Ormiston Gorge

This morning we were up at stupid o’clock to tackle the 7km Pound Walk at the nearby Ormiston Gorge.  It was still dark when we left our campsite, and the sleeping Fletcher was put in the car still in his PJs.  After travelling the 40 kms to get to the car park we started the walk just after first light.

It took us three and a half hours to complete the full circuit from the Visitor Centre.  The walk meandered around scenic slopes, dropping into the mind-boggling expanse of the Ormiston Pound and returning along the towering red walls of the Ormiston Gorge via the main waterhole.  The walk cuts through a diverse geology from limestone, to quartzite and granite and a diverse range of habitats from rocky, Spinifex covered hills to tree lined, rich creeklines.



The park is an important fauna refuge, with the re-discovery of the Central Rock Rat.  The name conjures up images of a typical rat but this species is a unique Australia Rock Rat and is only vaguely similar to true rats. Thought to be extinct, this small rodent suddenly reappeared after a 50 year absence only a few years ago. During the first decade of the twenty first century, it once again disappeared only to reappear in fauna surveys in mid 2010. This continual disappearance during low rainfall years illustrates the dramatic rise and fall of small mammal populations across inland Australia.  Much of the Pound Walk is prime Central Rock Rat habitat but because the animal is nocturnal your chances of spotting one is limited.

 

We were lucky enough to see this one during daylight hours.

Apparently after high rainfall there can be extensive waterholes throughout the Ormiston Gorge that may require you to swim or wade through.

  For us, however, there was no cool dip at the end.

The conditions were overcast and unseasonally mild anyway, which made for great hiking.  We were back at the Visitor Centre by 9.30am and well and truly ready for breakfast.

We took the short drive to Glen Helen Resort (bahahaha) for a picnic and a swim in the gorge.  A short 10 minute walk from the Resort took us to the Finke River and the water hole

On the way home we checked out the Ochre Pits.  Aborigines have collected the ochre from here for thousands of years, using it for medicine, ceremony, dance, decoration and in burial rites throughout Australia. 

The ochre is still used today by the Western Arrente people,

mainly for ceremonial purposes.

 

We were back at camp by 12.30pm.  Having started our day at 4.45am, however,  it now felt more like about 4.30pm.  The afternoon was hot so we spent most of our time in the Ellery Creek Big Hole, a short walk from our campsite.

 

The rest of the afternoon and evening disappeared in a blur of swimming, Lego, little red sausages, reciprocal foot massages, drinks with the neighbours and more swimming.  A perfect end to the day.