From Uluru we continued exploring the MacDonnell Ranges and went to King's Canyon. We went on the full 7.4 km canyon rim walk which started with a 600 step walk to the top of the canyon. It is very steep and as it was pretty hot a lot of rests were had but we didn't look down much. It was well worth it. The canyon is very different to Uluru and the Olga's as the rock face is much more ragged. The views throughout the 3.5 hour walk were fantastic as we walked around the rim of canyon. Other than the start the steep descent and ascent on the only man made steps were the most challenging.
We then returned to our friends Frapper and Curls in Alice Springs and went to the site of the old Lutheran Mission at Hermannsburg. The town is still home to the Aranda people and the mission is now a museum where we viewed some wonderful aboriginal art including some prints of Albert Namatjira, an Aranda man who was educated at the mission. We gained a good understanding of the mission and it role. The town also had an interesting solar farm that provided up to 50% of the power to the community households.
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| Hermannsburg German farmhouse |
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| Hermannsburg Lutheran Mission |
We also saw a number of rock formations in the West MacDonnell Ranges. They were all very beautiful and very different. They included Glen Helen Gorge, Ormiston Gorge, Serpentine Gorge, Standley Chasm, Simpson's Gap and the Ellery Creek Big Hole. Marty reckoned the MacDonnell Ranges are gorgeous!!. We arrived at the Chasm at about midday when the sun was directly over head. The sun highlighted the colours in the rocks in the Chasm. We were also fascinated by the Ochre Pits. The varying ochre colours are naturally occurring and have been used in traditional dances and ceremonies for years.
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| Marty & I with Curls & Frapper at Helen Gorge |
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| Ochre Pits |
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| Ormiston Goreg |
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| Ormiston goreg & Pound sprctacular scenery in the West MacDonnell Ranges |
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| Marty tastint the waters at Ormiston Goreg |
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| Well what coul I say |
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| serpentine Gorge, a norrow, winding gorge wiyh a series of semi-permanent waterholes. |
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| Serpentine Gorge |
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| Ellery Creek Big Hole |
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| Ellery Creek Bighole |
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| Glen Helen Gorge |
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| Glen Helen Gorge |
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| Marty & I at Glen Helen Gorge |
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| Simpsons Gap |
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| Simpsons Gap |
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| Simpsons Gap |
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| Simpsons Gap |
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| Simpsons Gap |
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| Standley Chasm is a narrow cleft in the ranges we were here at midday when the sunon the walls of the chasm are a blaze red from the overhead sun's reflection. |
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| Standley chasm with its cathedral-height walls |
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| Standley Chasm |
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| Standley Chasm |
We also spent some time in the East MacDonnells starting with the beautiful Ross River camping ground. We paddled in Trephina Gorge which had water in it, apparently a rare occurrence. We later had a look at Corroboree Rock and Jessie Gap.
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| Corroboree Rock is an Eastern Arrernte sacred site, |
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| 'windows' on Corroboree Rock |
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| Jessie Gap just one of two small gaps in the Heavitree Range that contain Aboriginal paintings |
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| Trephina Gorge Nature Park |
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| Trephina Gorge is noted for its sheer quartzite cliffs and river red gum lined watercourses. |
Again the variety and magnificence of our country struck us. All these wonderful sites were developed naturally over many years and allowed us to reflect on how lucky our country is.
