Tjoritja/West MacDonnell National Park Pt 1

Map taken from http://www.outback-australia-travel-secrets.com/west-macdonnell-ranges.html

Warning, danger ahead. You are in imminent danger of being overwhelmed by photographs of some of the most beautiful places in central Australia (well at least we think so).  So many in fact that I have had to divide this post into two or risk crashing either your computers or your senses.  We loved our stay in Tjoritja National Park.  It totally stunned and surprised us (even though we had heard it was fantastic it still exceeded our expections).  We spent 3 nights at Glen Helen Homestead – in itself a drop dead gorgeous (pun intended) location.  But the rest of the ranges did our heads, eyes and senses in. 

Tjoritja is a long national park running along the spine of the West Macs.  The major sites are again the gaps caused by water erosion.  I have organized this post in the order of the diagram above, although we weren’t that methodical.  I will provide a short description of each location, but mostly I hope to let our photos do the talking about this amazing part of Australia.

Simpsons Gap

Just 24k from Alice is Simpsons Gap.  This is the easiest site to access – sealed roads and carpark, visitor information, and an easy walk from the carpark to the gap.  Whilst the gap has water it is not suitable for swimming.

 Angkerle Atwatye “the Gap of Water” - Standley Chasm

A further 25k down the road lies Standley Chasm.  Standley Chasm is a deep cleft in the ranges with 80m walls on either side which has been gouged out of the sandstone by the Finke River over millions of years.  Standley Chasm Angkerle Atwatye is found within a private flora and fauna reserve owned and operated by the local community and therefore requires an entry fee.  The entry fee gives you access to a short walk up the creek bed to the Chasm.  There is also a kiosk on site, just in case you need a bite to eat (or maybe an icecream in our case) after your walk.

 

 

Ellery Creek Big Hole

80k from Alice, Ellery Creek Big Hole is a spectacular waterhole formed where Ellery Creek cuts its way through the ranges.  We arrived here in the middle of an afternoon as we had heard how lovely but cool this waterhole was.  Yes it was quite cool – not really bad though.  And for our endurance we were rewarded with one of the most amazing swims our family has ever had.  We swam across the main pool and through the gorge to the beach area on the other side.  We explored a bit, lay on the warm sunbaked sand to heat ourselves up before returning.  It was truly spectacular.  My ownly regret is that as we pulled the GoPro out to take with us – we realised it had accidently turned on and had no battery.  The best part of this waterhole now lives in our families' memories.

 

 

Serpentine Gorge

Serpentine Gorge was another beautiful West Mac gorge.  This time there was a slightly longer walk across country and then along the creek bed to the gorge.  We tried to get the kids to do the lookout out walk – but we may have done one or two already that day so there was a strong veto and vote for swimming at Ellery Creek instead.  Even without the lookout this was still a lovely walk – but they all are here.

 

Ochre Pits

 

The Ochre Pits walk offered another lovely stroll ending at this amazing and sacred site.  Ochre has and still provides an important source of material for indigenous Australians.  Aboriginal people have extracted ochre from these cliffs for thousands of years.  The ochre pits are still in use today by the Western Arrente people mainly for ceremonial purposes.  The ochre pits are a registered sacred site and protected by law.  It was a cool experience to see all the different hues of ochres alongside each other – almost making the pits themselves an amazing piece of art.

Ormiston Gorge

 

Ormiston Gorge offered short or long walks and with a permanent waterhole it also offers swimming all year round.  We chose to do the Ghost Gum Lookout Walk which wasn’t a long walk – but did offer a good climb to get to the lookout.  The view was completely worth it.  The rugged towering red cliffs, the ability to look down to the waterhole many tens of metres beneath us, the view out over the surrounding landscape and of course the beautiful ghost gums made this walk worth every step climbed.  There is also a national parks campground with a kiosk, again offering the ability for a truly cold drink or in the boys case an icy pole after our walk.  We didn’t swim here choosing instead to swim at Glen Helen gorge that day.