Vignettes of the World
At the Trephina Gorge, I pressed my ear against a Red River Gum Tree and heard the sound of flowing water. What happens inside the hollow tree bark is that the bad wood is eaten up by the termites, then the water begins to fill …
At this point of the tour in the East Mac, I could not miss the obvious – that the East Mac is significantly less preferred as a tourist attraction than the West Mac. When we did meet a few souls there, they were local tourists …
“What do you think this is?” Kirsty said to me, her smile shrouded in an expression of knowing mystery.
“Uhm, I mean, it has to be sand?” I replied with a question, quite unsure of what this view in front of me could possibly be, besides what I could observe. What I observed was simply long stretches of sand-laid pathways. In my imagination, sand in desert is associated with aridity, not water.
“This is a river.”
“?” Kirsty saw the puzzlement on my face.
“If you dig hard and long enough, you would come across actual flowing water beneath this massive layer of sand.” Kirsty was pleased, as she saw my expression of astonishment.
A river?
Yes, a river.
I started digging in the sand. Kirsty kept her knowing smile, somewhat approving of my silliness. “You do sense the increasing moist the deeper you dig.” “True to your word,” me replying, in utter amazement.
The day was gorgeous, and with generous sunshine came the waves of desert heat, arriving unforgivingly. In the late morning, we reached Trephina Gorge. This nature park has six trails that serve the interests of hikers at all experience levels.
The Trephina Gorge is my favorite part of the East Mac experience. That is because I found the river-beneath-sand phenomenon to be an incredulous discovery, never-encountered in my previous experiences of nature. The Government factsheet on the Trephina Gorge is here.
We went uphill to see the cliffs. The red cliff faces of the Trephina Gorge are extensive rusted sediments. The rocks here are composed of quartzites. Quartzite is limestone and quartz combined, first forming sandstones. With high heat, then pushed pressures, the harder quartzites are formed. In here, the quartzites have high iron content. In time, the iron becomes rusted, and the color turns into red. The rocks that lie beneath the red surface could be any color.
We went on the trails that offered panoramic, aerial views of the gorge. At the “river” (sandy creek bed, named Trephina Creek) we enjoyed the moist and soft sands there.
Desert geology is itself an amazing learning for me. In West Macdonnell, the tour guide told us about the incredible biodiversity that exists in this desert region. Perhaps because of the beauty of the scenery, I had not paid much attention to the animals that must have come across us during the West Mac tour.
In the East Mac tour, however, Kirsty was very keen to point out the instances of animal appearance. She also explained desert geology in great detail, as in how animals and plants survive.
As I dug in the sand, I admired the environ of Trephina Gorge. There were a whole lot of tall trees that lined the sandy creek. The shade from these trees was a welcome reprieve at that hour of the day. The Red River Gum Tree is the champion of survival here.
“Hear it,” Kirsty pressed her ear at the river gum tree as an illustration, “really?”
“Yes, do you hear the flow of water inside?” I knocked on the bark before I laid my ear on it. “Oh, yes!”
This is the second amazement at the Trephina Gorge. I heard the water flowing inside the tree trunk.
Water may not be visible as water in the Trephina Gorge, but it is in abundance, a perfect illustration of something hiding in plain sight. According to descriptions on site, the river red gum tree grow “long roots extending down like huge straws to soak up life-giving water. Young plants quickly grow a long, central tap root to anchor themselves in the sand and a network of stabilising roots just under the surface. This root system can be just as large as the above-ground parts of the tree.”
One can hear the sound of water flowing inside the tree because the tree trunk is hollow. The Trephina Gorge is home also to the largest ghost gum tree in Australia. The fact that there is a large population of river red gum there indicates that there are sources of water in the area.
The river red gum is known as apere to the Eastern Arrernte aborigines, who are the traditional owners of the land at East Mac. The abundance of these trees in this area, coupled with thousands of years of cultural practice, have together generated innumerable manners of usage of different parts of the tree, as well as the creatures that dwell on them. That includes the making of chewed tobacco, medicinal usage, lollies, and herbs and spices for aboriginal foods.
The snowy, smooth white barks of the river red gum trees present a pleasant color contrast to the rusted, rugged folds of the cliffs in the background. But there are many other kinds of plants that thrive in this climate and geology. I saw flowers there.
There was simply no provision of drinking water at East Macdonnell (perhaps with the exception at the Ross River Resort). In fact, nor were there any trash cans either. Therefore, be sure to bring plenty of water with you, especially if you plan on hiking there.
Descriptions on site at East Macdonnell.
Tour with Red Earth Roaming.
I lined up a trip to East Mac with Kirsty of Red Earth Roaming. She is a fantastic tour guide, who engaged me on so many different disciplines of knowledge. In this 6-hour tour, we went through amazing learning in geology, aboriginal and Aussie culture, …
The tour was approaching its end and it was with a bit of unwillingness that I had to say goodbye to West Mac soon. I thought the Ormiston Gorge was one of the most amazing sites that I had visited thus far in the Outback. …
In the last entry on the Ellery Creek Big Hole, I noted that the colors of the desert evoked an unexpected marvel upon my sensations. Perhaps that observation has come into full focus at the Ochre Pits.
It is said that the Ochre Pits is “where color and culture meet,” (Off the Main Road) and I completely agree. For thousands of years, the Ochre Pits has occupied a place of cultural significance for the Western Arrernte aborigines, who gathered and used ochre daily here for both cultural and medicinal purposes.
I had never seen ochre in my life before. In fact, I had to google the word to know what it is as a material. But at the sight of this wonderful ochre mine, I soaked in its cultural significance.
According to the Britannica, ochre is “a native earth colored with hydrated iron oxide. It varies in color from pale yellow to deep red, brown, and violet. There are two kinds: one has a clayey basis, while the other is a chalky earth. The former variety is in general the richer and purer in color of the two. Both kinds are widely distributed in beds or pockets, mainly in stratified rocks and rubble and rarely as extensive deposits.”
At the Ochre Pits, one can easily observe the colors white, yellow and red ochre. Red, by far the most treasured color, represents strength and the earth, while white represents the spirit, and yellow represents the sun. According to descriptions on site, the colorful ochre-bearing cliffs is a manifestation of 700 million years of geological formation. That was a time when the mountain ranges of West Macdonnell were yet to be formed from a massive push-up event 300 million years ago.
The Western Arrernte aborigines commonly used the colors white and yellow for cosmetics. When mixed with water or animal fat (such as from a goanna, possum or emu), the ochre becomes a colored paste that was smeared onto the body with a finger or a feather. Otherwise, ochre was also mixed with ashes and charcoal.
Sometimes berries were packed within ochre for the purpose of food preservation. Domestic implements were coated with ochre to preserve them against termites.
Finally, ochre was an item of trade for the aborigines, especially red ochre. Some ochre are higher quality, as they may bear with them a silvery sheen. Those were considered fine ochre. Since ochre is commonly found in the West Mac, the trade here is not a vibrant one, but it did occur. The aborigines would trade ochre for bush tobacco, mulga woods, bush foods, boomerang or other types of colored ochre. In this area, the trade between mulga tree products and ochre was common.
As said above, the Western Arrernte aborigines place the red ochre at the top on the scale of importance. As the color represents strength, it is a main color at the initiation ceremonies of their teenage boys (and these ceremonies are very severe trials that result in bodily injuries). The boys are painted in the red ochre, preferably with an eagle feather, at their initiation.
The division of labor is very clear in aboriginal societies, and the digging of ochre is the responsibility of the men, although its cultural uses concern more so with women’s affairs in arts and beautification. The men first made sure that all ochre needed by the women were provided for.
As a medication, ochre was mixed with grease and applied directly onto wounds. Ochre was wrapped in eucalyptus leaves to treat head and chest colds. Red ochre has the specific use in muscle ache, by rubbing mixed red ochre with grease onto the muscles. When applying ochre, the West Arrernte aborigines sang the wulya to enhance its healing power.
The Western Arrernte aborigines have a Dreamtime that involves the Ochre Pits. It is believed that the Wedge-tail Eagles patrol the Macdonnell ranges between the Serpentine Gorge and the Ochre Pits. The men of Western Arrernte have their storytelling about this eagle, and they make elaborate sand paintings in their eagle ceremonies, which are off bounds to the women, children and young men. Before the ceremony is over, these sand paintings are destroyed, and the men’s stories are never told to the outsiders.
The Ochre Pits at West Macdonnell remains an important cultural site for the aborigines, although it is by no means considered sacred. The ochre here is still mined (by them, exclusively) for ceremonial and artistic purposes today. Therefore, keep your hands off the pits (no, don’t even touch) and admire them from a distance only.
Descriptions on site at the Ochre Pits.
Off the Main Road, The Ochre Pits: A Sacred Palette.
The Britannica on Ocher.
The tour left Standley Chasm for Ellery Creek, where we would have our picnic lunch. The Ellery Creek Big Hole is an oasis in the desert, with a body of water large enough in which to swim. In fact, the Ellery Creek Big Hole is …
We left Simpson’s Gap in less than an hour and arrived at Standley Chasm soon. The Standley Chasm measures 80 meters in height and 5 meters in width. To the Western Arrernte aborigines, who are its original occupiers, Stanley Chasm is known as Angkerle Atwatye, meaning “the …
I refer to the Outback as a colloquial reference to the part of Australian hinterland that comes with a vast expanse of desert and an enormous diversity in natural endowment. If one must put a finger on the proper names, the Outback is located in the state called Northern Territory, smack in the top middle part of Australia.
The morning rays ushered in the most beautiful of the Outback’s views. The West Macdonnell National Park is a very popular site for nature enthusiasts, as opposed to the relatively quieter East Macdonnell. In my opinion, both West and East Macdonnell are must-visit sites in the Outback, as their sceneries differ from the Uluru (and as between each other) in exceptional ways.
In some respects, both West Mac and East Mac present geographical, scenic and cultural features that are significantly more interesting than the Uluru.
There are many different ways to appreciate West Macdonnell, and for common tourists a one-day, 8-hour trip would suffice. For the hiking experts out there, consider doing a weeks-long trip to hike the West Macdonnell trail of 223 kilometers – it’s called the Larapinta trail.
But if you were to take on such adventure, be sure to engage a local tour operator, whose guide will prepare all the necessary supplies and directions (one must not do this without a local guide, for one thing, the desert’s climate conditions call for expert advice and provisions).
I highly recommend a full-day trip to see West Mac. We went through a long list of sightseeing attractions. Each site was unique, presenting a wide variety in near-unreal sceneries and fun activities, including short hikes, swimming, photography and cultural lessons.
On this day we were making stops at the Simpsons Gap, Standley Chasm, Ellery Creek, the Ochre Pits, Mount Sonder and the Finke River, finally ending the day at the Ormiston Gorge.
I joined this day tour with Autopia and I tip my hat in salute to the tour operator’s professionalism. The tour guide, Brent, was knowledgeable, passionate, and gave clear directions that took care of everybody in the most hospitable ways.
Tjoritja (pronounced “choor-it-cha”) is the native name for West Macdonnell. The Arrernte (Aranda in English) aborigines, who have inhabited in this land for more than 3,500 years, are the ones attributed as the “traditional owners of the land” at West Macdonnell. In Australia’s political parlance, when they assert their claims over native lands, the aborigines are called “traditional owners of the land.”
This idea of “traditional owners of the land” is somewhat interchangeable with the idea of “traditional custodians of the land.” The emergence and use of these terms indicate Australia’s continuous efforts to reconcile its colonial past with the horrors that were committed against the native peoples (they are called aborigines in Australia).
The aborigines have inhabited 65,000 years on the coast of Australia. They pride in 250 different languages and 700 different dialects. Each aboriginal tribes understand themselves as a “country.” Collectively, they are called “First Nations.”
The fact that the aborigines are being designated “traditional owners (custodians) of the land” expresses a willingness, as a matter of national policy, to recognize their first claim to Australia’s lands, long before its nationhood came into existence.
Central in the word “custodianship” is the idea that the aborigines, despite being incredibly diverse as different peoples, all share a concerned approach in their relationship with their land and their native environments. In their way of life they appreciate that their survival is closely tied to the condition of the natural environment. They have a responsibility to preserve and protect the land.
We started early in the morning from Alice Springs. I knew that the day would be awesome. Even at 5:30 am, when I woke up, the skies were clear and the birds chirped on the roof of my hotel room. The ride took maybe more than an hour or so, and on the way I already saw the beautiful low ranges afar, laid like a belt on the desert.
There was an abundance of green shrubs. Brent told us that this greenery is unusual for this time of the year, as it is autumn time. Just a month ago, there was torrential rain in the area. It flooded the area so badly that the water rose to the level of the height of a bus. Because the soil is clay-based and it retained the water, it blessed the plants with an unusual appearance of spring verdant. In a normal autumn, the scenery should be brown themed.
The joyful desolation in this endless stretch of emptiness is apparent. This land was, by and large, untouched by human beings’ tendency to waste what they perceive to be owned by no one.
Our first stop was Simpsons Gap. Since we arrived before 8am, we had the whole spot to ourselves as a tour group. As we headed toward the gap on a 15-minute walk, we entered into the embrace of the two plateaued mounts on the side.
The sensations changed as we walked toward the gap. From afar, as the mounts on the side are set against the source of sunlight, I thought the scenery was gray-and-blue-themed. As I proceeded, the colors changed into the warm hue of its red earth. The rocks are rusted at Simpsons Gap.
We were entering into the narrows of the gap itself — at the end of which we came upon a body of water that lied pristine and still beneath the thick, moist and chilly morning air. Brent said that we weren’t supposed to find this much water. It was a natural wonder caused by the severe flood last month.
The Roe Creek flows through the gap as part of the spiritual ambience. I was awed by its serenity. Known as the Rungutjirpa to the Arrernte aborigines, the Simpsons Gap is the mythological home of a group of giant goanna ancestors.
There are a few trails for hiking at the Simpsons Gap, and biking is also a popular activity here.
Brent told us about the Black-footed Rock wallaby that is declining in numbers. As a species they are native in Simpsons Gap. A wallaby is similar to a kangaroo, they are mammalian and marsupial, but they are smaller than a kangaroo. They usually appear at dawn or at dusk.
Also in focus is the Mulga tree. As a desert species, “its dark, fissured bark protects against extreme temperatures, while its needle-like phyllodes — functioning as modified leaves — reduce moisture loss.” The wood of its branches is hard and brittle. As such, the aborigines turned these good qualities into spears.
Our next stop is Standley Chasm.
Autopia’s One-day Tour of the West Macdonnell National Park.
The Wikipedia on First Nations Australian Traditional Custodianship.
Australiawoodwork.com, Mulga (Acacia aneura): The Resilient Heart of Australia’s Arid Landscapes.
Red Centre North Territory, A Guide to Simpsons Gap.
The Australian Outback has captured my imagination for as long as I remember. Although I have been to a number of the eastern coastal cities in Australia, the Outback remained a place of mystery to me. I had thought of that vast desert region to …