Blogs from West McDonnell Ranges, Northern Territory, Australia, Oceania - page 2

What a great place! Plenty of good camping spots. We stayed for two nights at the Ellery Creek Big Hole and did some of the shorter walks there and at Ormiston Gorge. It was a hot day when we arrived at Ellery Creek and took a walk to look at the water hole. No one was around so we stripped off down to undies and bra and jumped in! Freezing cold! Read the sign later to discover that it is always extremely cold. Have to be careful of hyperthermia in cooler months. It was great after you got used to it, very refreshing. Stopped back into Alice Springs to pick up Max from his little holiday (Dog Kennel). He had a great time bunked up with an old greyhound. The two of them slept in air ... read more

Having done a fair bit of trekking overseas, I thought it was about time to hoof it and see a bit of my own country for a change. The Larapinta Trail is a classic trek along the West MacDonnell Ranges out of Alice Springs; around 223km over 2-3 weeks. I signed up for a 7-day trip with World Expeditions which covered the highlights of the Trail. NT had a lot of rain earlier this year, so instead of red desert & barren rocks everything was unexpectedly lush and green. The trek was absolutely fantastic with stunning vistas, especially along the ridgelines, culminating in reaching the summit of Mount Sonder for a magnificent sunrise. The terrain was challenging and hard underfoot (dolomite rock with little topsoil), the days were hot at around 28c, and it was fabbo ... read more

Today we packed up and headed off to Kings Canyon, its a bright sunny day but the wind is still chilly. There are heaps of vehicles on the road heading in the same direction only a few don't have a caravan or trailer on behind. Kings Canyon was lovely and we opted for the easier River Walk instead of the Rim Walk and saw the views from the canyon floor. After a look at the map we decided to press on to Ormiston Gorge - the red sand and rocks slowed us down a bit and i am sorry i missed taking a photo of the 110km/hr sign on the red sandy road to show Tamo. The drive was worth it when we pulled into Ormiston Gorge campground and were given the best camping sites ! ... read more

EAST MACDONNELL RANGES - 10th November 2009 If time is short, most people skip the East MacDonnell Ranges and just do the West MacDonnell Ranges. But as my time is not short, I was lucky enough to venture into them both. The East Mac Ranges have alot to offer and there are camping areas at Trephina Gorge at the end of the Ranges, but I decided to just do the East as a day trip. The mercury is up there and with no water in any of the waterholes it's just one big hot dust bowl at most of the Gaps and gorges. Following the road along the East Ranges is nice, the Ranges are quite spectular and the drive is peaceful and my mind wanders. At least it's not possible to get lost, one road, ... read more

Day Eight Just to finish off yesterday…After we returned to camp from the internet debarcles - sorry no photos were published but there was a glitch with travelblog and they wouldn’t let us upload - we had a hurried sandwich and set off for a camel riding adventure. Only Jack, Emma, Ruby, Mima, Joe and myself were brave enough to actually mount the camel train and take part, the others were scaraedy cats. We were treated to the very excellent service of the ‘camela’ who did her very best to talk us out of taking the 15 minute trip because it was “just too hot for anything” and by yelling at the kids and being generally disinterested in my probing quiestions about camels. She even took her chances yelling at Rob, “Get off me bench would ... read more