Tag: MacDonnell Ranges

 

As previously noted, Mt Sonder is relatively modest in altitude and bulk, but it is particularly beautiful, especially when the sun is not too high in the sky.

What makes it even more beautiful – and this true of almost every mountain, hill, gorge and creek in and around the MacDonnell Ranges – is the fact that it sits within such beautifully-vegetated country.

Almost anywhere you look, it just gets better and better, the more closely you look.

You should never fail to look closely at all layers of whatever landscape you find yourself within – foreground through to horizon.

If you look at the watercolours painted by this region’s most famous artist, you can see that Albert Namatjira (1902-1959) understood this very well.

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To reach the pictured location, you need to be able-bodied, but – in stable weather, at least – it does not involve a very long walk, nor an arduous/particularly hazardous one.

It still surprises me that relatively few visitors to such a magnificent place are prepared to walk more than a very few, very easy steps away from the car/bus park.

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In winter, in a “good” year, some places in “The Red Centre” can surprise a first-time visitor by presenting a relatively soft, lush green “face”.

Ellery Creek Big Hole is a striking, dramatic destination at any time, but it does not always look the way it did on 17 June 2023.

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This is a very popular swimming/ picnicking spot, easily accessed, just 80 kilometres west of Alice Springs.

It also offers scenic splendour, complex geology, and good walking opportunities.

Newcomers who lack knowledge of Western MacDonnell Ranges’ water holes will experience a cold shock the first time they enter this one.

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Looking at the image above, you may be surprised to know that this waterhole’s seemingly-deep waters do not enjoy a status which even remotely resembles “permanent”.

Circa 45 years ago – on the last of my several previous visits to Emily Gap – I walked through this very spot in bare feet; they remained dry, with my toes relishing the sand.

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Emily Gap is only a few minutes away from Alice Springs.

If you are heading out into the Eastern MacDonnell Ranges, it will be “your” first gap.

Beautiful aesthetically, and of geological interest too,  Emily Gap/Anthwerrke has enormous cultural significance to the Eastern Arrernte People.

Accordingly, although it is an easily accessed, “open” and popular spot for both tourists and locals, visitors are requested to treat it with respect.

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