To the Outback and Back — Embrace East Macdonnell at the Ghost Gum Tree and the Salt Bush

To the Outback and Back — Embrace East Macdonnell at the Ghost Gum Tree and the Salt Bush

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 

To the Outback and Back — the Macdonnell Range as One and the Bush Coconut

To the Outback and Back — the Macdonnell Range as One and the Bush Coconut

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 

To the Outback and Back — Embrace East Macdonnell at the Trephina Gorge

To the Outback and Back — Embrace East Macdonnell at the Trephina Gorge

“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, 

To the Outback and Back — Embrace East Macdonnell at Emily Gap

To the Outback and Back — Embrace East Macdonnell at Emily Gap

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, 

To the Outback and Back — The Wonders of West Macdonnell at the Ormiston Gorge

To the Outback and Back — The Wonders of West Macdonnell at the Ormiston Gorge

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. 

To the Outback and Back — The Wonders of West Macdonnell at the Ochre Pits

To the Outback and Back — The Wonders of West Macdonnell at the Ochre Pits

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 

To the Outback and Back — The Wonders of West Macdonnell at the Ellery Creek Big Hole

To the Outback and Back — The Wonders of West Macdonnell at the Ellery Creek Big Hole

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 

To the Outback and Back — The Wonders of West Macdonnell at Standley Chasm

To the Outback and Back — The Wonders of West Macdonnell at Standley Chasm

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 

To the Outback and Back — The Wonders of West Macdonnell at Simpsons Gap

To the Outback and Back — The Wonders of West Macdonnell at Simpsons Gap

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 

To the Outback and Back — Preliminaries

To the Outback and Back — Preliminaries

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