We took a walk in Ormiston Gorge the next morning: over the hill and into the deep gorge. The hills form layers, one on top of the other, towering above the cool river bed.
When we came out of the gorge, we saw a heron perched beside the river, contemplating the ancient landscape.
Glen Helen is deep within the West Macdonnell Ranges. We arrived late in the day to watch the last rays of the sun reflect off the gorgeous red rock, before having dinner under the stars.
I love the ghost gums that grow out of the rock, their white trunks standing out even in the twilight.
A bumpy ride brought us to the Finke Gorge National Park. This rock amphitheatre at Kalaranga Lookout reminds me a lot of the Wild West.
I love the colour of the rock, a rich red due to the iron ore accummulated through millions of years of exposure.
I flew to Alice Springs right after I returned from Arnhemland, and the next day I was on the road again, this time with Wayoutback Tours.
We visited the West Macdonnell Ranges on the first day, and the first place we stopped at was Hermansburg. It’s a bit of an oddity because it’s an old Lutheran mission. The Germans made it up to Alice overland from Adelaide in the late 1800’s, and have had a great influence on the locals. It was my first taste of the vivid desert colours – red of the earth, blue of the morning sky.
Static and Silence 