Glen Helen Gorge

 
 
 
Another quick drive of 1 ½ hours along tar road saw us enter Glen Helen Gorge today. There are a large number of gorges to visit in this area, so after setting up the van we headed out to Ellery Creek Big Hole.

This was basically a water hole which would be lovely in summer, but unfortunately was a bit cold and dirty to swim in today. The scenery is again superb and the weather, although about 5 degrees in the mornings, continues to be sunny and about 22 during the day.

The next stop was Standley Chasm where we were told by other Prado friends, we could find a cafe which sold ice creams, meat pies and coffee. We ended up purchasing wedges and coffee before our loooong walk. (We definitely needed the carbs from the wedges for this walk) The signage showed that the walk would take 30 mins return – very doable. We proceeded along the track and into the Chasm – truly magnificent walking through a small passageway and rock walls either side.

We continued onto the end of the walk and then noticed other people had climbed over the boulders and were continuing up the rock face. We joined them and then spent the next 45 minutes climbing hand over hand, under tree branches, across shale and trying to find some type of foot hold as we clambered up to the top of the Chasm. It was a magnificent view from the top, but of course, what goes up….must come down. Thus we started to journey back down the hill, using hands, feet and bottoms to finally end up at the bottom of the Chasm again. The kids did a wonderful job of walking, without one complaint. Yes, they are sleeping well tonight.

After our adventurous walk, we proceeded onto Ochre Pits where there was a display of rocks showing various colours that the Aboriginal people use to make their face paint.

Last stop of the day was Ormiston Gorge where we went for a short walk to the water hole. It again was quite picturesque, still and quiet – only the sounds of birds in the trees.

After returning home and having a well deserved hot shower, Glen Helen Gorge had organised a dinner for us – steaks, sausages and various salads.

Tomorrow we are heading to Kings Canyon. The first part of the trip is 60km on tar, where after we will change our tyre pressure in readiness for 125km of dirt / gravel road (Mereenie Loop Road - 4wd only). We have placed contact over the vents to try to prevent excess dirt and dust entering the van as we travel. 8 a.m. will be kick off time as we have been allocated into group 1 with 4 other cars. This will enable us to keep radio contact with a small amount of cars, rather than travelling all together in one long convoy.