West of Alice

Thursday morning, after a nice breakfast (and pre-cooking some of the more perishable food we had got when we thought we were staying put for a couple of days), we packed up and headed out to the West McDonnell Range, west of Alice Springs. (There is also an East McDonnell Range, logically located east of Alice. There is a natural "gap" in the mountains, right on the edge of town.)

Our first destination is the Standley Chasm, located on private property. There is a relatively short hike into the actual chasm, with several side trails leading up into the rocks and cliffs that make up the more 'gentle' slopes of the canyon sides before the actual cliff faces. It's recommended to arrive at the chasm between 12:15 and 12:30, in order to see it when the sun comes in. We are there a bit earlier than that,but it is still gorgeous.

Shawn takes the hard way

End of the Chasm

 We took one of the side trails on our way out of the chasm. It was gorgeous, but steep going. I was struggling a bit with the precariousness of the rocky climb, so I took a break while Shawn went up a bit higher on his own.

I don't need to go up any higher, thanks.

Love these gum trees

When we returned to the carpark, we pulled a few things out of the cooler and set up our table and chairs in the shade for a little lunch. We had avocado and Vegemite (well, I did) on rye crackers, and some of the best yogurt I have ever had in my life.

Better than ice cream

Helpful reminder

Then we hit the road west again, to do more hiking at Orniston Gorge, and and possibly camp there for the night. We arrived at the "rough" camping area around 3 pm, and it was not so rough as the guide book had led us to believe. There were flush toilets and cooking burners and a kiosk with ice cream and resident managers even. We decided to hike the gorge before setting up camp, so we'd have enough daylight to make it back. 


There was a somewhat ominous-sounding sign posted at the trailhead, warning that it "may" be necessary to "SWIM" or "scramble over steep rocks" towards the end of the trail. Though I didn't like the sound of "swim" at ALL, I fixated on "may" and off we went. This trail had some steep moments, especially along the first half. I loved the parts with railings, much more than the parts without.

Climbing and more climbing

Named the "Ghost Gum" walk for these beautiful trees

 The first half of the walk is mostly climbing. Near the highest point is a lookout deck, suspended out over the edge into the gorge. The trail then descends down into the bottom, and the second half is a lot of bouldering along the riverbed/bank. We really enjoyed this hike, and it wasn't until the very end, and after the sun had gone behind the mountains, that we came across a point where we realized that we would either have to scramble over the side of a cliff, or get wet. It wasn't clear where other hikers had crossed, but there did seem to be a point in the river where a line of rocks was visible in the murky water. I had a bit of anxiety come out at this point, which Shawn did his best to calm. He went first, and used his trekking poles on either side of the narrow and, it turns out, slippery rock crossing. I took off my shoes and he passed the poles over to me. I made it across without falling, and the water wasn't even over my knees. Not sure what I was so anxious about!

Lookout

View from above

Bouldering! 

Exciting geology (or so I am told)

 We got back to the camping area and ran into one of the resident managers. She was very nice and we talked with her quite a while. She and her husband were retired were from Victoria. They had been vacationing in the north in the winter for years, before deciding to work winters taking care of the park.

Though the sites were non-powered, there were a fair number of caravans and camper vans. As usual we were the rare tent. I cooked dinner with leftover chicken sausages, veggies and garbanzo beans, after being helped to light the burner by a scruffy-looking but very kind fellow who was also cooking. He gave us some matches, which was one thing we did not have. (Shawn had a very cool flint, but it wasn't the best for lighting these types of burners.) We had a lovely evening, the camp was lively but not loud. At one point a dingo trotted through the middle, and it looked to me like he was trying to blend in as a dog. He noticed that the back hatch of the car was open, and the way he eyeballed it made me get up and close it. He skittered a few feet away when I stepped towards him, but otherwise didn't seem too afraid, or too aggressive. It was too dark to get a decent picture though.

After my anxiety and then relief during the gorge hike, we decided to do it again in the morning, only start at the end and go the opposite way. So after breakfast we broke camp and headed back to the trail. We climbed the cliff this time instead of crossing the water. It didn't look nearly as frightening in the morning light, but it was still a bit hairy.

Shawn goes first

Ghost Gum in morning sunlight

Lookout again

Hi, my name is Shawn and I like rocks.

The rest of the hike was wonderful, and I felt much calmer about the steep trails. It was nice to go somewhere that was somewhat familiar, even though the different lighting and direction did change the look of things more than I expected. 


After our hike we headed back towards Alice Springs. We spent the afternoon at the Alice Springs Desert Park, which was pretty and interesting. They had the different types of desert biology, with recorded guide discussions of the various points. The place included animals as well, some were ones that were rare or would only be seen at night. The nocturnal house was actually pretty dark, so some of the critters were pretty hard to see, but it was cool. A highlight was the afternoon bird show. There was an outdoor amphitheater, and a bird guy put some trained desert birds through an amazing performance. The show included an owl, a falcon and a kite, and a couple of hilarious galahs. 

Galahs!

Look at those eyes!

 After the desert park, we headed back to the G'Day Mate Tourist Park, and got a site near where we had camped before. We decided to go back to Annie's for dinner, and managed to find the place ourselves. Shawn called Oliver and he met us there after work, and we had another great evening eating drinking and talking. Oliver shared stories form when he had raised a pair of baby fruit bats, from a wildlife rehab. The way he described their behavior was hilarious. We made plans to meet the following morning at his place, which was near the caravan park as well as being next door to the site of the Permablitz. Our plan was to do some gardening in the morning and head north in the afternoon.