Nele & Andrew Around Oz: Redbank Ridgetop Campsite, West MacDonnell National Park, NT

Day 166 – 1^st August 2011

Redbank Ridgetop Campsite, West MacDonnell National Park, NT

This morning we drove to Ormiston Gorge where we did the Pound Walk (7km loop – 5h) - nice walk with wonderful views of the area and the pound. At the start of the walk there was a notice that you had to swim through cold water in the waterhole at the end of the walk. We believed we could avoid this by returning via the Ghost Gum walk which goes up the cliff at the end instead of continuing through the gorge. However just before we got to the turn off to the Ghost Gum trail we came to a point that we had to wade through the water after all. Unfortunately for Andrew the rocks were quite slippery and he fell in. Nele had a big laugh and managed to cross without slipping. We decided to continue through the gorge, as we wanted to have a look at the waterhole and eventually even got to the end without having to swim as you could just climb up some rocks along the waterhole to reach a point where the river was actually dry and you could cross the riverbed. We still wanted to have a look at the Ghost Gum Lookout so decided to walk the Ghost Gum trail as well, providing a nice view from the top into the gorge (2km return – 30min). After lunch we continued on to Glen Helen Gorge where a short stroll takes you to a waterhole and the gorge. Afterwards we travelled to Redbank Gorge with a quick stop at the Mt Sonder Lookout along the way. The track into Redbank Gorge is again signed as 4WD but isn’t more than a rough gravel road so possible in a 2WD when taking it slowly. Tonight Andrew wasn’t feeling too flash and has developed a bit of a fever. Hopefully he will feel better tomorrow after a good night’s sleep.

Tip: If you do the Ormiston Gorge Pound walk, we suggest returning via the Ghost Gum trail as this is more spectacular than continuing through the gorge. This way you can combine the 2 walks in 1 and you really don’t miss anything by not going through the gorge.