Day 11 – Ellery Creek North to Serpentine Gorge (Section 7 Larapinta)

 

https://nt.gov.au/parks/find-a-park/tjoritja-west-macdonnell-national-park/larapinta-trail

https://nt.gov.au/_media/docs/parks/bushwalking-and-hiking/larapinta-trail/larapinta-trail-section-7-information-sheet-and-map.pdf

https://northernterritory.com/alice-springs-and-surrounds/see-and-do/ellery-creek-big-hole

We were up at 5:15am and left at 6:45am, as soon as it was light enough for me to manage. We kept our down jackets on for the first hour of walking due to the cold. Today began with relatively easy walking through open country. Somewhere between the six and seven kilometres mark we surprised several Spinifex Pigeons – they in turn surprised us with the noise they make in taking off. We could also hear a lot of budgerigars.  The easy walk to West Junction gave an excellent view of the northern side of the Heavitree Range. As we entered to the top of the creek at Spring Gap to cross through to the southern side of the Heavitree Range there was a short section of bouldering. The vegetation is quite different on each side of the range. 

Entrance to Spring Gap - up and over

He is 5foot 10inches, and had to sit down. I am only 5foot and it was quite a stretch.

We continued past the shelter and trailhead to the carpark for day walkers to Serpentine Gorge. We collected our drop box from the shipping container and brought this back to the day use area.  Here the amazing support team from a group of our fellow hikers (who were fundraising for Cancer Council - Relay for life (NQBP Never Quit Being Positive)) had arranged a birthday cake for Drew – thank you!

https://www.relayforlife.org.au/fundraisers/NQBPNeverQuitBeingPositive6295

We got back to the shelter around 1pm having stuffed ourselves on an awesome black forest cake. Next up was a walk to Serpentine Gorge, which was pretty; followed by a solid climb to the lookout and its stunning views.

https://northernterritory.com/alice-springs-and-surrounds/see-and-do/serpentine-gorge

We spent the remainder of the afternoon eating, reading and relaxing. This was our easiest day so far.  Once again, we slept in the shelter.  I have really liked the shelters, both as a place to congregate and meet fellow hikers, and as a place to sleep. 

Statistics

Hike Distance                 14.34km

Hike Time                        4h 30m

Ascent                              332.4m

Descent                           271.7m

Walk Distance                2.16km

Walk Time                        48m

Ascent                              80.9m

Descent                           90.4m

18 July - West MacDonnell Ranges – Serpentine Gorge, Ellery Creek Big Hole and Standley Chasm

18 July 2016 – 179 210

West MacDonnell Ranges – Serpentine Gorge, Ellery Creek Big Hole and Standley Chasm

This morning we went to Serpentine Gorge and did a short walk to a waterhole and lookout (2.7km, 204m ascent, in an hour).  
http://traveloutbackaustralia.com/serpentine-gorge-west-macdonnell-ranges.html/
We returned to Ellery Creek Big Hole where Hayden and I did the Dolomite Walk; we saw tiny spiders’ webs in the spinifex, crickets, and some new flowers that we haven’t seen anywhere else.  Apparently this area has very high biodiversity because on one side of the gully is the red rock common to the area and the other side of the gully is dolomite; as a result the soil produced is richer in nutrients than most local areas.  This walk was 2.8km, and involved 179m of climbing.
https://nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/200036/ellery-creek-big-hole-fact-sheet-and-map.pdf

We packed up and headed to Standley Chasm, where we have camped the night.  We headed straight into Standley Chasm as the light only penetrates into this deep narrow chasm in the middle of the day.  This is impressive and the photos don’t do justice to just how narrow and deep this is – it would be amazing to see this with water flowing through. (2.4km, 50 minutes)
https://www.standleychasm.com.au/

The next walk went straight up, and I do mean straight up, to a lookout with an amazing view – Larapinta Hill Lookout – this had views in multiple directions.  This is part of section 4 of the Larapinta Trail, it looks like this would be a challenging section, very steep up and down.  Last up for the day was the Loop walk, which took us through a different type of country and again up to a lookout.  These two walks combined were 4.4km and took about an hour and a half, with 522m ascent.  Then we got to have showers, I feel so much nicer clean!

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