Sun, Sept 16 - Alice Springs to Glen Helen Gorge

(photos: Standley Gorge, Cycads)

Slept in a little, got up at 7, packed and had another delicious breakfast in the garden with Wil, Anne and Toffy and Molly, the toast begging spaniels. We said goodbye and drove off on the Larapinta Highway that parallels the West MacDonnell Mountains, a low mountain range that run east-west for about 100 miles. We made several stops, driving off on side roads that lead to narrow steep gorges cut into the red sandstone. The first of these was Simpsons Gap, a dry sandy-bottomed cut that revealed pools of water when you dug into the sand. Then we pulled off into Standley Chasm, a lush well-vegetated canyon full of flowering shrubs and many cycads. At the end of the Chasm the red walls close in and the sunlight at midday makes the whole area glow beautifully. It was very hot, about 90, and thankfully we were able to find a little snack bar back at the car and lunched on ice cream. before continuing on to Glen Helen Gorge.

It’s only about 100 miles from Alice Springs to Glen Helen so even with our stops, we arrived about three and checked in. The Glen Helen Lodge is a comfortable, but bizarre collection of RVs, tents and motel located on a stream that widens into a small lake that runs through a wide gorge. It has a bar, restaurant, laundry, pool, BBQ, store and caters to a wide variety of travelers. We unloaded our stuff into our cinderblock room with double bed and bunks and the smallest sink every created. Hil and I walked down to the lake and watched people swimming (no crocs here) and then ambled back to the bar for happy hour and chatted with some exuberant Aussies. Bob joined us from a nap and we eventually went over for dinner in a lovely adobe room decorated with a series of very nice watercolors by a local Aboriginal artist. The dinner was amazingly good considering how isolated we were: we had thick spicy tomato soup and chicken breast stuffed with mango and rice, and the very amusing chef, Flash, entertained us by introducing everyone in the room and sitting down with us for a chat. A live band in the next room sounded great.