of other things they could do as a family. She retreated to the shore, happy to wait for a detailed report from the more intrepid members of the party.

EEEEEEEEEK!

After the murky, cold swim in the rockhole we did the fun 4WD out again and went back to the Big 4 for a leech free swim and some speedy water slide action.

  

Hermannsburg (Ntaria)

After a free pancake breakfast at the Big 4 we took a day trip to the Aboriginal Community at Hermannsburg  (Ntaria), south west of Alice Springs.  It is the site of an historical Lutheran Mission which was established in 1877 and is also the home of artist Albert Namitjira.  The mission is well preserved and you can get a good sense of how difficult it would have been to live there in those times.  It is in the middle of nowhere and the stories describing the challenges around obtaining water and supplies, the difficulty of building the first water pipeline and the difference that readily available water then made to the prosperity and success of the community are fascinating. 

 

The grounds and some old buildings.

Checking out the church.

Albert Namatjira's car door complete with bullet holes (not done while it was his.)

Palm Valley

Not far from Hermannsburg is the turnoff to Palm Valley.  Again, there is a big sign stating that the road is suitable for high clearance 4WD only and this time they must have really, really meant it because it was a big red sign, not just their standard brown/beige font.  All the trail info we had already read supported the warning sign so we were prepared for a challenging drive.  It is 22kms into Palm Valley itself, with the first 18kms being reasonable dirt road to the campground and a further 4kms of really full on off road track from there.  

Horse on road about to take a dump.

We had no problem with the first 18km (aside from a horse on the road) but when we got about 100m into the track after the campground and saw the steep rock we had to drive up, we remembered that we hadn’t taken off our tow hitch (our tow hitch is essentially our tow ball but it is on a huge steel shank that bends down so that the ball is lower than the towbar).  The hitch sits much lower than the rear of the car and reduces our ground clearance significantly.  Ours also has long steel bars poking out sideways across the back of the car for our Stone Stomper rock protection mesh to attach to.   We usually take the whole lot off if we know we will be driving over rocks or logs but had forgotten to that day.   It is too big to fit anywhere in the car and we knew we’d have problems doing the drive with it attached so we took it off and hid it in a bush next to the road.  Problem solved!

The drive into Palm Valley is even more full on and fun than the drive into John Hayes Rockhole.  On several occasions we looked at the road ahead and said “are you kidding!?” but continued on carefully and had no problems.  

An example of the road!

As we approached a steep downhill section we could see three cars stopped at the bottom so we pulled to the side, assuming that they were waiting to come up.  They didn’t move, despite one of them being in the middle of the trail and we saw a guy wave us down.  We went down slowly, cursing the idiot sitting in the middle of the road, when we saw that all the occupants were out talking to the two cars behind.  There was a nudge bar (like a small bull bar but offering almost no crash protection) resting up against the side of their car, a Nissan X-Trail (AWD not 4WD and not high clearance) and we saw a woman with a small dog heading down to the river.  We squeezed past, half in the bushes, half on the trail and asked if they needed help but the woman’s partner was going for help, getting a lift back to town with the people in the other two cars while she and the dog waited.  They waved us on.

It wasn’t until we got a bit further along, to a beautiful stop at Cycad Grove (home to 200-300 year old Cycad plants) that we got the full story.  We met some other people there and they too had stopped to offer help on their way past.  Apparently the couple with the dog (a big no-no in a National Park) had completely burnt out their clutch and the car was totally knackered.  Some other passers-by had stopped to help and tried to tow them out but ripped off their nudge bar instead.  The end result was a very bad day for those silly people.  They were stuck in a very remote National Park, with a prohibited dog, a destroyed clutch and a detached nudge bar late on a Sunday afternoon.  We were speculating about their chances of finding a tow truck and if the Ranger would fine them for the dog or decide they’d had a bad enough day to let it slide.   

Cycad.  They are 200-300 years old.

We arrived at Palm Valley too late in the afternoon to do the full walk and still have time to drive out in the light.  It was 38 degrees too so we were happy to walk the first few hundred metres into the valley and then come out again.  It is a beautiful place and the green palms seem out of place in the middle of the dry rocky land around them.

Lovely palms.

It was HOT so we just did a short walk.

On the way back out we saw that the woman and her dog were still there and despite another offer, she still declined our assistance.  We continued on, picked up our tow hitch and headed back out to the highway.   As we approached the turnoff back towards Hermannsburg we were passed by an SES (or NT equivalent) vehicle and assume that it was heading her way. We’ve since spoken to Ross and they had passed a camper that needed a tow on a regular dirt road, which cost the owners $2,500 so we hate to think what a tow out of the Palm Valley road would cost.  It would need a very sturdy, capable truck to even get in there!

Squeezing past the broken down X-Trail on the return journey.