16 July - West MacDonnell Ranges, Tnorala (Gosse Bluff) and Ormiston Pound

16 July 2016 - 178 982

West MacDonnell Ranges, Tnorala (Gosse Bluff) and Ormiston Pound

 Tnorala (Gosse Bluff) Conservation Reserve is the remains of a crater from a comet impact over a 100 million years ago – the comet was more than a kilometre in diameter.  Even after all this time it is an impressive site, the centre of the crater is 5km wide and has vertical walls that go 983m above sea level.  It was amazing to walk around inside and look up at the walls.  The lookout at Tylers Pass also gave a good view at the external walls.  https://nt.gov.au/leisure/parks-reserves/find-a-park-to-visit/tnorala-gosse-bluff-conservation-reserve

We decided to head to Glen Helen Gorge as we could not decide between Glen Helen Gorge or Ormiston Gorge for our next stop. 
https://www.glenhelenlodge.com.au/  
https://nt.gov.au/leisure/parks-reserves/find-a-park-to-visit/ormiston-gorge  

After dropping in at both it was clear that Ormiston Gorge would be our preference.  We enjoyed a picnic lunch and then decided to do the Ormiston Pound Walk this afternoon.  This starts by following the creek line and then heads through rolling hills.  The walk then climbs to a saddle and then down into a massive natural amphitheatre.  From here we hiked into Ormiston Gorge, this involved lots of fun rock hopping on a variety of rocks, from small boulders to large one metre cubes.  The rocks were an unusual pink to purple shade mixed with silver.  Near the end of the walk we needed to wade across the river.  This required removal of socks, boots and jeans, plus tucking up of top – and of course there was an audience.  The water was freezing cold for the first few steps, then numbness set in.  The first half of the crossing was fairly easy as the river bottom was sand, the second half was much harder as the base was a collection of rocks and getting my balance with numb feet was challenging.  Thankfully it did not take long to warm back up once dry and dressed.  We then continued following the creek line over sand and rocks back to the main swimming hole and the car park.  At the swimming hole we saw two White Breasted Herons, one in a tree and one wading in the shallow water.  All up this walk was 9.5km and took just under three and a half hours, with a total ascent of 770m.  Again, we all earnt our dinner.