West MacDonnell Ranges

Meneenie Loop, Crater, Redbank Gorge, Ormiston Gorge

Today we travelled through Aboriginal land on a terribly corrugated road – where many cars had lost tail lights due to the bumpiness. We walked through a comet crater– Gosse Bluff, saw the comet crater from a distance and met a swiss cyclist named ‘beat’ who was currently cycling throughout Australia (and had been for the last 2 years)
We then stopped into 2 amazing gorges – we weren’t expecting the beauty that we saw! Redbank Gorge was a short walk through a dry river bed so we were not expecting the waterhole at the end to be full. We were able to swim through the gorge (without any crocodiles) by ourselves and enjoy the tranquillity within the walls.
Ormiston Gorge was the next stop – another amazement! This is a permanent waterhole and is quite full at the moment due to the large amount of rain this year. We decided to camp two nights here to fully enjoy the surrounds.

Ormiston Gorge – swim and pound walk, Glen Helen Gorge swim

We headed off on the 7km pound walk around the gorge, expecting a few river crossings but not expecting our path to be cut off by a deep waterhole! Lucking out camera is waterproof so we were able to swim across the waterhole, getting shoes and clothes wet but camera safe and sound! The water is cool and clean with many fish and yabbies swimming about. We were again lucky to only come across a few people so it was a very peaceful experience!
After we hung up our wet clothes and sandshoes we headed off the Glen Helen Gorge prepared for a swim. We swam across the waterhole with our Swiss cyclist friend in order to see a rock formation called the ‘Organ Pipes’ – formation was disappointing but the swim was fantastic! As we hopped out a tour group came along and one Swiss girl saw a snake swimming in the water. Rather than scream or move away from it she picked it up by the tail and asked if it was dangerous, she picked it up and threw it a few times, laughing along!! Luckily it was only a baby and it ended up only being a legless lizard – crazy!


Serpentine Gorge, Ochre pits, Ellery Creek Big Hole, Standley Chasm, Simpsons Gap, Alice Springs

Sad to leave our campsite but the need for more adventure was on the cards so we headed off towards Alice Springs. Along the way we stopped into Serpentine Gorge – a tranquil gorge where no swimming is allowed due to some rare animals and plants being present in the area. The Ochre pits were another stop where Aboriginal people of the area used to gather their paint for different uses.
Soon after we arrive at Ellery Creek Big Hole with the intention of staying there the night but the campground was terrible and many people about (long weekend) so we swam through the gorge – about 200m long (Jamie did 3 laps – go Jamie)
We continued along the Larapinta highway, stopping in at Simpsons gap and then arrived in Alice Springs