Gorgeous gorges
Today we did a very big drive out to the West MacDonnell Ranges and back via Hermannsburg Historic Precinct. John and I were very fortunate to be able to travel in Ian and Kathy's Landcruiser with them for the day. That way we could share the cost of fuel and John got a much needed day off from driving.We got away quite early and our first stop was Ellery Creek Big Hole. We had been told to expect the water here to be cold....and they weren't kidding! It was icy cold!! Especially being still mostly in shade after a very cold night. We did enjoy the wonderful scenery though.
Next we went to the nearby Ochre Pits. This site is very special to the local indigenous people as the coloured ochre pigments were used by them for both artwork and ceremonial decoration. The colours were amazing here...especially with the late morning sun on the cliffs.
We drove on from here to Ormiston Gorge. Before sightseeing we stopped for morning tea. Some delicious blueberry muffins baked in the Weber last evening. Delicious! Ormiston Gorge was possibly the most magnificent sight of the day.There is also a big swimming hole and creek running through the gorge, and despite the coolness of the water, some people were swimming here. One mother of two little girls happily playing in the water cheerfully said she'd get them out when they go blue.
We sat on the rocks overlooking the water for some time, chatting to various fellow travellers. Steve went off with camera in hand to take some pictures around the bend in the gorge. He was gone for some time and we were starting to worry that something had happened to him. Fortunately Ian went of to find him and he was just excited and distracted by the lovely scenery and lost track of time.
Off we went headed for Glen Helen gorge. It felt a bit surreal...like driving through a living painting. The colours of the distant hills, Mt Sonder and all set against an impossibly blue sky made us gasp with delight.
We were looking forward to seeing Glen Helen Resort and planned to have a picnic lunch there. There were not much by way of facilities for day trippers there, although the resort provides for both caravan and safari style tent camping. We had our lunch sat in an information shelter.
An old dog wandered over to us with a bandana tied around his neck. The bandana had the words "Do Not Feed Me" emblazoned on it. The poor old dog was quite offended when we complied and growled at Kathy as she ate her meat sandwich.
After lunch we walked down to have a look at the Gorge. We declined to swim across to see the "Organ Pipes" rock formation though. Water is still to cold! We did take lots of photos as usual and enjoyed the walk here. It would be nice to stay longer and be able to do more walks, although I don't think we'd be up to doing the Larapinta Trail.
We were starting to run out of time if we wanted to fit Hermannsburg into our afternoon. The apple strudel here had come highly recommended.
We arrived just as the café was about to close and Barb sprinted in and ordered strudel and apple and rhubarb slice as take- aways. The lovely young girl behind the counter not only warmed the strudel, she also supplied whipped cream, forks and disposable containers for us. We bought cold drinks and sat outside in the garden to consume our bounty.
The drive through the town of Hermannsburg was a little off-putting. It looked very sad and run-down. The buildings of the old historic site where the mission stood was similarly run-down and dilapidated, but it was interesting to take a look around and find out about its history.
Aboriginal painter Albert Namatjura was born near here and some of his relatives still paint here, so Barb was delighted to find some example of his artwork and a rather good display of paintings of more recent artists. She's had her art fix and is very happy.
It was a long drive back to Alice springs, but we were all very relieved that the whole loop is now sealed road so there was no bouncing around on corrugated dirt tracks to be endured. Yay!
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