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Destinations > MacDonnell Ranges
MacDonnell Ranges
In the day's last light, the range radiates shades of red and purple. Eroded and almost bare, its backbone is like the skeleton of a long-dead mythical creature, picked clean by the vultures of time. In the shadows, red sand is dotted with spiky clumps of pale yellow spinifex, still exhaling the warmth sucked in from laying day-long under a baking sun. This is the West MacDonnells, Central Australia.
Simpsons Gap
The journey starts in Alice Springs and heads west, taking the blacktop of Larapinta Drive. The turn-off appears on the right 17km out of town. A Further 7km gets you to the carpark but then it's only a 200m stroll along the banks of Roe Creek to the Gap itself.
Simpsons Gap has significance to many different people - to the Aboriginals, it's home to a group of giant goanna ancestors. The first European to see Simpsons Gap was Gilbert McMinn, who discovered it in 1871 while scouting a path for the Overland Telegraph. He described the area as "...one of the finest pieces of scenery I have met with for a long time". The way through the gap is barred by a freezing pool left by the receding Roe Creek, and access is limited. This seemingly harmless watercourse, fringed with white-trunked gums, must have been as determined and relentless as a prisoner in a tiny cell, gouging a tiny fracture in the rock until this wide gap was formed.
Several walking trails lead to lookouts and other gaps, and explore the area's rare and relict plant life. Shy black-footed rock wallabies can be spotted early or late in the day.
Twin Ghost Gums
The Twin Ghost Gums, located just over the ramp after turning back on to Larapinta Drive from Simpsons Gap, are a Central Australian icon. They have featured in many publications and photographs, and painted by the inimitable Albert Namatjira.
Someone should have warned me before I tore out of town to pay homage that they're now a sorry sight. One tree in particular has suffered spectacularly, looking like a famine victim; gaunt, all ribs and bony limbs. Experts can only speculate at the cause - termite infestation, pathogenic root fungi or processionary caterpillars. There are no signs to point you to them. A roadside stop and a freestanding brick wall are the only clues.
Standley Chasm
Swinging back on to Larapinta Drive and heading west, after 24km the signpost to Standley Chasm will tell you to turn right and proceed for another 9km. This area is owned by the Iwupataka Land Trust, and a small entry fee is charged.
The chasm was named after Mrs Ida Standley, who in 1914 became the first schoolteacher in Alice Springs. When the school for Aboriginal children moved to Jay Creek in 1925, she moved too and was the first non-Aboriginal woman to see the chasm.
The walking track to the chasm winds among gums and cycads along a creekbed of spring-fed pools. Turn a corner and you arrive at the deep, narrow cleft in sheer towering walls of fiery red that you've probably seen a million times in tourist brochures. The best time to visit is midday when the sun is overhead, and the walk takes about 20 minutes each way.
Ellery Creek Big Hole
After rejoining Larapinta Drive, travel 6km before turning right on to Namatjira Drive. A lookout on the left-hand side of the road, 32km from the turn-off, gives a great view west along the backbone of the MacDonnells. The Ellery Creek Big Hole turn-off is 10km from the lookout.
This is known to the Aboriginal people as a special meeting place on the fish and honey ant dreaming trail and renowned worldwide for its geological significance.
The rock outcrops on either side of the creek tell of this region's geological history from 850 to 310 million years ago. Layers of rock, deposited horizontally through the different climatic eras of these millions of years, have been tipped vertically. A drive from the waterhole to the park boundary chronicles this ancient land's history in the strata of the rock itself.
Serpentine Gorge
Follow Namatjira Drive for another 11km to reach Serpentine Gorge. The 2km of dirt track into the gorge can be rough. From the carpark it's a 1.3km walk to the southernmost gorge, which takes about half an hour. The narrow, winding gorge is home to many rare species of relict plants, such as cycads, cypress pines, red gums and ghost gums. The waterholes, particularly the permanent waters of the second gorge, are sanctuaries for fish and invertebrates.
Serpentine Chalet Ruins
Travel 6km along Namatjira Drive and another turn-off to the right leads to the ruins of Serpentine Chalet Bush Camp, numerous camping areas, Serpentine Chalet Dam and Chasm. The road is rough dirt and, after 2km, becomes 4WD only.
The Serpentine Chalet was constructed in the late 1950s, when tourism in the area was in its infancy. Back then, coach transport to the lodge, a WWII Blitz truck, would have taken all day to reach the Chalet over bone-jarring, deeply rutted tracks and steep creek crossings. Once there, in splendid isolation, the activity of choice was strapping on sturdy hiking boots, something the passing of 40 years hasn't changed.
Competition from the nearby Glen Helen Lodge and the difficulty of finding a reliable water source is said to have meant the end of the Serpentine Chalet venture in the 1960s. All that remains are the cement foundations and some debris.
Bryan Bowman held the lease over Glen Helen Station for 42 years and went into partnership with Bert Gardiner, a tourism pioneer from Alice Springs, to establish the Glen Helen Lodge in 1953.
The walking track to Chalet Dam and Chasm takes about three hours. For an interesting day walk follow part of the Larapinta Trail along the base of the MacDonnells to Inarlanga Pass, which is chock-full of cycads.
Ochre Pits
The Ochre Pits are a stunning break from gap and gorge scenery. They are located 6km along Namatjira Drive from Serpentine Chalet Ruins turn-off. A 300m path leads to these striking, rainbow-coloured cliffs. The colours are formed by iron oxides, resulting in hues from rich red and dark purple to mustard and yellow. White comes from fine pipe clay.
Ochre from these pits is still used. Under a tree we found a group of rocks used for the grinding of ochre into powder - each rock's flat surface covered with a fine residue of white, red or yellow.
Signs give invaluable information on the significance of the site and the uses of ochre but also warn sternly against touching, sampling or taking away. Hefty fines for stealing bits of ochre for any reason should deter most would-be body painters.
Apart from the path to the Ochre Pits there is a three-hour return marked bushwalk explaining Aboriginal survival skills and land management practices.
Ormiston Gorge
To the Aboriginal people, Ormiston Gorge is part of the Emu Dreaming, and the waterhole a registered sacred site. During WWII soldiers from Alice often weekended at Glen Helen. The more adventurous of these would walk the 13km of trackless terrain through the spinifex to Ormiston. The stories of what they had seen created ripples of interest, which intensified after the war.
People had already had their travel taste buds stimulated by the fine landscapes of Aboriginal watercolourists and their mentor Rex Batterbee but there was one big problem: access. The road from Alice, which came via Hermannsburg, ended about 3km from Glen Helen Gorge on the other side of the permanent waterhole. The road through was completed in 1963.
Once at Ormiston Gorge, the only way to see it is by walking. There are a variety of walks ranging from the easy 10-minute walk to the waterhole, to a three-dayer to Mt Giles for the more experienced.
"You gotta do the Pound Walk," said Graham from Sydney, perspiring in the carpark after his four-hour hike. "It loops for 7km across the western edge of the Pound floor then rock-hops along the gorge to the main waterhole. It's a beauty!"
Nature blessed us with a sensational display when we camped here. In the early evening the full moon rose huge and orange over the grey-green floodplain of the Finke, while the MacDonnells basked in the sun's last light, first in muted hues of gold then blue and finally purple.
read on below advertisement
Glen Helen Gorge
Park your car at the Glen Helen Lodge and walk the short distance to the gorge. Further access through here is restricted to those who want to either swim through the cold water or spend hours climbing the ridge.
When explorer Giles first saw the Glen Helen valley with Mt Sonder reclining in the background in 1872, he may have said something inspiring like "Crikey!" No doubt he was more articulate because only three years later a pastoral application had been lodged. But this country is not easily tamed and this first attempt at raising cattle failed. Reasons for abandoning the place seemed to be low market prices and high costs.
In time cattle prices rose and when there's a quid to be made there's always someone willing to have another go. After the turn of the century that willing someone was Fred Raggett.
Fred didn't have it easy either. The story goes that once while out mustering a long way from the homestead - Glen Helen then was roughly 1600 sq km - he broke his leg. Unable to be moved because of the rough terrain, a bough shelter was built over him. Later, the pastor from Hermannsberg arrived by camel and set the broken limb. Fred was then left there until his leg had healed enough for him to mount a camel and ride back to the station homestead.
Finally giving the game away in 1938, Fred sold out to Bryan Bowman, the creator of Glen Helen Lodge. The restaurant of the present day lodge incorporates part of homestead No. 3 from the original Glen Helen property.
Gosse Bluff (Tnorala)
After rejoining Namatjira Drive travel 12km, turn left and then look for signs to the lookout at Tylers Pass about 10km from the turn-off. From here there are spectacular view over Gosse Bluff. The Bluff is still 20-odd km away but it rises up from the flat plain like the battlements of an ancient city.
Gosse Bluff is 4WD-only from the main road. Travellers turn off and return the same way so it's a 22km excursion over bone-shaking corrugations. Is it worth the round trip? To be frank, no.
You can get inside the bluff's meteor ring, but once inside access is so heavily restricted it's impossible to get the complete feel of the place. There's an information shelter and a short walk to a lookout.
In the shelter visitors can read the two different explanations, from two different cultures, of how Gosse Bluff was formed - they're so similar it's eerie.
Scientists reckon some time about 130-140 million years ago a comet plummeted through our atmosphere and slammed into this spot. The blast was calculated to be 750 times that of the Hiroshima bomb.
This sudden impact would have killed most things within a 100km radius, and the debris shot back up into the atmosphere would have affected world weather patterns for years. The resulting crater was originally 20km in diameter but erosion has reduced this until only the central impact point is left.
The Aboriginals also believe in this sudden impact theory. They believe the stars making up the Milky Way are women. One mother, during a ceremonial dance, put her baby aside in his turna, a wooden baby carrier. It toppled over the edge of the dancing area and hit the earth so hard he disappeared into the ground. So violently did the turna crash that rocks were forced up forming the circular walls of the Bluff. The distraught parents couldn't find their baby and are still looking, the mother as the Evening Star and the father as the Morning Star.
From Gosse Bluff travellers can either take Larapinta Drive past Hermannsburg back to Alice Springs or Palm Valley, or the Mereerie Loop Road to Kings Canyon.
The West Macs deserve their place at the top of the tourist destination list. Hidden amongst the prehistoric rocks, sculptured by the waters of the Finke River system and the harsh winds of an arid centre, are places of geological wonder, where ancient cultures practiced their age-old customs, where pioneers laboured and legends were born.
Getting There
Alice Springs is accessible by sealed road from Darwin, Adelaide and Mt Isa, and via well maintained unsealed roads from a host of other regional centres. The West MacDonnell Ranges are only a short drive from Alice Springs.
The round trip through the West MacDonnells contains some sections of road that are designated 4WD only, however most of the drive is on well maintained roads that cater for the tourism industry. At a sedate pace, the round trip should take two to three days. Permits from the local Aboriginal Land Councils are required to visit many of the places along the route, and should be arranged before departure.
Staying There
Camping access varies from site to site throughout the West MacDonnells - check with local authorities for more details. Most areas do allow camping, and these areas are fairly well set up, with bush toilets and designated campsites the minimum in most spots.
More sophisticated accommodation is available at various caravan parks in the area, and there are a few motels along the route for those that do not wish to spend too many nights under canvas. Caravans can be taken as far along the track as Ormiston Gorge.
At Simpsons Gap, facilities include picnic tables, water, gas barbecues, toilets and visitor information centres, and the park is open from 8am to 8pm daily. The Standley Chasm facilities are open 7.30am to 6pm, include a kiosk, water, picnic tables, barbecues and toilets. Ellery Creek Big Hole facilities include a camping area with pit toilets, barbecues and fireplaces, picnic area and numerous walking trails. Serpentine Gorge has picnic facilities here and toilets.
The Ormiston Gorge campground has gas barbecues, tables and an amenity block.
Glen Helen Gorge offers comfortable accommodation. Glen Helen Lodge is 8km from the Ormiston Gorge turnoff. Visitors can stay here in motel or bunkhouse accommodation or use a powered or unpowered camping site. The lodge also provides a quiet haven for a snack or a more filling lunch and the restaurant is open nightly. Helicopter flights of varying durations are also available.
Things to do
The main activities of the area are bushwalking, swimming and exploring the natural landscapes that form the West MacDonnell Ranges. The area is steeped in local Aboriginal history, and offers a fascinating insight into the culture of the original inhabitants of the Ranges. Due to the high volume of tourist traffic through the region, the area is well signposted, and explanatory signs and presentations are regular features of the journey.
Around and About
Alice Springs is the largest regional centre to the West MacDonnells, and serves as the perfect base for exploration of the surrounding area. Alice Springs itself is a tourist attraction, with an amazing array of activites for laid back visitors and adventurers alike. The Alice has a population of around 25,000, which swells to 50,000 during peak tourist times. As a result, there are many places to stay and eat throughout the town.
Alice Springs plays host to many and varied festivals and events during the year, including the Central Australian Country Music Festival in April/May, The Finke Desert Race, an off-road race for motorcycles and other vehicles in June, and the Henley-On-Todd, a famous waterless regatta in September.
Further Information
Central Aust. Tourism (08) 8952 5800
Parks & Wildlife Commission of the Northern Territory (08) 8951 8211
Central Lands Council (08) 8951 6320
Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority (08) 8952 6366
Recommended Maps
For more detail Natmap's Alice Springs and Hermannsburg, 1:250,000 scale.
NT lands department:-
West MacDonnell National Park Map $6.10
Westprint MacDonnell Ranges Map $ 7.25
Hema Maps:-
Red Centre $6.95
Central Aust $6.95
North East Great Desert Tracks $14.95
Simpsons Gap
The journey starts in Alice Springs and heads west, taking the blacktop of Larapinta Drive. The turn-off appears on the right 17km out of town. A Further 7km gets you to the carpark but then it's only a 200m stroll along the banks of Roe Creek to the Gap itself.
Simpsons Gap has significance to many different people - to the Aboriginals, it's home to a group of giant goanna ancestors. The first European to see Simpsons Gap was Gilbert McMinn, who discovered it in 1871 while scouting a path for the Overland Telegraph. He described the area as "...one of the finest pieces of scenery I have met with for a long time". The way through the gap is barred by a freezing pool left by the receding Roe Creek, and access is limited. This seemingly harmless watercourse, fringed with white-trunked gums, must have been as determined and relentless as a prisoner in a tiny cell, gouging a tiny fracture in the rock until this wide gap was formed.
Several walking trails lead to lookouts and other gaps, and explore the area's rare and relict plant life. Shy black-footed rock wallabies can be spotted early or late in the day.
Twin Ghost Gums
The Twin Ghost Gums, located just over the ramp after turning back on to Larapinta Drive from Simpsons Gap, are a Central Australian icon. They have featured in many publications and photographs, and painted by the inimitable Albert Namatjira.
Someone should have warned me before I tore out of town to pay homage that they're now a sorry sight. One tree in particular has suffered spectacularly, looking like a famine victim; gaunt, all ribs and bony limbs. Experts can only speculate at the cause - termite infestation, pathogenic root fungi or processionary caterpillars. There are no signs to point you to them. A roadside stop and a freestanding brick wall are the only clues.
Standley Chasm
Swinging back on to Larapinta Drive and heading west, after 24km the signpost to Standley Chasm will tell you to turn right and proceed for another 9km. This area is owned by the Iwupataka Land Trust, and a small entry fee is charged.
The chasm was named after Mrs Ida Standley, who in 1914 became the first schoolteacher in Alice Springs. When the school for Aboriginal children moved to Jay Creek in 1925, she moved too and was the first non-Aboriginal woman to see the chasm.
The walking track to the chasm winds among gums and cycads along a creekbed of spring-fed pools. Turn a corner and you arrive at the deep, narrow cleft in sheer towering walls of fiery red that you've probably seen a million times in tourist brochures. The best time to visit is midday when the sun is overhead, and the walk takes about 20 minutes each way.
Ellery Creek Big Hole
After rejoining Larapinta Drive, travel 6km before turning right on to Namatjira Drive. A lookout on the left-hand side of the road, 32km from the turn-off, gives a great view west along the backbone of the MacDonnells. The Ellery Creek Big Hole turn-off is 10km from the lookout.
This is known to the Aboriginal people as a special meeting place on the fish and honey ant dreaming trail and renowned worldwide for its geological significance.
The rock outcrops on either side of the creek tell of this region's geological history from 850 to 310 million years ago. Layers of rock, deposited horizontally through the different climatic eras of these millions of years, have been tipped vertically. A drive from the waterhole to the park boundary chronicles this ancient land's history in the strata of the rock itself.
Serpentine Gorge
Follow Namatjira Drive for another 11km to reach Serpentine Gorge. The 2km of dirt track into the gorge can be rough. From the carpark it's a 1.3km walk to the southernmost gorge, which takes about half an hour. The narrow, winding gorge is home to many rare species of relict plants, such as cycads, cypress pines, red gums and ghost gums. The waterholes, particularly the permanent waters of the second gorge, are sanctuaries for fish and invertebrates.
Serpentine Chalet Ruins
Travel 6km along Namatjira Drive and another turn-off to the right leads to the ruins of Serpentine Chalet Bush Camp, numerous camping areas, Serpentine Chalet Dam and Chasm. The road is rough dirt and, after 2km, becomes 4WD only.
The Serpentine Chalet was constructed in the late 1950s, when tourism in the area was in its infancy. Back then, coach transport to the lodge, a WWII Blitz truck, would have taken all day to reach the Chalet over bone-jarring, deeply rutted tracks and steep creek crossings. Once there, in splendid isolation, the activity of choice was strapping on sturdy hiking boots, something the passing of 40 years hasn't changed.
Competition from the nearby Glen Helen Lodge and the difficulty of finding a reliable water source is said to have meant the end of the Serpentine Chalet venture in the 1960s. All that remains are the cement foundations and some debris.
Bryan Bowman held the lease over Glen Helen Station for 42 years and went into partnership with Bert Gardiner, a tourism pioneer from Alice Springs, to establish the Glen Helen Lodge in 1953.
The walking track to Chalet Dam and Chasm takes about three hours. For an interesting day walk follow part of the Larapinta Trail along the base of the MacDonnells to Inarlanga Pass, which is chock-full of cycads.
Ochre Pits
The Ochre Pits are a stunning break from gap and gorge scenery. They are located 6km along Namatjira Drive from Serpentine Chalet Ruins turn-off. A 300m path leads to these striking, rainbow-coloured cliffs. The colours are formed by iron oxides, resulting in hues from rich red and dark purple to mustard and yellow. White comes from fine pipe clay.
Ochre from these pits is still used. Under a tree we found a group of rocks used for the grinding of ochre into powder - each rock's flat surface covered with a fine residue of white, red or yellow.
Signs give invaluable information on the significance of the site and the uses of ochre but also warn sternly against touching, sampling or taking away. Hefty fines for stealing bits of ochre for any reason should deter most would-be body painters.
Apart from the path to the Ochre Pits there is a three-hour return marked bushwalk explaining Aboriginal survival skills and land management practices.
Ormiston Gorge
To the Aboriginal people, Ormiston Gorge is part of the Emu Dreaming, and the waterhole a registered sacred site. During WWII soldiers from Alice often weekended at Glen Helen. The more adventurous of these would walk the 13km of trackless terrain through the spinifex to Ormiston. The stories of what they had seen created ripples of interest, which intensified after the war.
People had already had their travel taste buds stimulated by the fine landscapes of Aboriginal watercolourists and their mentor Rex Batterbee but there was one big problem: access. The road from Alice, which came via Hermannsburg, ended about 3km from Glen Helen Gorge on the other side of the permanent waterhole. The road through was completed in 1963.
Once at Ormiston Gorge, the only way to see it is by walking. There are a variety of walks ranging from the easy 10-minute walk to the waterhole, to a three-dayer to Mt Giles for the more experienced.
"You gotta do the Pound Walk," said Graham from Sydney, perspiring in the carpark after his four-hour hike. "It loops for 7km across the western edge of the Pound floor then rock-hops along the gorge to the main waterhole. It's a beauty!"
Nature blessed us with a sensational display when we camped here. In the early evening the full moon rose huge and orange over the grey-green floodplain of the Finke, while the MacDonnells basked in the sun's last light, first in muted hues of gold then blue and finally purple.
read on below advertisement
Glen Helen Gorge
Park your car at the Glen Helen Lodge and walk the short distance to the gorge. Further access through here is restricted to those who want to either swim through the cold water or spend hours climbing the ridge.
When explorer Giles first saw the Glen Helen valley with Mt Sonder reclining in the background in 1872, he may have said something inspiring like "Crikey!" No doubt he was more articulate because only three years later a pastoral application had been lodged. But this country is not easily tamed and this first attempt at raising cattle failed. Reasons for abandoning the place seemed to be low market prices and high costs.
In time cattle prices rose and when there's a quid to be made there's always someone willing to have another go. After the turn of the century that willing someone was Fred Raggett.
Fred didn't have it easy either. The story goes that once while out mustering a long way from the homestead - Glen Helen then was roughly 1600 sq km - he broke his leg. Unable to be moved because of the rough terrain, a bough shelter was built over him. Later, the pastor from Hermannsberg arrived by camel and set the broken limb. Fred was then left there until his leg had healed enough for him to mount a camel and ride back to the station homestead.
Finally giving the game away in 1938, Fred sold out to Bryan Bowman, the creator of Glen Helen Lodge. The restaurant of the present day lodge incorporates part of homestead No. 3 from the original Glen Helen property.
Gosse Bluff (Tnorala)
After rejoining Namatjira Drive travel 12km, turn left and then look for signs to the lookout at Tylers Pass about 10km from the turn-off. From here there are spectacular view over Gosse Bluff. The Bluff is still 20-odd km away but it rises up from the flat plain like the battlements of an ancient city.
Gosse Bluff is 4WD-only from the main road. Travellers turn off and return the same way so it's a 22km excursion over bone-shaking corrugations. Is it worth the round trip? To be frank, no.
You can get inside the bluff's meteor ring, but once inside access is so heavily restricted it's impossible to get the complete feel of the place. There's an information shelter and a short walk to a lookout.
In the shelter visitors can read the two different explanations, from two different cultures, of how Gosse Bluff was formed - they're so similar it's eerie.
Scientists reckon some time about 130-140 million years ago a comet plummeted through our atmosphere and slammed into this spot. The blast was calculated to be 750 times that of the Hiroshima bomb.
This sudden impact would have killed most things within a 100km radius, and the debris shot back up into the atmosphere would have affected world weather patterns for years. The resulting crater was originally 20km in diameter but erosion has reduced this until only the central impact point is left.
The Aboriginals also believe in this sudden impact theory. They believe the stars making up the Milky Way are women. One mother, during a ceremonial dance, put her baby aside in his turna, a wooden baby carrier. It toppled over the edge of the dancing area and hit the earth so hard he disappeared into the ground. So violently did the turna crash that rocks were forced up forming the circular walls of the Bluff. The distraught parents couldn't find their baby and are still looking, the mother as the Evening Star and the father as the Morning Star.
From Gosse Bluff travellers can either take Larapinta Drive past Hermannsburg back to Alice Springs or Palm Valley, or the Mereerie Loop Road to Kings Canyon.
The West Macs deserve their place at the top of the tourist destination list. Hidden amongst the prehistoric rocks, sculptured by the waters of the Finke River system and the harsh winds of an arid centre, are places of geological wonder, where ancient cultures practiced their age-old customs, where pioneers laboured and legends were born.
Getting There
Alice Springs is accessible by sealed road from Darwin, Adelaide and Mt Isa, and via well maintained unsealed roads from a host of other regional centres. The West MacDonnell Ranges are only a short drive from Alice Springs.
The round trip through the West MacDonnells contains some sections of road that are designated 4WD only, however most of the drive is on well maintained roads that cater for the tourism industry. At a sedate pace, the round trip should take two to three days. Permits from the local Aboriginal Land Councils are required to visit many of the places along the route, and should be arranged before departure.
Staying There
Camping access varies from site to site throughout the West MacDonnells - check with local authorities for more details. Most areas do allow camping, and these areas are fairly well set up, with bush toilets and designated campsites the minimum in most spots.
More sophisticated accommodation is available at various caravan parks in the area, and there are a few motels along the route for those that do not wish to spend too many nights under canvas. Caravans can be taken as far along the track as Ormiston Gorge.
At Simpsons Gap, facilities include picnic tables, water, gas barbecues, toilets and visitor information centres, and the park is open from 8am to 8pm daily. The Standley Chasm facilities are open 7.30am to 6pm, include a kiosk, water, picnic tables, barbecues and toilets. Ellery Creek Big Hole facilities include a camping area with pit toilets, barbecues and fireplaces, picnic area and numerous walking trails. Serpentine Gorge has picnic facilities here and toilets.
The Ormiston Gorge campground has gas barbecues, tables and an amenity block.
Glen Helen Gorge offers comfortable accommodation. Glen Helen Lodge is 8km from the Ormiston Gorge turnoff. Visitors can stay here in motel or bunkhouse accommodation or use a powered or unpowered camping site. The lodge also provides a quiet haven for a snack or a more filling lunch and the restaurant is open nightly. Helicopter flights of varying durations are also available.
Things to do
The main activities of the area are bushwalking, swimming and exploring the natural landscapes that form the West MacDonnell Ranges. The area is steeped in local Aboriginal history, and offers a fascinating insight into the culture of the original inhabitants of the Ranges. Due to the high volume of tourist traffic through the region, the area is well signposted, and explanatory signs and presentations are regular features of the journey.
Around and About
Alice Springs is the largest regional centre to the West MacDonnells, and serves as the perfect base for exploration of the surrounding area. Alice Springs itself is a tourist attraction, with an amazing array of activites for laid back visitors and adventurers alike. The Alice has a population of around 25,000, which swells to 50,000 during peak tourist times. As a result, there are many places to stay and eat throughout the town.
Alice Springs plays host to many and varied festivals and events during the year, including the Central Australian Country Music Festival in April/May, The Finke Desert Race, an off-road race for motorcycles and other vehicles in June, and the Henley-On-Todd, a famous waterless regatta in September.
Further Information
Central Aust. Tourism (08) 8952 5800
Parks & Wildlife Commission of the Northern Territory (08) 8951 8211
Central Lands Council (08) 8951 6320
Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority (08) 8952 6366
Recommended Maps
For more detail Natmap's Alice Springs and Hermannsburg, 1:250,000 scale.
NT lands department:-
West MacDonnell National Park Map $6.10
Westprint MacDonnell Ranges Map $ 7.25
Hema Maps:-
Red Centre $6.95
Central Aust $6.95
North East Great Desert Tracks $14.95
