Back to the dirt! |
Wild inedible melons |
They look tempting but cannot be eaten |
Soon after the Redbank Gorge the bitumen ran out and we started on our favourite dirt roads again although at that point they were in reasonable condition. We have been interested in seeing what looked like small melons growing along the roadside. We stopped and took a photo and picked one of the melons so we could find out more about them.
Redbank Gorge info |
We stopped at the Tyler Pass lookout (175 kms west of Alice Springs) for a late lunch – from here we could see a huge oblong rock formation in the distance. This is Tnorala Conservation Reserve (Gosse Bluff) which is an ancient crater with a 5 km wide rim. We set the coordinates for this area into the GPS and set off. The GPS advised us to turn right up this narrow track, which didn’t appear correct, but we initially followed it. At a fork in the road (one saying no entry Aborginal land access only) we continued towards the crater and the track deteriorated rapidly. Although we could see the crater ahead of us we decided that it was time to call a halt and turn around, which is what we did.
Peter during Redbank Gorge walk |
Gill during Redbank Gorge walk |
We continued on and although we had purchased a permit to allow us to drive the Mereenie Loop (which is a 4wd road) to Kings Canyon we decided to take the left hand route back towards Alice Springs so that we could go to Finke Gorge National Park. We made a short stop at historic home of Albert Namatjira, a well known Aboriginal artist. We have found that we can be without mobile or internet coverage for long periods, but as soon as we come across an Aboriginal settlement we have coverage. This happened at this historic home. There were no other houses but we had internet and mobile coverage.
The waterhole at Redbank Gorge |
The second waterhole at Redbank Gorge |
The camping ground was amazing – it was well laid out on the edge of the lagoon. The facilities included flushing toilets, solar heated showers, drinking water and gas BBQ’s. We set up camp on the grass beside the lagoon and stayed two nights. Each night there were up to twenty camping groups so there was plenty of company and it was interesting to learn where other campers had stayed. We camped beside two German couples who were visiting for six months. One couple had brought their own campervan from Germany and the other couple had purchased an ex Britz camper on arrival. They were interesting to talk too. The first night we had seen a dingo wandering around and during the night we were woken to hear a chorus of dingo howling – the dingo are wild but not a risk to visitors if you just ignore them. They are much more afraid of us than we are of them and run off if approached. Other than the dingo we saw a variety of birds, lizards and no snakes or kangaroo.
Redbank Gorge |
Note the rubbish collected when the river was in flood |
Tyler Pass lookout info re Gosse Bluff |
Gosse Bluff Crater from Tyler Pass |
Time to change tracks |
The great track into the crater |
Legend of the crater |
Balance of legend |
Well these places are a girl's best friend in the bush! Not really what she was saying to me at the time. |
The Gosse Bluff crater |
Some of the crater |
Info about Albert Namatjira (Artist) |
Albert Namatjira's house |
Albert Namatjira |
4wd track into Finke National Park |
Welcome to Finke Gorge National Park |
On way into Finke Gorge |
Rock formations Finke Gorge |
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