East MacDonnell Ranges

The 17th - 23rd May 2016

TREPHINA GORGE

This is a brilliant National Park camp. $6.60 a night! And this view from our site. Only one other campervan here. Another couple - Tim and Martine from Melbourne. Great people our age, and not shy of a chat. Perfect! 

And it is soooooooo quiet! There are designated spots that are very spaced out so no risk of anyone parking right on top of us! Love it!

First night got set up in time to watch the sunset against the rock. Not a bad view from our "front yard"!  Almost full moon.

Moonrise.

Feeling the serenity!

DAY ONE

The Gorge Trail - 1 hour loop

This walk was our favourite so far. Almost like a mini Kings Canyon walk. Gorge--ous!

Here we go again! Up, up, up.

View down to the dry river bed. A lot of the rivers in this region are dry on the surface most of the time. The water flows subterraneanly. The common trees here in the east ranges are River Red Gums. The gums love it in these sandy rivers because they have one long tap root that sources the water below. The rest of the roots spread out to anchor the tree. Sometimes the root mass is larger than the actual tree! Lesson for the day!

Down, down, down.

Then up, up, up again.

The colours are truly this vibrant. No photoshop.

Up, up, up again!

Down, down, down to the river bed.

Evidence everywhere that central Australia was once a huge ocean. Ripples in the rock.

Dwarfed again by the gorge walls.

Some of the rock formations are so smooth and shiny from millions of years of water running over them. Dezziz favourites.

The mighty River Red Gum.

DAY TWO

Decided to try my hand at bread making in the Weber. Well.....bloody fantastic. The waft of bread cooking...mmmmmmm. And for a first go just a bit proud of the result. DELICIOUS!

Oh yeah! Fresh, warm, crusty bread with lashings of butter and vegemite!

So good I made another batch for pizza that night, and a couple of bread rolls for the next day.

So yummy.

You can't beat a good pizza,  a cheeky little red, a brilliant sunset, moonrise, and peace and quiet with your best friends!

Feeling pretty happy.

DAY THREE

Next morning, toast and jam with the homemade bread, a flat white and my book. Aaahhh big sigh of contentment.

Really roughing it!

Went for another walk along the Gorge Trail with Deb and Harry before lunch to stretch the legs.

Then for lunch warm pork roast, gravy and apple sauce rolls. All homemade. I am now addicted to baking bread. Can't wait to get back to Alice to restock my baking supplies ha ha ha!

That night we had an outdoor movie night over at Deb and Harry's place. Bit chilly, but great night. Bridge of Spies with Tom Hanks. Really good movie.

DAY FOUR

Lazy morning. The most strenuous activity was doing some hand washing and lugging a 20 litre bucket of water from the communal tap back to the van. Counting that as a trip to the gym?!?!

Dez and Harry doing some maintenance jobs. Deb's spring loaded washing line went sproing. What a tangle! Fixed that.

Then another project with Harry's portable solar panel. Gotta keep the boys busy somehow!

DAY FIVE

The Panorama Trail. Up bright and early. Well, 7.30 am, which is early for us!

A 90 minute circuit. This was a great walk, and my favourite of the trip so far.

Up we go again.

Almost at the top.

The trails are really well maintained. 

Not far now.

The view across the gorge to the other walk we have done. 

Looking east.

Looking west.

Happy to be at the top.

Looking down the valley to the campground.

Down.......

Down....

Down.

Halfway down a gate and fence. Not sure why. Figured maybe the edge of the National Park.

These dead trees are all over the Northern Territory. Have yet to find a Ranger to get the lowdown on them.

Down into the valley.

And done! Back to the dry sandy riverbed.

BIRDS 

These little Zebra Finches are everywhere in the Ranges. Many more in the East than West. The males are so pretty. Trouble is they flit about so quickly it is hard to get a shot. Managed these few though. 

Female.

Male.

Couple shot.

This guy is a juvenile White-necked Pacific Heron. He was at Ellery Creek in the Western Ranges.

This is the Spinifex Pigeon. We only saw these in the Western Ranges. They are our favourites. Like little wind up toys zipping about.

The juvenile Spiny-Cheeked Honeyeater.

There were so many more, of course, but didn't manage to get photos.  The Western Bowerbird in Alice Springs was elusive when the camera came out, but this is his bower.

Hawks that were too far away to distinguish. Sunbirds that never sit still. The common black crow.

The peacefulness of listening to all their chatter was wonderful. Except for the crows, but they were scarce!

Other interesting things we found over the week.

Bones!!!  This was only small. Perhaps a small marsupial?

Think a dingo won this argument. Poor little wallaby!

The rock formations both small and monstrous look like they have put together like puzzles.

Some Aboriginal rock art.

DAY SIX

Beautiful sunrise. Up and off to do the Panorama Trail again at 7.30 a.m. Gosh we're keen!

Moon setting.

So we decided to go for a drive to Ross River Homestead. About 25klm back out the main road. It was a bit odd driving after a week!

Well....not that much to see really, but it was a "nice outing"!

There was a massive pig....

Chooks and ducks....

Pea hens...

Peacock....

Cows....

Horses....

The old Homestead which was built in 1893. It is made from mud brick.

There was no name to go with this portrait but assume they were the original owners.

There was lots of old stuff.

On the way back took a side track to John Hayes Rockhole. 4klm 4WD track in. A bit of four by fun!

The track was rocky / sandy. 

No photos of the Rockhole because the camera battery died. Not very organised!!! Suffice to say it was more beautiful, rocky, waterhole gorgeousness!  Harry wasn't with us so I didn't have to do the waterhole dunk challenge....phew!

In summation - The MacDonnell Ranges are a must do on anyone's list. The breathtaking beauty of this region is so incredibly awesome.