The East Macs - An Easter Adventure

Yeah -we decided to take advantage of the three public holidays (Good Friday, Easter Monday and ANZAC Day) and took a two week break and travelled down to the East MacDonnells down in Central Australia.

An additional incentive was to catch up with our daughter Laura who lives in Alice Springs.

We were really lucky that the whole of Central Australia had received a whole heap of rain in the weeks leading up to our trip so the place was green and fresh and the cattle looked fat and healthy (and tasty!) as we travelled through.

The trip down to Alice is 1,500 klms so we decided to make it a three day trip south and headed off on the Saturday morning. The basic storyline is:-

Saturday 12th April
An easy day's drive - filling up with fuel in Katherine we carried on to the Daly Waters Pub and spent the night there.

Let me tell you, this pub could easily have become a spoof of a bush pub, but we had a hell of a good time with a great feed, cold drinks and fantastic entertainment and all for a reasonable price.

It is highly recommended.

Sunday 13th April
We trundled on for another few hundred kilometers, refuelling in Tennant Creek, and ending up - oh, is this getting to be a habit? - at another pub! This one is just south of the Devil's Marbles at a place called Wauchope. Another nice pub and also recommended.

This pic was taken over the fence and shows a flock of pigeons facing into the wind. Cute eh?

The Marbles were bypassed this time round - we were thirsty and the flies at the Marbles are usually pretty bad. Still, even just driving past them, they are an amazing sight.

Monday 14th April
Alice Springs - we arrived early enough and booked into the Big 4 van park there. Not just because we wanted a van park, but mostly because the town still seems to be a hotbed of petty theft and we just wanted to avoid the pain.

We caught up with Laura after she finished work and went out to the Outback Steakhouse for dinner. Rather a disappointment really with poor quality food and poor service. The fact that they have a selection of flags and will put one on your table representing your origins - we got one with the NT flag on it as we are from Darwin - does not really add anything to the experience.

Tuesday 15th April
After picking up supplies and Laura we headed off out along the Ross Highway and landed up at the Ross River Resort.

This place is a true diamond and I can't praise it enough. The camping area is clean and grassed (well, at least it is after the rain they have had) and we had lots of space to spread out in.

The homestead, with the hosts Jodie and Shane, is rustic but the bar/restaurant is big and spacious and once the get to know us they did things like tell us to help ourselves from behind the bar and just mark it up on a tab. How friendly is that? 

Camp fires were the order of each evening there, as was gazing off into the starry sky at night (and there were SO many stars!) waiting to catch a shooting star as it flicked across over our heads.

The camping ground has toilets and showers and is surrounded by bluffs like the one shown in the pic above. Check out the blue of the sky and the green of the grass! 

Wednesday 16th April

Now it should come as no real surprise to anyone that knows us to find that the Binns Track runs right alongside the camping ground and we were forced to take this route to get up to N'Dhala Gorge which was the first of the gorges we were planning on walking through. 

Now isn't this a sign that all 4WDers love to see ahead of them?  Heh heh heh. Follow this track to N'Dhala Gorge. 

We drove off to the gorge and parked up - what bliss to be the only people at a place like this! This was something that would be repeated time and again and we loved the solitude.

As you can see from these photos, the gorge holds water for some time after rain and as a result is an absolute haven for wildlife.

The cultural side of this place is that it holds a recorded 5,900 petroglyphs that date between 2,000 and 10,000 years old although dating petroglyphs is not easy. We found a few of them and (with the aid of the explanatory notes provided by the Parks Department) were able to follow some of the stories they portrayed.

Interesting stuff!

For the ignorati out there, a petroglyph is an image chipped into a rock surface.

Heading back to the camp site we gathered some firewood. I know that a roof rack increases fuel consumption through the additional drag, but it also makes a great platform for carrying wood! 

We gathered much of it from the dry parts of river beds but the bottom was firm and easy to drive on and there was plenty of wood to pick up. I have always said that you don't need a chainsaw if you can wield an axe (and I always carry an axe), but perhaps I am getting lazy as a chainsaw would indeed make the task a fair bit easier, especially when you are dealing with trees that have been washed down the river and are not a simple axing proposition.

One thing I neglected to mention earlier is the fact that you need to cross the Ross River a number of times and the first three crossings held water.

This picture shows Laura driving across one of the crossings - she just loved doing it!  The water rose up to half way up the headlights at the deepest point (yeah - I missed it with the camera) so it generates some excitement and a test of the door seals, but it isn't a hard drive.

That night we had a clear sky with a perfect moon and a perfect camp fire. Gotta love a night like that! 

Thursday 17th April

Ruby Gap was the destination for the day and we set off fairly early as we were told it was a rough track into the place.

We bypassed Arltunga on the way in as we were keen to get into Ruby Gap and see what the place looked like and also to see if we could pick up any rubies (well garnets) from the sands there.

Well, as promised, the track was indeed rough and as an added attraction we found that the rain had cut quite a lot of deep channels and undercut the river banks we needed to climb as we drove through. Nothing that fazed the mighty Patrol but it slowed us down and made the ride uncomfortable.

Pics below show the countryside on the way in and some views of the gorge itself.

Once again we were the only people there - oh joy!

The pic above shows the track as it has descended to the river bed. Driving along this place was the only time we ever got close to bogging the Patrol as the coarse sand shifted all too readily under the wheels. 

We are facing one of the gorge walls here, having stopped for a bit of morning tea.  This pic, and the others below, struggle to convey just how majestic the whole place is. Some people don't like the feeling of being dwarfed by landscapes like this which is why the more human scaled gorges of the West Macs are so much more popular, but I love the feeling and the grandeur.

You just have to work a little harder to get to know the place.

Karen and Laura

Karen and me - I must do something about those man boobs though! 

I suppose I should show you a pic of the track in/out having said how rough it is. If you take a look at the trees either side you can see how steep the track is. Nothing challenging to drive, but you have to go slow. 

We had a late lunch at Arltunga and a wander around the information centre. We met a family of people who were just leaving the centre and heading off up the Binns Track and these were the only people we saw all day. Nice people too.

The info centre was a real mine of information, but there was nobody else there - no rangers or anything. 

We reached the home camp later that day and set up for a lamb roast in the camp oven. Could anyone possibly have a better day?

Friday 18th April

Well either too much grog was consumed last night or Laura really did have a head cold as she just wanted to stick around the camp and blow her nose all day.

Poos lass, she really did suffer with that cold.

Anyway, that left Karen and me to head off to Trephina Gorge to explore the place and then take on the Panorama Walk.

Just before we got there though we followed a signpost to the "Ghost Gum". Now, ghost gums are not exactly rare out here, but this one is the biggest example found in the East Macs and it is spectacular. At 35 metres tall and 300+ years old it deserves a little respect.

These are beautiful trees and with their China white bark that is so cool to the touch and so glassy smooth they are amazing to be near. Love them.

The Panorama walk was excellent although we really should learn to set off on these walks in cooler hours of the day.

The initial climb is very steep and takes you up a goat track on the gorge wall before you pop out on the top and take in the view.

Magnificent isn't it?

As I said before, it was the hottest part of the day and we felt the heat. Got to love Karen's hat though!   :) 

The walk down from the rim was a much gentler affair and lead down to the river bed some way up the gorge. The walk back to the car was shady and level enough and very, very enjoyable.

Saturday 19th April

Today, Laura felt much better so we returned with her to Trephina Gorge and drove out to the John Hayes Rock Hole side of Trephina Gorge and did the Chain of Ponds Walk.

Once again we had to climb the steep sides of the gorge wall to get to the rim and we then walked around to the beginning of one of the gorge arms before descending down the gorge as it stepped down to the bottom of the main gorge.

Small ponds were to be found at each step down and were beautiful to see.

Check out the pics!

This one is of the John Hayes Rock Hole itself and it is found before you head off up the gorge wall. It isn't very pretty or remarkable, but it is important as it holds water for many months of the year.

Yep - this is my shadow and is my entry into the "Wanky Photo of the Year" competition.

Time for a rest! 

It is at this point that you get a surprise as the only way forward is to climb up the gorge wall (literally climbing up the cliff wall) to get to the top so you can walk around to the end.

Surprising, but fun. Of course, I wouldn't be saying that if I fell and broke a leg! 

And so, back to the car park where we pulled a beer out of the fridge and sat in the shade chatting and recovering before Laura drove us back out, testing her skills on the undercut creek banks. 

Sunday 20th April

This was a Nothing Day where we did nothing except rest and read and relax all day while Laura took the car into Alice to pick up a few supplies and to contact her boyfriend.

It's a dirty job, but . . . .

Monday 21st April

This morning was indulgent and lazy and we headed down to the homestead to watch the Footy as Geelong were playing Hawthorn.

A really good game to watch, the result went well for us too as we beat the Hawks by 19 points. Happy days.

We are Geelong, the greatest team of all!

Tuesday 22nd April

We packed the Patrol with tents and camping gear and headed off to see Chambers Pillar some 150 klms south of Alice.

The plan was to stay there the night and see what the Pillar looks like at dawn and dusk - it is such an icon that we couldn't miss the chance.

Then again, we missed the dawn view just through being rather lazy and sleeping in.

Anyway - the pictures tell the story . . . . .

Yep - it's a red dirt drive to get there.

This is our camp site at the Pillar. What more can I add? Well, I could tell you what was provided I suppose. As you can see, they provide fire pits (each one with a BBQ plate) at each camp spot as well as a few gas BBQs. You can see one just in front of the Patrol - they not only have a BBQ plate (stainless steel) but also two gas burners and they are free to use.

We brought our own wood in with us, but there is plenty to pick up on the way into the reserve.

There are a couple of long drop toilets which are pretty good for remote areas dunnies - no complaints there.

Oh yeah - we were the only people there until late in the afternoon when a convoy of six vehicles belonging to a 4WD club from Sydney rolled in. It was almost a shame really as it destroyed the solitude, but they were nice and friendly people so all was good.

The only other remarkable thing is that Laura wanted me to bake some damper so I knocked up some dough (self raising flour, salt and a can of beer) and baked what is the best damper I have ever managed to produce. A huge success!

During the day we did the walk up to the Pillar and around the base and checked out the graphitti.

Plants found all around the place and in beautiful flower!

There were some names or initials from 1870 too and there are supposed to be some from 1860 but we didn't see those. They are records of the early explorers who used the Pillar as a landmark and recorded their visits in this way. 

It is, of course, illegal to add to these marks these days.

The local indigenous people have an explanation for the landscape. Apparently there was a great warrior who, taking advantage of his fighting prowess, used to romance and cajole lots of the ladies into being his partner for the hight and bully the men into not interfering. Then one day the woman he took was from the wrong skin group and was a woman forbidden to him (presumably a close relative) but he ran away with her anyway and in running away he took the form of a giant gecko. When they stopped to lie down the spirits were offended and turned him into Chambers Pillar and the girl was turned into Castle Rock as punishment and a warning to all people to not mess with women forbidden to them! 

Castle Rock

The Pillar during the day

The Pillar as dusk approaches - the way it glows is uncanny.

Sunset! 

Wednesday 23rd April

We left the Pillar quite late in the morning, back down the track to the junction with the Finke road and drove off to see Lambert's Geographical Centre of Australia.

This involved driving south towards Finke along the old Ghan railway line. Much of the time this was simple enough as the old raised line bed is level enough (albeit corrugated in places) and straight enough to allow safe cruising at 60 to 80 kph. But then you come on a section where the line bed has washed away and you have to drive down  the washout slope, across the bottom and back up onto the line bed. Often this is not quite that simple if it is an old washout as you have to consider the trees and boulders and, as I have said before, the recent rains have left it more cut up than it would normally be.

The scenery was intriguing and natural with only the sun glinting off the occasional green can or the back bumper of a Commodore at the side of the track to spoil it.

Still, it adds entertainment to the drive which is long enough - some 150+klms and it was amazing just how many Commodore rear bumpers there were decorating the track - certainly more than there were wrecked cars (90% on their roof for some reason) which were also a regular enough sight.

Heading back out from Chambers Pillar - as you can see, I am in the passenger seat now. Yep, Laura wanted to drive!

She loved driving over the sand dunes (which are all capped with roadbase and are not a problem to drive over although a sand flag would be a good idea) and roller-coasting our way out.

Taken from the top of the steep ridge that you need to traverse on the way in and out. The picture does not show quite how steep it is, but for instance, Laura dropped it Troll into low range to make the drive up (and back down) easier. Yep - steep! 

Can you see Chambers Pillar on the horizon? 

Driving back down the other side of the ridge. You can just see where the track simply drops away.

It's a big, wide land isn't it?

You can see here how the rainwater has cut a channel in the track - you don't want to drop a wheel in there! 

Further down the track, and you can see how it has widened and leveled off as well as the corrugations forming, I spotted something in the distance - what is it?

Well, we got to drive (slowly) right next to this mystery and it was a feral camel. Magnificent beast looking fat and healthy (or is that "pregnant and healthy"?) and completely at home here. There are reputed to be over a million feral camels around central Australia - they certainly are comfortable.

This is typical of the old Ghan railway line - straight and easy with the major dangers being the occasional washout and the large number of old railway spikes left lying around. These things can rip a tyre to shreds very easily indeed.

The track runs next to the western edge of the Simpson Desert and the red dunes and spinifex are all along it.

This was one of the railway sidings found all long the track. Called Bundooma, it was one of the best preserved and a great spot for a rest.

We didn't take any photos of Finke itself, nor (and this surprised me) of the Finke race track that runs alongside the 4WD track for pretty much the whole way. Interesting to see though.

However, we eventually got to the Lambert's Geographical Centre of Australia, driving up the access track which turned into a maze of roughly parallel tracks, but they all seem to lead to the same place so you can't get lost.

The Centre has the obvious marker (see the pics below), but it also has some camping facilities including toilets that are amusingly labelled "Flick Dry" and "Drip Dry" instead of the usual Gents and Ladies.

Me at the middle

Karen at the middle.

Why is there a fire extinguisher mounted there?

Laura at the middle.

From this point we drove off to the Stuart Highway, pumped the tyres back up and headed for Ross river on the bitumen.

Thursday 24th April

Heading home today, with many happy memories and lots of regrets at leaving the Centre and the East Macs in particular. We have had a great time there and we have been very fortunate with the weather. The rain earlier left it green and beautiful and while we were there the days topping at 26 degrees and the nights at 13 degrees were just beaut.

We will be back, and when we do we hope Jodie and Shane are still running Ross River - they have been fantastic hosts.

The journey home was much the same as the trip down although we stopped at Wycliffe Well instead of at the Wauchope Hotel, just for a change.

The next night we stayed at Daly Waters again, but what a difference two weeks makes!

Two weeks ago the place was moderately patronised with maybe ten rigs in the camping grounds. This time it was jammed full and people were camping in the overflow area. Almost all of them being NSW and Victorian grey nomads all heading north to rape the rivers of cherubim and complain about the price of everything.

Still, that was our Easter trip this year and it was great.