Red Center Way - Part I

Alice Springs to Glen Helen Gorge

We arrived in the Northern Territory of Australia where we have been for the past five days driving along the Red Center Way.  The route starts in Alice Springs and runs through the Australian outback, linking the MacDonnell Ranges and Watarrka National Park (Kings Canyon) with Uluru and Kata Tjuta (The Olgas).  There is also a time difference between here and Sydney with Sydney being 1 hour and 30 minutes ahead.  I have never heard of a time difference in 30-minute increments!  I initially thought it was incorrect when my phone updated the time - turns out this is just how it is!

We flew from Sydney into Alice Springs and even from the plane, we could tell this area is so different from where we have traveled so far in Australia - much more remote and barren. 

View from the airplane

Before landing, we saw what looked like a weather-tracking facility from the plane window and we were talking about it when our seat-mate mentioned the facility is a collaboration between Australia and the United States to detect early warning signs of ballistic launches and other counterintelligence operations.  The facility is called Pine Gap and he went on to say he lives in Colorado and comes here frequently to update their computer software and was going to be in Alice Springs for a month.  Alex inquired why the facility was here, but the gentleman was unsure why its housed in the middle of the desert.  I tried to google it, but found a lot of conspiracy sites and am not sure now what to believe!  Ha!  Regardless of what it is, I think I'll steer clear for now!

Anyway... we arrived in Alice Springs early in the afternoon and walked from our hotel to Anzac Hill, a war memorial, providing a 365-degree view of the town and the MacDonnell Ranges.  This is a sacred site for the Aboriginal  people who live here and is known as Untyeyetwelye (pronounced: oon-GEE-AAH-tull-yah).  It was a short hike up the hill and we enjoyed the views of the surrounding area.  

We spent the remainder of the afternoon sitting by the pool and reading for a couple of hours.  I was even able to finish my book, The Immortalists, and would definitely recommend if anyone is looking for something good to read!

We left Alice Springs early Friday morning and started our drive to Glen Helen Gorge.  Because it gets so warm here, it is recommended to start your hikes earlier in the day.  Many of the longer hikes will actually close the tracks at 11:00am if the heat is going to be over 95-degrees (which during this time of year is pretty much a given). 

Our first stop was the Grave of John Flynn, just outside of Alice Springs.  Reverend John Flynn campaigned for an aerial medical service and in 1929 his dream became a reality.  The Flying Doctor Service was born and people living in isolated areas of the Outback were able to get assistance in the event of an emergency.  

Twenty minutes from Alice Springs is the West MacDonnell Range National Park.  We made a stop at Simpsons Gap, a gorge carved out of the West MacDonnell Ranges by Roe Creek, where water flows through a small gap in the rocks.  There is a short 1-hour hike around the area to Cassia Hill.  On top of the hill is an elevated view of Simpsons Gap and the National Park. 

We then drove to Ellery Creek Big Hole.  Thousands of years ago massive flooding carved out a waterhole in the middle of the desert.  Although you are able to swim, we did not get in the water, but did spend a bit of time sitting by the lake before attempting to hike the Dolomite Walk in the area.  The hike follows an ancient inland sea, but unfortunately the trail markers were not very clear (for about 20 minutes, we were not even sure we were on the trail!). After about 40 minutes, we decided to turn around and head back to the car since it was impossible to tell where the trail was. 

Ellery Creek Big Hole

Our last stop of the day was to Serpentine Gorge, a narrow gap in the West MacDonnell Ranges.  There is a short walk up to a lookout point where we could see down into the gorge and the surrounding area.  While taking a timed-photo of the both of us, there was a lizard that happened to come up on the rock where we set our camera.  We ended up giving him some water from our water bottles and he happily lapped it up! 

See the lizard popping his head up on the rock?!?

We then drove to Glen Helen Gorge where we stayed for one night.  There is a waterhole at this gorge as well.  In the evening Alex and I waded around in the cool water.