Alice Springs & West MacDonnell Ranges

We finally reached Alice Springs on Sunday 26 July after another overnight stay at Erldunda on the way from Kings Canyon. After a very cold night Monday dawned sunny and clear with a chill wind so we set about discovering the delights of Alice Springs. We were soon drooling over the large number of art galleries specialising in quality Aboriginal art and had picked out at least three paintings we could seriously be interested in. There were also another couple we particularly liked but the price tag was unfortunately way over our budget. We also visited The Residency, built in 1927 as the residence for the first Government Resident of the southern section of the Northern Territory, which is now a museum. As well as displays and photos of the history of European settlement in Central Australia there were records and photos of the first Royal visit by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh followed some years later by Prince Charles and Princess Diana. Obviously they were very important occasions in the history of this isolated but important Central Australian town.

After lunch we visited the Old Telegraph Station which was constructed in the early 1870s to relay messages between Darwin and Adelaide and helped establish fast and direct communication between Britain and Australian for the first time. The Overland Telegraph Line which ran for 3,200kms from Port Augusta and Darwin took two years to complete, cost approx half a million dollars and required work teams to cut and erect 36,000 timber poles – a remarkable feat of engineering and human endurance! The five buildings on the site were constructed of local stone and the Station Master’s residence had shady verandahs facing north and south which together with the very thick walls helped to keep out the summer heat. The Telegraph Station was established next to a waterhole on the Todd River which was the ‘original’ Alice Springs and to support itself, the Station was also a grazing property with its own blacksmith, butchery and post office.




The buildings were later used as a home and school for aboriginal children including the late Charlie Perkins, the well-known Aboriginal activist. Charlie’s mother was the cook there however it didn’t prevent him being taken away and sent to Adelaide as part of the scheme responsible for the Stolen Generation. The Station tour guide had known Charlie Perkins and being part of the Stolen Generation himself he had a few stories to tell but in his case they were mostly happy ones. During World War II the buildings were used to house the military forces in the area.

On Tuesday we headed west to begin our discovery of the West MacDonnell Ranges. Our first stop was just out of town where we visited the grave of the Rev. John Flynn who established the Royal Flying Doctor Service. After driving west along Larapinta Drive and then Namatjira Drive for approx 150kms we reached the turn off to Redbank Gorge, which was another 5km along a corrugated dirt road – our first real 4WD experience this trip! A 20 minute walk along the creek bed, mostly clambering over rocks, brought us to a narrow gorge where red rock walls soared above a small waterhole.




Retracing our drive 33kms to the east on Namatjira Drive we reached Glen Helen Gorge which was created when the Finke River, the oldest original watercourse in the world, broke through on its way to the Simpson Desert. The Gorge shelters one of only 9 permanent waterholes along the length of this important inland river.

Driving another few kms down the road we made the turn off to Ormiston Gorge and Pound where we decided to take the 7km Ormiston Pound Walk. This walk took us on a full circuit of the area from the car park, across slopes, through small pretty valleys climbing, climbing until we reached a lookout with the most spectacular views of the Pound – absolutely breathtaking! We continued along the track which eventually dropped down onto the floor of the Pound where we made two crossings of Ormiston Creek (read plenty of boulders to clamber over). The track followed the length of the Gorge with its towering, red walls above a base comprised of layers of multi-coloured rock until it reached the main waterhole. Unfortunately we had to clamber over what seemed like hundreds more boulders along the route of the creek to get there! Shortly after reaching the waterhole we sighted another wild dingo coming down to the pool to have a drink – better photos this time. The walk took us 2.5hours to complete which was better than the estimated 3-4 hours but we were quite weary at the finish.




On the 135kms drive back to Alice Springs we made a very short stop to see the Ochre Pits which have been mined by the desert Aboriginal people for generations. This natural mineral is found here in a range of earthy colours and is used for paintings and ceremonial body decoration. After our busy day we treated ourselves to a pizza meal at a nearby restaurant this evening.