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

Day 3 - Simpsons Gap to Jay Creek Campground (Section 2 Larapinta)

Spring Gap

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-2-information-sheet-and-map.pdf

Sleeping in the shelter worked well for us. It rained about midnight and there was a lot of wind. We were up at 5am, with no wet tent to pack down or wait for it to dry.  This was fortunate because it rained again just after we woke. We were ready by 6:20am and watched the dawn come in. It was light enough for me to start walking about 6:45am and we headed off.  After about 45 minutes walking we stopped to add thermals due to the cold wind.  The first two hours of hiking was through undulating grasslands and light woodland.  Once again, we saw Australian Ringneck Parrots (Barnardius zonarius).

Bond Gap

The side trip to Bond Gap was very pretty, however the water looks like it would be very cold.  Today we saw several pairs of hikers going eastward.  Sections of the track were through regrowth after fires – the track was very clearly marked with blue flagging. The trail continues near to Rocky Creek. There are lots of small undulations as we made our way across open country.  We arrived at Mulga Camp at 12:45pm. This was our planned destination for the day. It is an open campsite with picnic table, water tank and toilet.  It had very little shade and very many flies. We took our boots off, had lunch and a rest.  We then decided that there was nothing to keep us here for the afternoon, so we would continue to Jay Creek, allowing us more time to potentially do the high route tomorrow.

We left Mulga Camp at 1:45pm, just before the first few of the group we started the trail with arrived.  The first part of this afternoon’s walk was a “choose your own adventure” rock scramble through Rocky Creek. 

Spring Gap itself was very pretty.  

Once on the northern side of the MacDonnell Range the pollen smelt different. There was also evidence of cattle throughout this area.  We arrived at Jay Creek Trailhead about 5:15pm as the light was dropping.

There were so many people in camp that we initially thought we may have walked into a group site. There were at least thirty tents set up, but nobody wished to sleep in the shelter. Many hikers were young people heading East and heading West, as well as a few more mature hikers going each direction. We had a quick wash in the creek and then listened to various people’s accounts of their hike thus far while we prepared and ate dinner. From this group of people, it appeared that everyone under 40 years of age was opting for the faster low route, and those older were opting for the high route.  There were a lot of young people doing much shorter time spans for the distance, but at the cost of lots of foot problems from blisters and the hardness of the ground. I heard several people complain that because the track was so technical they were not getting enough opportunities to look at the views. I was glad we had chosen to take a longer period and not have to rush. Plenty of time to stop and take in the amazing scenery.

Well after dark two of the group we began the trail with arrived, very tired. They were happy to join us in sleeping in the shelter but did need to spread out their wet tents from this morning. Jay Creek Trailhead has a shelter with a picnic table, water tanks and a toilet. There are lots of tent sites, some close to the shelter and some a little further past the shelter.  Jay Creek itself had several pools of water for a quick bird bath and freshen up.

https://northernterritory.com/alice-springs-and-surrounds/see-and-do/jay-creek

 

Statistics

Hike Distance                 27.41km

Hike Time                        8h 27m

Ascent                              644.0m

Descent                           526.8m