Outback Adventure 2019
Day 14
Alice Springs - West Macdonnell Ranges - Alice Springs
Drive, walk, swot flies, swim, drive, walk, swot flies, swim. That pretty much summed up our day today.
We left the caravans at 8.45am to begin our drive out to the West Macdonnell Ranges . It is a 130k drive out to Glen Helen Homestead which was our furthest point today - and we wanted to explore all the gorges, gaps and swimming holes in between.
We started our exploration at Simpsons Gap where we saw a Euro kangaroo and marvelled at the ‘no swimming’ sign on the dry river bed!
From there we decided to drive the full distance to Glen Helen and then work back towards Alice. On our last trip Glen Helen was the last stop and we never actually made it to the gorge. This time though we did. It was a fair hike from the homestead to the gorge and so we really should have swum in the gorge - it was very inviting- but no one could be bothered to walk back to get the swimming gear! Next time.
From the homestead we drove out another 300m to the lookout over Mt Sonder and the rest of the vast West Macdonnells - quite a view.
We then drove onto the Ochre Pits and then to Ormiston Gorge where we hiked to the lookout, before heading for a swim and lunch. The water was quite cold but refreshing in the 35 degree heat. We had another swim after lunch.
From there it was onto Serpentine Gorge and another hike to the waterhole. You can’t swim there - wasn’t enough water anyway - but it did get us all hot and ready for our last stop of the day at the Ellery Creek Big Hole.
The big hole held big expectations. The last time we were here was in winter and the water was freezing and a mass fish kill had just occurred due to the regular natural condition that depletes the waters oxygen.
We got out the inflatable thong for this visit (it had hit 37 degrees by now) and enjoyed our swim in the cool water. We swam all the way through the gap to another beach hidden behind the imposing rock formations. Very refreshing!
By this time it was 4pm and so time to trek back to Alice and our van and for afternoon beers. A great day out with beautiful scenery and refreshing swims.
Tomorrow it’s bacon and eggs for breakkie and another adventure afterwards.