Back in Alice we got our car serviced and received again one of the last unpowered camp sites. We didn’t do much else except climbing the Meyer’s Hill in the Botanical Garden and deciding that the West MacDonnell Ranges will be the next loop.
So we left Alice Springs on the Larapinta Drive (we’re not keen enough to do the Larapinta Walk covering around 220km). The first stop was at Simpsons Gap which is the most prominent gap in the West MacDonnell Ranges. We drove directly in front of the Gap and walked the last few 
meters. There were really good views at the gap and there was still ice-cold water in the creek. If you are lucky you can spot black-footed rock-wallabies but we didn’t see any. We only saw dead fish but this is a natural phenomenon. When the water gets colder and colder the fishes get stressed and a bacterium covers their gills until they die and provide food for other animals…
We walked the 1.5km Cassia Hill loop which showed some local plants – luckily we took an information sheet - and elevated views of the range and the Simpson Gap. You can reach the Simpson Gap via a Bike Path (17km) from Alice Springs and you can stop several times – there are bike racks provided. But some people must love their bikes and even carry them around the walk which went up the hill.
Standley Chasm was the next stop although you have to pay an entry fee, but it was nice. The Chasm is also a gap between the mountain ridge but no water flowed in between . We climbed over several rocks, just between the big rocks climbing up on the right and left. You just had 5-10m in between. But it was a dead-end suddenly there were rocks lying in front of you and you couldn’t climb them (too dangerous and probably dead-end).
At this place we saw several funny looking trees. One tree was lying on the ground but it still had branches growing up. Actually I’m not sure if the tree was still growing or if a fig tree was growing on top of it. Anyway it looked great.
Then we reached Ellery Creek Big Hole and were lucky to get a
camp site! The waterhole within the gorge was big but the water was definitely to cold for a swim and I don’t really want to join dead fishes… So we just took our pictures and went back to the camp to prepare dinner – it’s a nice thing to have free gas BBQ’s. There are only two walks – the wheelchair friendly to the Ellery Creek and the 3km long Dolomite Walk. During the Dolomite Walk we saw some flowers, several rocks which show the geological process of the site and of course lots of stones on the path.
After packing the tent we drove further west stopping at Serpentine Gorge. This area is just for day-visitors and gets its name from the way the water is flowing through – it moves around like a snake… The car park is probably 3km away form the gorge – to protect the environment. We walked up the hill to the lookout – it was strenuous to walk up the hill although there were steps all the way. But we had a wonderful view into the gorge. There was still some water but it was not connected anymore it was more like several little lakes.
At Ormiston Gorge where camping with showers is available we just stayed for the walks and decided against the ranger talk as it was really crowed and we arrived a bit early. We walked past the Ghost Gum Lookout and further on through the gorge and water back to the 
camping area. There is also the possibility to do a 3-4h walk of the Ormiston Pound but they said you had to swim across the creek (lot of rain during the last days…). Our walk led us halfway up the mountain so we had good views into the gorge and beyond.
Finally we had to crawl over big stones to the riverbed (maybe we took a shortcut) and then over the stones in the creek-bed. The first section was dry but we could see in the back pounded water and people floating on mattresses around and a little bit of water in front of us. We checked first the rocks if there was a dry way back to the car park but decided against the climbs and took our shoes off. It’s much easier to walk barefoot through water… And the water was cold, luckily just knee deep.
The next day we drove to Redbank Gorge – the last gorge able to be visited. You have to walk through the creek to reach the gorge. The waterhole is near permanent and you could swim through the gorge – flotation device recommended and only on warm days as the water won’t get warm. The fishes in that area were still alive – so maybe the water is not as cold as in the other gorges or the fishes are from another species.
Have you ever had the feeling to miss some opportunities? We just experienced two by not having the camera at hand. On the way to the gorge a dingo crossed the road in front of us and then had a wee or poo. He was in no way concerned that cars may drive past. The other missed opportunity was during the walk – an eagle was getting his lunch. He dived into the water to catch some fishes – not sure if he actually caught one but he didn't return to try again.
We returned to the campsite “2 Mile 4WD camping” – free camping close or even in the Finke river. We erected the tent and collected the firewood and created our own fire-ring – it looked like a big stove with three single plates. We had a quiet time and did a lot of star-gazing. Venus, Mars and Saturn were visible all evening and it was quite comfortable to lay on the blanket and watch the sky. We even saw the ISS, some other satellites, several shooting stars and of course the Southern Cross.
Unfortunately it started to rain during the night so we decided to stay a little bit longer and not to return for Territory Day. This camp area is close to Glen Helen – the only commercially operated “resort” in the West MacDonnell Ranges. They offered a fireworks display as well. And we watched it from the shelter of our tent. It was interesting how the sound echoed from the surrounding ranges.
Best regards,
Tom and Anja
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