Alice Springs is the best jumping off point to explore the West Macs ( West MacDonnell Ranges )The surrounds of Alice Springs offer a variety of options to explore and immerse yourself in the natural world of Central Australia.
The Ellery Creek Big Hole is a great place to cool off and picnic after a day's exploring the region.
Standley Chasm Angkerle Atwatye has been gouged through tough sandstone by the floods that over millions of years have surged down a narrow tributary of the Finke river system creating a deep cleft in the West MacDonnel ranges crowded out each side by craggy slopes rising 80 metres above the river bed.
The Chasm provides a dramatic colourful show any time of the day when the sheer quartzite walls glow from reflected sunlight. Artists including Albert Namatjira a well known local personality have forever been captivated by the colours and textures here.
The 1,2 km trail is a delight with spring fed pools, wildlife, wildflowers and cycads. The ghost gums provide a stark contrast to the ochre granite faces as they grow out of the crevices.
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| Resting place on the Standley Chasm trail |
A number of scenic gaps pierce the West MacDonnell Ranges. One of these is
Simpsons Gap, site of one of the most prominent waterholes in the region. The
area is an important spiritual site to the Arrarnta Aboriginal people, where
several dreaming trails and stories cross. At dawn or dusk Simpsons gap
it is renowned as a place to see Black-footed Rock-wallabies along the gap's
short walking track. Good examples of many of the vegetation communities of the
MacDonnell Ranges are found in the Simpsons Gap area, including large stands of
Mulga, and the area around the gap is a major stronghold for some of
the rare and relict plants of the region.
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| Ghost Gums |
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| Standley Chasm |
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| Ghost Gum |
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| Cycads |
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| Ellery's Creek Big Hole |
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