The West MacDonnell Ranges, like many others in Central Australia, is made up of sandstone that has eroded and weathered into an ever-changing display of colour and texture.
There’s still a lot of water in the area, this was the Finke River, still (just slightly) up over the road.
The next stop was Glen Helen gorge, where the Finke River cuts south towards its eventual end.
Moving on quickly, my main goal for the day was Ormiston Gorge, a well known waterhole and gorge that is quite popular – and for good reason. I chose to do the full 7km loop walk, which rises over the range into the Ormiston Pound before passing back through the gorge into the waterhole.
The Pound itself is a natural amphitheatre several kilometres across, where the river gently meanders across the plain before cutting through the rock.
The trail then leads down into the valley and cuts straight across the creek three times. Fortunately I avoided slipping off the rocks and falling in – not that it would have made much difference in the end.
Finally you enter the gorge itself, where the path disappears and you scramble over rocks large and small, following the sound of running water downstream.
Eventually though, you have no choice but to swim – sheer cliffs on either side and no way around. Luckily, at its deepest it was only chest high, so I was able to keep my gear dry.
After this narrow point, it opens out a little more, heading down to the waterhole.
Time for another quick dip to cool off!
Dried off and ready to move on, the next stop on the journey was the Ochre Pits and Inarlanga Pass, an 8km round trip.
The variety and contrast of colours at the Ochre Pits was outstanding.
The walk up to Inarlanga Pass wasn’t well advertised or sign-posted, so I teamed up with a fellow adventurer for the trek.
The pass itself, another gorge, was spectacular, and all the better for having no-one else around.
Back on the road, I headed to the campsite for the night, the Ellery Creek waterhole.
One last quick dip while there’s still light. Bloody cold though!
The next morning was a lazy, slow wakeup, then a quick blast down the road into Alice Springs. I spent the afternoon fixing the exhaust properly (good timing, as the second bodge job was starting to fail again) and sorting out personal admin, ready for the next challenge – the Simpson Desert.
