Gorgeous Gorges

mcnovies
Jun 9
4 min read

Kings Canyon was left behind as we journeyed to Finke Gorge National Park (Palm Valley) via the famous Mereenie Loop. This is an unsealed road that links Kings Canyon to Alice Springs. It is about 145kms long and I reckon it is 99% corrugations. It is known as the “caravan killer”. We passed about 8 caravans that appeared to be shaking like a washing machine out of balance as they tried to stay off the corrugations while wandering across the road.

Palm Valley was stunning, with its huge red outcrops dissected by the Finke River (dry river at the moment) which is one of the oldest rivers on earth. It is home to around 12,000 palms. It is famous for its Red Cabbage Palms that are only found in this area.

The campground was small (about 20 sites) with several walks of the National Park nearby. We did a couple of walks … one that provided a panoramic view of the area.

Next day, we drove up to the start of another walk with TVan in tow. Access is strictly 4WD… with 2 foot holes, ledges, rocks and sand along the way as well as the obligatory dry creek bed. We scrapped the top of the mudflaps on the Tvan. Finke Gorge is definitely a place that I would come back to and explore further…

Palm Valley

We headed to Hermannsburg after Palm Valley.

Hermannsburg was the home of renowned watercolourist Albert Namatjira who was born and grew up there; its colours and landscape a signature of his paintings.

I (Pete) visited Hermannsburg in about 1983 – I recall it being January and stinking hot. We got to Hermannsburg to have a look around and hoping to get fuel. The generator was down and no fuel was available. From memory, Hermannsburg consisted of the original Lutheran Church (b1877), a couple of associated dwellings and a rustric general store… that was it. The Church buildings (it still stands today and is part of their historical precinct) were all white and quite stunning in this remote area. It is about 130km from Alice Springs. On that trip we drove back to Alice Springs on the empty mark … air conditioning off, melting inside (trying to minimise wind drag?), 40- 60kmph, cruising down every hill and crawling up them … we made it back with 4 litres in the tank …

Today, it is reasonably busy with a bustling IGA, school, bank and a service station. In the 2021 census, Hermannsburg reported a declining population of about 550 people with nearly 90% identifying as “aboriginal”.

The Hermannsburg Potters are located here. These are a collective of highly respected senior women artists of the Western Arrarnta (Arrernte) community. They make vibrant hand-coiled and hand-painted terracotta pots depicting the local wildlife, country and everyday life while reflecting their cultural beliefs and traditions. Unfortunately, they were not open the day we visited.

West MacDonnell Ranges at Sunset

We headed for Ormiston Gorge located in the Tjoritja/West McDonnell National Park for 3 nights. Again, another small campground of about 20 campsites – all jam-packed in. Luck for us we had one of the ‘bigger’ sites!

That evening we wandered down to the Gorge to watch the colours of the rock face change as the sunset ... beautiful indeed!

The next morning, we did the Ghost Gum walk ... about a 7km round trip that included steps, rock hopping and wading through very chilly water. The ghost gums with their silver/white trunks and vibrant green foliage are a very impressive site against the red rocks and gorge.

After a chilly start (5 degrees) we headed a little further west to Redbank Gorge. The walk up to the waterhole was mainly up the dry creek bed … so lots of coarse sand in the boots and socks! As with all these water holes the water temperature is way too cold for a swim. To complete our day, we then headed back in an easternly direction to visit the Ochre Pits. These pits are a significant Aboriginal heritage site. It is the only ochre quarry in the Central Australia region that is open to the public and still used by the traditional owners. The ochre at this site ranges in colour from earthy brown, bright yellow, orange and red. Under cultural laws, woman cannot mine or collect the ochre - it can only be handed to them by a male.

Another chilly morning (6 degrees), another pack up and we were on the road. First stop Ellery Creek Big Hole, a large waterhole in Ellery Creek that cuts through (another) gorge in the Tjoritja National Park.

The drive in to Redbank Waterhole

From there we headed to Owen Springs Reserve for a one-night camp at Redbank Waterhole Campground. The drive in was on a narrow sandy track of about 60kms long where we travelled along the dry creek bed for kms at a time then dodging around trees and boulders on the edge of the creek.

Owen Springs Reserve covers 1,570 square kilometres and was formerly Owen Springs Cattle Station. The main access (4wd only) road through the reserve closely follows the route taken by John McDouall Stuart during his early 1860 expeditions. Along the access road we saw the old Owen Homestead ruins, the site of the first station homestead built in Central Australia. As you drive up the old station the white walls really standout, the old building had significant restoration work done around 2010 – 2012. Tonight, we have a great (not packed-in) campsite on a dry creek bed, lots of ghost gums and oh so quiet.