The central Australian bush
Our first job on arrival was to phone the driver and bush guide we'd arranged to meet to confirm our Palm Valley tour. The result is our first problem all trip. Unexpected rains have washed out the roads to and inside Palm Valley. Tour cancelled! After a bit of replanning we booked a whole day tour of the West Macdonnell mountain ranges with Emu Run Tours. It turned out that we were only six in total on the tour, which meant we practically had a personal guide and driver, exactly as we had wanted in the first place. It also turned out to be another brilliant day. We were collected from our hotel at 7:45am and off we went into the bush, which starts within a couple of miles of the town centre.
There is much more water out here than you expect. A couple of metres below the red dusty surface there is plenty of the stuff and this particular outback area is much greener than we anticipated.
Alice normally gets about 3ins of rain a year. This year it has already had 6ins. Even some of the surface creeks and streams have running water in them, which is very unusual.
Australia's red centre is about the size of Europe and it is deserted. Our day's journeying will take us through a large section of the West Macdonnell ranges 100 miles or so into the bush. By the time we're half way there we have yet to see another vehicle. This is a very harsh environment even as tourist. This would have been a very unforgiving place for the early settlers and farmers. Our bodies are currently the same temperature inside and out - it's 98F out here. We were advised to bring three litres of water with us for the day. We did and believe me, we're drinking it. Otherwise you'd just be a puddle of melted goo covered in flies.
We are driving deeper and deeper into the outback along an endless road towards Ormiston Gorge. It is spectacular. The mountainsides are red, the valley floors are green. There are water courses everywhere. Most are completely dry but some have water as a result of the recent rains. The damage that the rain does is so evident. In several places, sections of road have been washed away. When it rains, it really sheets down and because the ground is so hard - mostly rock with a very thin layer of dust, instead of penetrating it runs off into the water courses which become raging torrents often within minutes.
During the day we make a dozen or so stops at the major sights in this area. All are amazing and all feature water, obviously the most precious resource out here for both man and the wildlife. At Ormiston Gorge, we take the hiking trail which climbs 600ft to give spectacular views over the river. A very hot climb, but worth it and after coming down we stop for a picnic lunch that the tour company has provided. Our outward trip ends at Glen Helen Gorge. I can never resist a helicopter and here at Glen Helen is a mad Aussie pilot with a two-seater chopper with no doors on. So up we go - me and the pilot that is. The Muse prefers her feet on terra firma! The views of the bush from 800ft are fantastic. You really get a sense of the vastness of this country. You can see forever, yet there is no evidence of people as far as you can see. It is also possible to appreciate the extraordinary weather conditions out here. We can see sun and rain, blue sky and cloud; in places the cloud has descended to the ground creating dense mist pockets, which we fly round.
On our return drive some of the water courses which cross the road at frequent intervals and which were completely dry this morning are this afternoon full of water. In one or two spots they are quite fast flowing - extraordinary. For the whole day so far, we have had hot sunshine with varying degrees of humidity. We are now back in Alice. Our driver has slowed down because we are driving through a rain storm and when it rains here, we are talking monsoon-style deluge. Unbelievable as it may seem, the Todd River which is dry for years at a time and was dry when we arrived yesterday is full of water and rapidly becoming a raging torrent.
There is much more water out here than you expect. A couple of metres below the red dusty surface there is plenty of the stuff and this particular outback area is much greener than we anticipated.
Alice normally gets about 3ins of rain a year. This year it has already had 6ins. Even some of the surface creeks and streams have running water in them, which is very unusual.
Australia's red centre is about the size of Europe and it is deserted. Our day's journeying will take us through a large section of the West Macdonnell ranges 100 miles or so into the bush. By the time we're half way there we have yet to see another vehicle. This is a very harsh environment even as tourist. This would have been a very unforgiving place for the early settlers and farmers. Our bodies are currently the same temperature inside and out - it's 98F out here. We were advised to bring three litres of water with us for the day. We did and believe me, we're drinking it. Otherwise you'd just be a puddle of melted goo covered in flies.
We are driving deeper and deeper into the outback along an endless road towards Ormiston Gorge. It is spectacular. The mountainsides are red, the valley floors are green. There are water courses everywhere. Most are completely dry but some have water as a result of the recent rains. The damage that the rain does is so evident. In several places, sections of road have been washed away. When it rains, it really sheets down and because the ground is so hard - mostly rock with a very thin layer of dust, instead of penetrating it runs off into the water courses which become raging torrents often within minutes.
During the day we make a dozen or so stops at the major sights in this area. All are amazing and all feature water, obviously the most precious resource out here for both man and the wildlife. At Ormiston Gorge, we take the hiking trail which climbs 600ft to give spectacular views over the river. A very hot climb, but worth it and after coming down we stop for a picnic lunch that the tour company has provided. Our outward trip ends at Glen Helen Gorge. I can never resist a helicopter and here at Glen Helen is a mad Aussie pilot with a two-seater chopper with no doors on. So up we go - me and the pilot that is. The Muse prefers her feet on terra firma! The views of the bush from 800ft are fantastic. You really get a sense of the vastness of this country. You can see forever, yet there is no evidence of people as far as you can see. It is also possible to appreciate the extraordinary weather conditions out here. We can see sun and rain, blue sky and cloud; in places the cloud has descended to the ground creating dense mist pockets, which we fly round.
On our return drive some of the water courses which cross the road at frequent intervals and which were completely dry this morning are this afternoon full of water. In one or two spots they are quite fast flowing - extraordinary. For the whole day so far, we have had hot sunshine with varying degrees of humidity. We are now back in Alice. Our driver has slowed down because we are driving through a rain storm and when it rains here, we are talking monsoon-style deluge. Unbelievable as it may seem, the Todd River which is dry for years at a time and was dry when we arrived yesterday is full of water and rapidly becoming a raging torrent.
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