Old Macdonnell
Arguably the most accessible outback destination in Australia, touring the ancient West Macdonnell Ranges is in equal parts simple and beautiful.
THE West Macdonnell Ranges is written off by a lot of hardcore four-wheel drivers as too pedestrian to bother with. Sure, there are quality tarmac roads linking most of the major waypoints, but this is a place of breathtakingly rugged beauty that needs to be experienced by every outback traveller worth their salt.
The ease with which one can tour the West Macs makes it a simple, stress-free family touring destination, and there’s always the option for a side trip if you feel like knocking the car into low range.
A SCENIC EXCURSION
HAVING just driven the Oodnadatta Track to arrive at Alice Springs from the south, the dramatic peaks and escarpments of the West Macs took our breath away from the start. The landscape here stood in stark contrast to the gibber plains and gently undulating outback terrain further south, and just a few minutes’ drive from Alice the rocky cliffs soar to dizzying heights at Simpsons Gap. Here, a short walk through the dry creek bed that carved the ‘gap’ in wetter times delivered us to the money shot, where two ancient folds of rusted rock attempt in vain to reach one another. It occurred to us what a remarkable town Alice Springs is, out here in the heart of our ancient continent surrounded by scenery not unlike what you’d find in remote corners of the Kimberley.
SECRET WOMEN’S BUSINESS
NEXT up we ventured to Standley Chasm and took another short walk to a similarly breathtaking location, where opposing rock faces stare one another down. This is privately owned Aboriginal land, so we paid the $10 per person entry fee and trekked into the natural spectacle.
Traditionally Standley Chasm was a sacred women’s-only site where bush medicine was collected and sacred rites performed; secret women’s business only the initiated can know about. Of course, this set my imagination alight as I took in the ancient pulse of the place, imagining groups of women going about their business here for millennia. These days, Standley Chasm is well facilitated with a café and a camping area, and all money raised goes back into paying the local staff and maintaining the site.
QUIET DESERT OASIS
WE THEN headed west along Namatjira Drive, named after the artist Albert Namatjira who, in 1957, became the first indigenous Australian
The ease with which one can tour the West Macs makes it a simple, stress-free family touring destination
The landscape at Orminston Gorge is vast and open, and in the morning light the rugged escarpments glow blood red