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| Ormiston Gorge |
Continuing along Namatjira Drive, which fronts the West MacDonnell Ranges I visited Ormiston Gorge. This was a massive gorge. After showering in the camping area I climbed the cliff tops to a lookout where I could photograph the gorge below. Then I walked into the gorge. There were many tourists here and it seemed a favourite with bus operators. There was water in the waterhole and sandy beaches around it. There were also walks further into the gorge for those that wanted to explore. There seemed to be a lot more wildlife here. I could see swallows nesting in the rocks, there were lizards basking and ducks on the water. I also managed to photograph a dingo which happened to be prowling through the picnic area. It was a very skinny looking specimen.
After Ormiston I stopped at Glen Helen. This was on the Finke River but there was so much water I couldn't go further into the gorge to see some of the rock features. I camped at the resort there. The manager was a photographer who was about to leave for a trip to South Africa and so we talked for a while. That night there was a country music singer, who also happened to be a professional photographer. Although it looked bare it proved a good place to camp for the night as use the camp facilities and watch the entertainment at night.
The next day I set out for Hermannsburg. The first stop was another Gorge, Redbank. This was a long walk in to the gorge and the waterhole. The waterhole was very cold. I wanted to go further through the narrow entry and into the gorge to take photographs but the rocks were so slimy that it wasn't safe to walk on them. While I sat there a frog started croaking. Others followed and soon their call was echoing down the narrow gorge making a deafening racket.
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| Ormiston Gorge |
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| Dingo at Ormiston Gorge |
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| Glen Helen |
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| Glen Helen |
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| Glen Helen |
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| Redbank Gorge |
