A Day at Ormiston Gorge

We liked Ormiston Gorge so much when we visited the other day that we decided to spend the whole day there today. The road that takes you there is called Namatjira Drive and we stopped at a lookout on the way where I took this photo of Haasts Bluff, familiar from some of his paintings.  There was a slight haze because of the fires that are still burning in the area. (Incidentally, I was told by one of the rangers at the desert park that some of the fires are due to vandalism, but many are also part of controlled burn-offs aimed at limiting summer grassfires. They also help control introduced grasses which are choking out native species like spinnifex.)

The Ormiston Gorge Waterhole is only a five minute walk from the carpark.  There are several walking trails leading further into the gorge and along the top, but we just wanted to sit and enjoy this lovely spot! When we first got there we had it to ourselves except for an eagle and a rock wallaby.  The eagle seemed to be feeding a chick in its nest high in one of the trees.  The rock wallaby let us come quite close, and sat companionably on the rocks behind us for most of the morning.  We also saw several lizards, including a little "long nosed dragon".

There is a camping ground at the Gorge and by lunchtime there was a continual stream of hikers and sightseers. The former usually walked through to continue on their walk, while the latter would arrive, take a few photos and go back.  Some stayed for a picnic or a swim- at one point I counted fourteen people besides ourselves!  (Imagine a similar spot near a major city- the sandy beaches would be crowded!)

Watching people swimming made us decide to join in the fun- especially as the temperature had gone into the thirties. Not the water temperature, though! Getting in was a bit of a challenge, but once the cold had numbed your senses it was lovely!  Esther made me laugh- she swam out to me, squealing that it was "tooo coooold!!!." She was shivering and I asked if she'd like to sit on the warm sand wrapped in a towel.  Then, still shivering, she squealed, "Noooo! Swimming is too much fun!"

We didn't have watches with us, time being unimportant on days like this, but when the shadows had shifted across the water we decided it was probably time to head home.

On the way home we spotted a dingo (Australia's native wild dog) running along beside the road.  It was the second dingo we'd seen along the same stretch of road, but this time I managed to get a better photo.

We heard from a tour guide we spoke to that there were fires burning out of control at Curtin Springs (near Uluru) and to the east of Alice Springs... The smoke haze had increased dramatically by the time we left the gorge, giving the landscape a very different look.  Usually the mountains are glowing fiery red against a bright blue sky at this time but today they were painted in misty pastels.  The setting sun was crimson through the smoke.