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West MacDonnell Ranges
Difficulty:
Suitable for:
The West MacDonnell Ranges in the heart of Australia's red centre stretch for 400km from east-west as a series of parallel ranges. Within the ranges are magnificent gaps and gorges, dramatic scenery, great bush camping and walks.
Start
Palm Valley (Mpulungkinya)
Finish
Alice Springs
Distance
297.86 km
Minimum Days
2
Average Speed
48.2 km/hr
Driving Time
6 hr 10 min
Article By: ExplorOz Team Updated: 20 Nov 2007
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Description
Camp Sites & Accomodation
Interactive Route Map
Driving Directions
Permits
Trek Feedback
Things to See & Do
Related Pages
Preparation
Recommended Reading
In this Trek Note
Description
There is so much to see in the
Alice Springs
region that you really need to plan your route carefully. With a 4WD you get the opportunity to avoid backtracking and can reach all the major and lesser known sites over a comfortable 1 week period. If you are a particularly keen walker, photographer or artist you would certainly want to allow 2 weeks or more. Most sites have various tracks to explore ranging from easy walks of just a few hundred metres to overnight hikes. There are countless opportunities for soaking up the surroundings on foot but if you are in a rush, excellent bitumen roads links all the major attractions to within a day's drive of
Alice Springs
.
This route we describe here is 2WD accessible as it follows the bitumen Larapinta Drive out of
Alice Springs
passing John Flynns Grave, Simpsons Gap and
Standley Chasm
, then swings east on the Namatjira Drive to
Ellery Creek
Bighole,
Serpentine Gorge
, Ochre Pits, Ormiston Gorge,
Glen Helen Gorge
. A good dirt road continues the trek to Redbank Gorge, Gosse Bluff and
Hermannsburg
with a 4WD only diversion to
Palm Valley
.
2WD Accessible Sights (Walking tracks at all,
camping
at most)
The walking in the West McDonnells is excellent with quite a few choices depending on your level of fitness or temperature of the day. Walking close to some of the rocks can get incredibly hot in middle of the day, yet there are some gorges better visited at midday when the sunlight shines directly on the rocks and lights up the sheer walls with intense red colours (such as
Standley Chasm
).
Interactive Route Map
Palm Valley (Mpulungkinya)
Palm Valley is a scenic place and is home to a diverse range of plant species. Many of these species are rare and unique to the area, including around 3,000 adult Red Cabbage Palms for which the Park is well known.
Features:
Position: 132.7444ºE 24.0582ºS (GDA 94)
Next Place:
Lower Mount Hermannsburg
Distance:
13.03km
Average Speed:
23.67km/h
Lower Mount Hermannsburg
No description entered.
Enter description or photos
.
Features:
Position: 132.7516ºE 23.9790ºS (GDA 94)
Next Place:
Larapinta Drive & Boggy Hole Access
Distance:
5.67km
Average Speed:
32.28km/h
Larapinta Drive & Boggy Hole Access
Junction
Features:
Position: 132.7867ºE 23.9461ºS (GDA 94)
Next Place:
Hermannsburg
Distance:
0.54km
Average Speed:
40.05km/h
Hermannsburg
Sun drenched community is sensibly solar powered by 8 impressive dishes.
Features:
Position: 132.7796ºE 23.9420ºS (GDA 94)
Next Place:
Albert Namatjira's House
Distance:
5.23km
Average Speed:
30.48km/h
Albert Namatjira's House
Albert Namatjira's House is located approximately 5km west of Hermannsberg Community. It is a two-roomed cottage, constructed of hand-cut local sandstone bricks with a corrugated galvanised iron roof.
Features:
Position: 132.7444ºE 23.9405ºS (GDA 94)
Next Place:
Gosses Bluff Meteorite Impact Crater
Distance:
56.18km
Average Speed:
42.38km/h
Gosses Bluff Meteorite Impact Crater
Australia has some of the best-preserved meteorite impact sites in the world, like Gosses Bluff in the Northern Territory.
Features:
Position: 132.3167ºE 23.8167ºS (GDA 94)
Next Place:
Gosses Bluff
Distance:
0.3km
Average Speed:
16.98km/h
Gosses Bluff
No description entered.
Enter description or photos
.
Features:
Position: 132.3143ºE 23.8166ºS (GDA 94)
Next Place:
Tylers Pass
Distance:
21.54km
Average Speed:
40.78km/h
Tylers Pass
Tylers Pass is a rest area with a lookout on a small hill that reveals spectacular panoramic views over the MacDonnell Ranges including stunning views of the mysterious Gosse Bluff (Tnorala).
Features:
Position: 132.3630ºE 23.6694ºS (GDA 94)
Next Place:
Namatjira Dve, West MacDonnell NP Boundary
Distance:
24.14km
Average Speed:
60.18km/h
Namatjira Dve, West MacDonnell NP Boundary
Namatjira Dve, West MacDonnell NP Boundary
Features:
Position: 132.4997ºE 23.6086ºS (GDA 94)
Next Place:
Glen Helen Gorge
Distance:
20.51km
Average Speed:
50.16km/h
Glen Helen Gorge
The Glen Helen Gorge is formed from quartzite. Sandstone was deposited in the area some 500 million years ago when it was a huge inland sea. It was subsequently tilted and uplifted. As this uplift was occurring the Finke River slowly eroded its way through the mountain range.
Features:
Position: 132.6754ºE 23.6922ºS (GDA 94)
Next Place:
Glen Helen
Distance:
0.92km
Average Speed:
15.86km/h
Glen Helen
Glen Helen (including Ormiston Gorge and Pound National Park) One of the most beautiful gorges in Central Australia. Glen Helen is located 133 km west of Alice Springs at the end of the sealed section of road known as Namatjira Drive.
Features:
Position: 132.6733ºE 23.6858ºS (GDA 94)
Next Place:
Finke River, Namatjira Dve
Distance:
0.88km
Average Speed:
58.3km/h
Finke River, Namatjira Dve
Namatjira Drive which crosses the Finke River.
Features:
Position: 132.6715ºE 23.6803ºS (GDA 94)
Next Place:
Ormiston Gorge and Pound NP
Distance:
9.48km
Average Speed:
57.95km/h
Ormiston Gorge and Pound NP
Ormiston Gorge is would have to be one of the most spectacular of the gorges in the West MacDonnell Ranges and the adventurous can spend many hours exploring the Pound which runs east from the large waterhole at the gorge.
Features:
Position: 132.7293ºE 23.6256ºS (GDA 94)
Next Place:
Neil Hargrave Lookout
Distance:
30.48km
Average Speed:
55.09km/h
Neil Hargrave Lookout
Located 107km west of Alice Springs or 24km east of Glen Helen. 8km north of the highway.
Features:
Position: 132.9039ºE 23.7514ºS (GDA 94)
Next Place:
Ellery Creek Big Hole
Distance:
18.37km
Average Speed:
61.27km/h
Ellery Creek Big Hole
Located 88km west of Alice Springs or 43km east of Glen Helen. 2km north of the Highway. Beautiful clear, deep waters of Ellery Creek Big Hole. 150m swim to the other side where you can get out on a white sandy beach and walk a little further up the gorge.
Features:
Position: 133.0706ºE 23.7822ºS (GDA 94)
Next Place:
Point Howard Lookout
Distance:
11.98km
Average Speed:
37.47km/h
Point Howard Lookout
Located 78km west of Alice Springs or 53km east of Glen Helen, on Namatjiri Drive.
Features:
Position: 133.1753ºE 23.8056ºS (GDA 94)
Next Place:
Hugh River, Namatjira Dve
Distance:
21.63km
Average Speed:
77.37km/h
Hugh River, Namatjira Dve
Namatjira Drive which crosses the Hugh River.
Features:
Position: 133.3842ºE 23.8125ºS (GDA 94)
Next Place:
Namatjira Rd & Larapinta Dve
Distance:
9.42km
Average Speed:
81.96km/h
Namatjira Rd & Larapinta Dve
Namatjira Road & Larapinta Drive junction.
Features:
Position: 133.4731ºE 23.8224ºS (GDA 94)
Next Place:
Iwupataka (Jay Creek)
Distance:
5.9km
Average Speed:
78.88km/h
Iwupataka (Jay Creek)
This place is one of a number of Outstations on the Iwupataka Land Trust and is situated about 31 km by road from Alice Springs. The landscape from Simpson’s Gap to Jay Creek is through grassy flats, low rocky hills and ghost gums.
Features:
Position: 133.5053ºE 23.7887ºS (GDA 94)
Next Place:
Alice Springs
Distance:
41.65km
Average Speed:
54.67km/h
Alice Springs
The name of this city comes from it's humble beginnings when a small settlement was built along a waterhole called Alice Springs in 1872. Today, Alice Springs is the largest town in Central Australia with a population of around 24,000.
Features:
Position: 133.8836ºE 23.6975ºS (GDA 94)
Route Control
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Permits
None
Things to See & Do
Hermannsburg
Sun drenched community is sensibly solar powered by 8 impressive dishes.
Gosses Bluff Meteorite Impact Crater
Australia has some of the best-preserved meteorite impact sites in the world, like Gosses Bluff in the Northern Territory.
Lower Mount Hermannsburg
No description entered.
Enter description or photos
.
Glen Helen Gorge
The Glen Helen Gorge is formed from quartzite. Sandstone was deposited in the area some 500 million years ago when it was a huge inland sea. It was subsequently tilted and uplifted. As this uplift was occurring the Finke River slowly eroded its way through the mountain range.
Tylers Pass
Tylers Pass is a rest area with a lookout on a small hill that reveals spectacular panoramic views over the MacDonnell Ranges including stunning views of the mysterious Gosse Bluff (Tnorala). Gosse Bluff which is approximately 15 km's away is a crater, which was created around 145 million years ago when a meteorite crashed on the earth.
Ormiston Gorge and Pound NP
Ormiston Gorge is would have to be one of the most spectacular of the gorges in the West MacDonnell Ranges and the adventurous can spend many hours exploring the Pound which runs east from the large waterhole at the gorge.
Palm Valley (Mpulungkinya)
Palm Valley is a scenic place and is home to a diverse range of plant species. Many of these species are rare and unique to the area, including around 3,000 adult Red Cabbage Palms for which the Park is well known. The Park and the nearby areas hold cultural significance to the Western Arrernte Aboriginal people and there are evidence of early European settlement too.
Albert Namatjira's House
Albert Namatjira's House is located approximately 5km west of Hermannsberg Community. It is a two-roomed cottage, constructed of hand-cut local sandstone bricks with a corrugated galvanised iron roof. Albert built this house for his wife and the house features a fireplace and chimney – which is located at the eastern end of the structure.
Gosses Bluff
No description entered.
Enter description or photos
.
Hermannsburg
Glen Helen Gorge
Palm Valley (Mpulungkinya)
Gosses Bluff Meteorite Impact Crater
Tylers Pass
Albert Namatjira's House
Lower Mount Hermannsburg
Ormiston Gorge and Pound NP
Gosses Bluff
Simpsons Gap,
Standley Chasm
,
Ellery Creek
Bighole,
Serpentine Gorge
, Ochre Pits, Ormiston Gorge, Redbank Gorge,
Glen Helen Gorge
, Gosse Bluff (Tnorala),
Palm Valley
and much more.
Preparation
Fuel Supplies & Usage
Hermannsburg
,
Glen Helen
,
Alice Springs
Diesel
4cyl 42 litres
ULP
4cyl 48 litres
LPG
4cyl 60 litres
6cyl 46 litres
6cyl 54 litres
6cyl 52 litres
8cyl 48 litres
8cyl 49 litres
Usage is averaged from
TrekFuel
(* specific to trek) submissions and calculated based on trek distance.
Best Time To Visit
Closest Climatic Station
Alice Springs Airport
Distance from Trek Mid Point 81.57km E
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Mean Max. °C
36.3
35.1
32.7
28.2
23.0
19.9
19.6
22.6
27.1
30.9
33.7
35.4
Mean Min. °C
21.4
20.8
17.5
12.6
8.3
5.1
4.0
6.0
10.2
14.8
17.9
20.2
Mean Rain mm
38.0
42.3
31.9
16.8
19.4
14.4
14.7
9.5
8.3
21.9
26.7
37.5
Best time to travel
Ok time to travel
Travel NOT recommended
Services & Supplies
The following locations have various services and supplies:
Hermannsburg
,
Glen Helen
,
Alice Springs
Camp Sites & Accomodation
Hermannsburg
Sun drenched community is sensibly solar powered by 8 impressive dishes.
Ellery Creek Big Hole
Located 88km west of Alice Springs or 43km east of Glen Helen. 2km north of the Highway. Beautiful clear, deep waters of Ellery Creek Big Hole. 150m swim to the other side where you can get out on a white sandy beach and walk a little further up the gorge. A nice walk from back of campsite throughout higher terrain and back along creek bed to main waterhole.
Alice Springs
The name of this city comes from it's humble beginnings when a small settlement was built along a waterhole called Alice Springs in 1872. Today, Alice Springs is the largest town in Central Australia with a population of around 24,000. Although it is indeed a city, it is more accurately described as an outback town with a country lifestyle for locals and visitors.
Glen Helen
Glen Helen (including Ormiston Gorge and Pound National Park) One of the most beautiful gorges in Central Australia. Glen Helen is located 133 km west of Alice Springs at the end of the sealed section of road known as Namatjira Drive. No one knows who named the region but it was one of the first pastoral leases in Central Australia.
Ormiston Gorge and Pound NP
Ormiston Gorge is would have to be one of the most spectacular of the gorges in the West MacDonnell Ranges and the adventurous can spend many hours exploring the Pound which runs east from the large waterhole at the gorge.
Palm Valley (Mpulungkinya)
Palm Valley is a scenic place and is home to a diverse range of plant species. Many of these species are rare and unique to the area, including around 3,000 adult Red Cabbage Palms for which the Park is well known. The Park and the nearby areas hold cultural significance to the Western Arrernte Aboriginal people and there are evidence of early European settlement too.
Point Howard Lookout
Located 78km west of Alice Springs or 53km east of Glen Helen, on Namatjiri Drive.
Neil Hargrave Lookout
Located 107km west of Alice Springs or 24km east of Glen Helen. 8km north of the highway.
Hermannsburg
Glen Helen
Point Howard Lookout
Ellery Creek Big Hole
Ormiston Gorge and Pound NP
Neil Hargrave Lookout
Alice Springs
Palm Valley (Mpulungkinya)
Driving Directions
Time
Direction
Distance
Palm Valley (Mpulungkinya) to Lower Mount Hermannsburg
13.03 km
N
5°
33 min
Lower Mount Hermannsburg to Larapinta Drive & Boggy Hole Access
5.67 km
NE
44°
10 min
Larapinta Drive & Boggy Hole Access to Hermannsburg
0.54 km
NW
303°
Hermannsburg to Albert Namatjira's House
5.23 km
W
273°
10 min
Albert Namatjira's House to Gosses Bluff Meteorite Impact Crater
56.18 km
W
287°
1 hr 19 min
Gosses Bluff Meteorite Impact Crater to Gosses Bluff
0.3 km
W
271°
1 min
Gosses Bluff to Tylers Pass
21.54 km
N
17°
31 min
Tylers Pass to Namatjira Dve, West MacDonnell NP Boundary
24.14 km
NE
64°
24 min
Namatjira Dve, West MacDonnell NP Boundary to Glen Helen Gorge
20.51 km
SE
117°
24 min
Glen Helen Gorge to Glen Helen
0.92 km
N
343°
3 min
Glen Helen to Finke River, Namatjira Dve
0.88 km
N
344°
Finke River, Namatjira Dve to Ormiston Gorge and Pound NP
9.48 km
NE
44°
9 min
Ormiston Gorge and Pound NP to Neil Hargrave Lookout
30.48 km
SE
128°
33 min
Neil Hargrave Lookout to Ellery Creek Big Hole
18.37 km
E
101°
17 min
Ellery Creek Big Hole to Point Howard Lookout
11.98 km
E
104°
19 min
Point Howard Lookout to Hugh River, Namatjira Dve
21.63 km
E
92°
16 min
Hugh River, Namatjira Dve to Namatjira Rd & Larapinta Dve
9.42 km
E
97°
6 min
Namatjira Rd & Larapinta Dve to Iwupataka (Jay Creek)
5.9 km
NE
41°
4 min
Iwupataka (Jay Creek) to Alice Springs
41.65 km
E
75°
45 min
Palm Valley (Mpulungkinya) to Alice Springs
297.86 km
6 hr 10 min
Distance is GPS recorded driving distance (not straight line), Direction is straight line from start to end, Time is calculated from actual GPS driving data.
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Trek Search
ExplorOz Trek Notes are detailed, factual reviews of destinations in Australia to which you can plan a self-drive camping trip. This page will enable you to access over 100 of these trek notes, using various search methods and at a glance you can see what treks we have in each area across Australia.
[Feature Story]
Owen Springs Reserve
An easy short trek out of Alice Springs with good bush camping and a historic value of early European explorers to Central Australia.
Plenty Highway
The is the most direct route from central Queensland across to Alice Springs in central Australia. It is a wide stretch of very red sandy soil that when wet can be impassible - 4WD only.
Old Andado Track
The Old Andado Track traverses fascinating terrain that includes mountain ranges, rocky gibber plains, desert sand dunes and floodplains in the Red Centre just south of Alice Springs.
Hay River
Suitable only to 4WDers with a strong sense of adventure and experience in remote desert travel. This track is largely unmarked and good map-reading skills are essential.
Finke to Uluru via Old Gunbarrel
An alternative route to access the wonderful Uluru - Kata Tjuta National Park, this trip from Finke east of the Stuart Highway takes in the Lambert Centre - the planimetric gravitational centre of Australia, and a short section of the Old Gunbarrel Highway before intersecting the main route of the Lasseter Highway near Curtain Springs.
The Tanami Track
The Tanami Track is essentially a great short-cut linking the Red Centre to the Kimberley. Although once a notorious 4WD track, it is now a graded dirt highway.
Chambers Pillar
Chambers Pillar is a natural sandstone formation used by our famous early explorers as a navigational point. You can still read their signatures and inscriptions carved into the rock. It is also a beautiful photographic subject in a remote 4WD area.
Boggy Hole
Finke Gorge is located within the Finke Gorge NP south of the West MacDonnell Ranges in the Alice Springs region. The most popular attraction is Boggy Hole, a permanent billabong of the Finke River. This is a good 4WD route to Uluru and/or Kings Canyon.
Simpson Desert via Geosurveys Hill
From the stone workings of our ancient aboriginal past to the routes undertaken for the old oil exploration surveys, this very remote one-way trek starting at Mount Dare to Birdsville is for experienced desert travellers ONLY.
Trek Search
Finke to Uluru via Old Gunbarrel
Simpson Desert via Geosurveys Hill
Owen Springs Reserve
The Tanami Track
Hay River
Boggy Hole
Old Andado Track
Plenty Highway
Chambers Pillar
Recommended Reading for West MacDonnell Ranges
MacDonnell Ranges
Covering both the East and West MacDonnell Ranges this map shows major roads and 4WD tracks out of Alice Springs including the Finke Gorge NP and track from Hermansburg through to Boggy Hole and onto Giles Road. It includes Rainbow Valley and Chambers Pillar.
$7.95
[Not Available]
Great Desert Tracks of Australia NC
This map is just one of the set of 6 maps comprising the Great Desert Tracks Map Pack. This particular map covers the Tanami Track, Red Centre, Gary Junction Road and Sandy Blight Junction Track and includes Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, Warbuton, Halls Creek, Finke.
$14.95
[Add to Cart]
Latest Edition
Alice Springs to Uluru
Some of the most unusual landforms in the world can be found in Central Australia. Much of this area has only been accessible to visitors for about 30 yrs and some roads and facilities are well suited to the modern adventurer.The Gunbarrel Hwy is also shown although travel permits are required.
$8.50
[Add to Cart]
Red Centre CD Map
The Red Centre CD Map is based on the popular paper maps and is compatible with most PC-based major navigational progammes, and if you have a GPS, laptop or personal orgaiser then it can provide in car navigation. This CD is a great companion product to use with existing regional maps.
$29.95
[Add to Cart]
Alice Springs to Uluru - Digital Map
This digital map of 'Alice Springs to Uluru' will help you to safely experience the adventure of exploration, and the wonder of the outback with both detailed information and GPS readings. Some of the most unusual landforms in the world can be found in Central Australia.
$10.00
[Add to Cart]
NEW item in the Shop
Natmap Digital Maps 2008
NATMAP Digital Maps 2008 is the next generation of Geoscience Australia's popular NATMAP Raster 1:250 000 scale topographic digital maps. NATMAP Digital Maps 2008 are exact digital copies of Geoscience Australia's NATMAP topographic maps. They cover the whole of Australia at 1:250 000 scale, and are current to 2006.
$99.00
[Add to Cart]
Latest Edition
SF5313 Hermannsburg
This 1:250K topographic paper map covers an area about 150km from east to west and 110km from north to south (1.5 degrees longitude by 1 degree latitude). The map contains natural and constructed features including road and rail infrastructure, vegetation, hydrography, contours (interval 50m), localities and some administrative boundaries.
$10.00
[Add to Cart]
Allow 2 weeks for delivery
Red Centre - Alice Springs to Uluru
This map outlines all sealed and unsealed roads, four-wheel drive tracks and roads requiring permit access. Camping sites, accommodation, fuel supplies, emergency services and local attractions are all marked and National Park and Aboriginal land boundaries are clearly outlined.
$8.95
[Add to Cart]
Alice Springs - Oodnadatta
This map will help you to safely experience the adventure of exploration and the wonder of the outback with both detailed information and GPS readings.
$8.50
[Add to Cart]
MacDonnell Ranges
Red Centre CD Map
SF5313 Hermannsburg
Great Desert Tracks of Australia NC
Alice Springs to Uluru - Digital Map
Red Centre - Alice Springs to Uluru
Alice Springs to Uluru
Natmap Digital Maps 2008
Alice Springs - Oodnadatta
New/Updated
Mid West WA Explorer Card $20.00
Membership Personal - Lifetime $300.00
South West Map Book $9.95
Frogs and Tadpoles of Australia $19.95
Spiders Snails and Other Minibeasts of Australia $19.95
Dinosaurs and Other Ancient Giants of Australia $19.95
Birds of Australia $19.95
Australian Outback Yarns - Bull From The Bush $19.95
Caravan Chef $19.95
Natmap Digital Maps 2008 $99.00
Fraser Island Explorer Card $20.00
Margaret River Region and Southern Forests $8.95
West Australian Map Book $9.95
Wildflower Country $9.95
Nissan Patrol GU Rear Door Bracket Extension $26.95
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