West McDonnell NP Week 16 - October 11th 2010
 
Further West through the West McDonnel NP.

Hema 7 P100
 
Looking West along the West McDonnell Range from a lookout above the road.
Ellery Creek Big Hole.

There's a wonderful cross section of the creek in the Alice Springs Museum. All the layers are exposed between the gorge and the road.
 
Lizard (haven't a clue what sort) above Ellery Creek.

Nice colours though!
 
Dolomite above Ellery Creek.
  
Serpentine Gorge.

No indication as to the origin of the name.

We didn't find any serpentine. Just a hint of some greenish looking rock.
  
Ochre Pits, a bit West of Serpentine Gorge.

This was a complete surprise. The rock layers had been tilted to vertical for a truly amazing effect.
 
More of the ochre pits. Sliced through nearly along a layer. Off by just enough to paint a picture for us.
  
Ormiston Gorge.
  
Kingfisher at Ormiston Gorge.

We watched the pair for quite a while. They had a nest fairly low down in a hole in a tree.

We weren't quick enough to photograph them moving in and out of the nest.

  
Walked into and around the Pound at Ormiston. Memories of a visit 30 years ago.
 
Ormiston Gorge from the lookout above the Pound.
 
From the same lookout looking into the Pound.
 
Looking back from the entrance to Ormiston Gorge from the Pound.

We crossed the creek a couple of times during the walk.
 
Ormiston Gorge walking from Pound back out to camp site.
 
Looking back at Ormiston Gorge from the lookout at the entrance to the Gorge.
 
This Whistling Kite (we think) occupied us for quite a while. There was much discussion with camp minders as to where the nest was.
 
We found the nest, just downstream from the waterhole at the Gorge. There were two chicks.

They made a bit of noise and stuck their heads out of the nest a few times. Then we were lucky when one decided to stretch its wings.
 
Port Lincoln Parrot at Ormiston Gorge.
 
Creek at Redbank Gorge.

It was raining as we drove in. A German couple in a bongo van were bogged trying to get out. About to be helped by 4wd'er.

We didn't have to cross it to get to the campsite. This is just downstream from the Gorge.

We watched it rise.
 
And the same creek 24 hours later.

We crossed it to attempt our walk up Mt Sonder.
  
Mt Sonder in the distance.

It was a little windy at the Redbank Gorge camp site. Just pleasantly so.

By the time we reached a lookout on the ridge it was very windy and surprisingly chilly.

We decided to fight again another day so retreated to the warmth of Tardis.
 
There are gazillions of Budgies throughout central Aus this year. Lots of rain.

These two lived next to Tardis at Redbank Gorge.

We had lots of time to make friends with them while we waited for roads to dry out and creeks to fall.

Apparently Uluru had 75mm of rain. Alice Springs a meagre 30mm.
 
One was cleaning the nest, the other bringing food.
 
Mereenie Loop, Kings Canyon, Uluru and Katajuta Week 17 - October 18th 2010