After a few years it was back to a
group tour today, the first of three during my stay in Alice. This
was to the West MacDonnell Ranges. I really enjoyed it. And it upset
a few of my expectations. The centre isn't as red as I expected; the
area more hilly; the ranges not so mountainous; many more rivers than
I realised, though mostly dry but not all the time; more treed; more
green, though not green-green, more sage and olive.
We stopped at …
Simpson's Gap
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| Simpson's Gap |
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| Simpson's Gap |
Standley Chasm (my favourite, I think)
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| Standley Chasm |
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| At Standley Chasm |
The Ochre Pits (ochre dug out of walls not pans, as I'd imagined)
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| Ochre Pits |
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| Ochre Pits |
Ormiston Gorge (running close to if not
equal with Standley Chasm as my favourite) … my tentative confidence in tackling the King's Canyon rim walk took a dint here. I didn't climb up to the Ghost Gum Lookout – wasn't 100% convinced I'd get there and back in the allotted time. Saw a couple of rock wallabies – leaping about like mountain goats. Fun to watch.
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| Ghost Gum Lookout - Ormiston Gorge |
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| Ormiston Gorge |
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| Ormiston Gorge |
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| Ormiston Gorge |
The Finke River at Glen Helen Gorge …. with water in it!
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| Finke River, Glen Helen Gorge |
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| Finke River, Glen Helen Gorge |
Ellery Big Hole (also pretty impressive) … let's face it, it was all pretty spectacular. This is a big swimming hole. The water was too cold for all but the most hardy to swim in, i.e. everyone on my tour stayed out of the water. So I wasted money on buying new bathers but did save the embarrassment of getting out in them!
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| Ellery Big Hole |
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| Ellery Big Hole |
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| Ellery Big Hole |
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| Ellery Big Hole |
Flynn's Grave plus some iconic ghost gums painted by Albert Namatjira and several lookout points for simply
stunning views.
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| Flynn's Grave |
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| No Swimming |
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| The West Macs |
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| Mt Sonder |
There were 14 people on the tour and we
would have been covered for medical emergencies. There was a doctor,
a final year medical student – from my work!!, a physio, a nurse
and another health person whose profession I didn't find out. The
nurse works in acute care for most of the year and comes to Alice for
a couple of months each year and works as a nurse in a different
area, this year geriatrics. The rest are in Alice for a conference
about aboriginal health. There was also an older retired couple,
three young people from Singapore, a translator from Italy
(professionally English and Russian but also speaks French, German
and Polish), an English ESL teacher, and a lawyer. Not your average
crowd!
12,800+
steps for the counters.
