The week has been great , my golf was reasonable given the lack of practice & playing over our travels , my medals are still in the medal box , only a couple of golf balls to show for my efforts , but it was still a great week .
The closing ceremony and concert was held last night - Saturday - and celebrated again with fireworks - we managed to see some of them as we drove in to town ( we were a little late ) and they finished as we arrived at Anzac Oval . Finding a parking spot was extremely difficult - I think everyone drove themselves in , we eventually found one near the police station compound , and walked to the ground . Numbers were down from the opening ceremony - a lot of competitors that had finished earlier in the week , had already left town .
There was a David Bowie tribute band , followed by another band . We must be getting old - our ears were ringing , you had to shout to talk to anyone , and they had a knack of shining some very bright stage lights in our eyes at regular intervals - after one & a half hours we decided it was time to go . We did enjoy looking at some of the thousands of photos that were taken during the week , they had them projected onto large screens for you to see .
Back to Friday , we decided to go out to the West Macdonnell Ranges - there's a lot to see out there!! We drove out Ilparpa Rd and it wasn't long before we found Larapinta Drive , heading west from there . Passing Stanley Chasm Rd turnoff , we were now on new roads again . The road seemed to climb , then climb some more , till we found Hammond Range Rest Area . It was on top of a ridge and we went up for a look . Views all around were a pleasant surprise , with the landscape dominated by rock . There are sections where there are walls of rock poking out of the ground , others with parallel lines of rock running beside the road , while there are gorges where the ridge lines have been eroded away .
Back on the road , next stop was Ellery Creek Big Hole - an easy walk in to find a big water hole , it's a popular swimming spot in the hotter months . The water is a bit cool at the moment .
There is a piece of rock , about the size of 2 cement bags , that had some interesting patterns through it .
Around the waterhole are river red gums , and a healthy population of Golden Orb Spiders .
Cycads like the gorges as well , with lots of them growing happily .
One of the local residents greeted us and posed for some photo's - a long nosed lizard .
Next stop was Serpentine Gorge - named for the way the creek & gorge snakes it's way through the range . It's an 800m walk from the carpark , once near the waterhole you find another steep track to a lookout - 15 mins they say ??? obviously didn't take in to consideration the rest stops , to let the rapidly beating heart settle down a bit !! The track is made up of rock , much the same as the surrounding countryside , with uneven steps & lots of loose rock to catch you out . A lot of the rocks are a mottled range of colours .
They claim the view is one of the best in the red centre ???
You get views of the gorge and surrounding countryside , giving you some idea how rugged this country is .
Swimming isn't allowed in the pool here , just as well , it wasn't very large !!
On the way back out , we found a medium sized shrub , that had some pale yellow flowers on it - we didn't notice it on the walk in - probably because you look where you are putting your feet , unless you like falling over a lot !!
Next stop was The Ochre Pits , now we weren't sure what we were going to see here , but had the biggest surprise . The aborigines use this area to gather different colour ochres for ceremonies etc .
There's a paved walkway to a viewing platform where you can see the colours in the wall beside the creek . You can go down the steps and walk along the creek for a better view .
Colours are amazing , and to be in this concentrated area in it's vertical form - Incredible !!!
Further down the road we find Ormiston Gorge . This gorge has more water , sandy beach's , fish and walks to do , you can camp here ( tent or caravan ) the roads are bitumen , so it's easy access , and there's a kiosk , showers & toilets .
There also seemed to be more wildflowers here - here are some .
The pool stretched for 100m around the corner & out of sight , it was a pleasant place to sit and listen to all the birds - budgerigars , kingfishers , ringneck parrots , zebra finches ,and spinifex pigeons .
The rock here is like the rest of the range - orange & red - and has been subjected to massive forces , creating many different patterns .
After cooling down , we headed up the lookout track - it is much more civilised , having steps concreted in place - all steps being the same height . The track is mostly smooth , with a few areas of natural rock & roots coming through the ground - ready to catch you out if you weren't watching . The views were pretty amazing also , with the gorge glowing orange in the sunlight .
The spinifex is all in seed and looked great in the afternoon sunlight .
Back down to the ute , and time had disappeared - 4pm and we still had about 130klms to drive home . The mountains kept us company all the way back . Day done !!
Here's a map link :-https://drive.google.com/open?id=1eorJxwQ12V5Kec4PNHhfmLZ90yo&usp=sharing
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