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Late afternoon over Boggy Hole on the Finke River.
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Finke River waterhole.
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Sam and I enjoyed a few days rest and recreation in Alice Springs while we sorted out few logistics for the next section of our trip. We also reunited with Lana and Ollie again as they made their way south from Darwin. After our very pleasant little interlude in town we packed up the 4wd's again and motored out of town on our next adventure, the Boggy Hole Track.
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It appears that the only photo I took in Alice Springs was of this well camouflaged lizard in the Alice Springs Desert Park.
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The Boggy Hole Track headed out from Hermannsburg on Larapinta Drive and back when we did this trip it wasn't signposted, so we needed to keep an eye on the map. Once heading south east on the right road the going was pretty easy....for around ten minutes! After passing through an aboriginal outstation (I'd actually drop into this outstation a decade later after picking up an indigenous family stuck in the gorge in the middle of summer) we dropped into the Ellery Creek and the tough driving began. We were now following the soft sandy bed of Ellery Creek for awhile before meeting the Finke River and heading down through the Finke River Gorge. Now while this gorge might not be the most spectacular of all the Central Australian gorges, it makes up for that with a feeling of remoteness. Yes, heading down here we were a long way from help.
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Boggy Hole
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Our Boggy Hole Camp.
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In my somewhat limited experience there is generally always enough water fora swim at Boggy Hole.
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After a couple of hours bumping along the Finke River (to do 33 kilometres) we arrived at Boggy Hole. Unsurprisingly we had this place to ourselves today and after checking out both sides of the large waterhole we settled on the grassy shelf above the waterhole near the site of the Old Police Station ruins. Being stinking hot we spent most of the rest of the day alternating between resting under the shade of the trees and soaking in the cool water of Boggy Hole. Just before sunset Ollie and I decided to climb one of the big bluffs that were towering over our camp. The view from the top of this un-named bluff was pretty spectacular with both the beautiful waterhole below and the red mountains around us bathed in the late afternoon sun.
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Boggy Hole on the Finke River.
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In the late afternoon we climbed one of the steep bluffs behind camp.
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Looking back down to camp from the bluff.
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Boggy Hole on the Finke River - tomorrow we'd resume our journey down the river.
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| One last photo of Boggy Hole... I think that larger mountain is Mt Merrick. |
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Our time at Boggy Hole was very enjoyable, (so enjoyable that we've been back a few time since) however waking next morning it was time to pack up and head off again. We now continued the slow trip down the Finke River for another 25 kilometres. Like yesterday it was mostly low range work today, the slow going only enhanced by us stopping and sampling some more waterholes. Eventually we left the Finke River and set off across some rough tracks through the red dirt and sand. We finally emerged onto Earnest Giles Road after one last tough section where we crossed the long sandy bed of the Palmer River. Once on Earnest Giles Road we shook our way west over the corrugations to meet the bitumen of Luritja Drive and then had a fairly easy drive out to Kings Canyon Resort in Watarrka National Park.
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Our journey down the Finke River continued to be a slow one as we stopped to sample the waterholes.
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This waterhole was probably the pick of them I think.
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This one even had a jumping rock.
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Once we left the Finke River we were in red sand country.
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Red sand and blue sky under a baking hot sun.... this is Australia:)
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Time to head off to King Canyon.
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After spending a comfortable night in the camp ground at Kings Canyon we packed up early next morning and headed out to do the Kings Canyon Circuit Walk. I've done this walk many, many times over the last 35 years and it never gets old. While it's by no means the hardest day walk around it has to be one of the more scenic walks going, the views of the canyon walls, not to mention the beautiful Garden of Eden and its waterhole have definitely stayed in my memory.
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The western extremity of the James Range glowing red at sunset from the Kings Canyon Resort. Kings Canyon is the slot towards the middle of the photo.
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Kings Canyon - Watarrka National Park.
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Kings Canyon from he lip of the waterfall in the Garden of Eden (I think this spot is off limits now days).
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Kings Canyon
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| Kings Canyon - the circuit walk here is a must do if visiting the area I think. |
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Leaving Watarrka National Park we motored our way over to Yulara through the heat of the day. Checking into the caravan park we all spent the afternoon swimming and relaxing before heading out to explore as the sun got lower. Our time at Uluru was a little bitter sweet as we were now saying a final goodbyes to our new friends Lana and Ollie. We were heading back to work in Melbourne and they were continuing on their honeymoon adventure before heading back to Sydney to start their new life together.
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Lunch under the Casuarinas on the drive over to Yulara.
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The Dirt.
The Boggy Hole Track down through the Finke Gorge is a tough 4wd route however the wild scenery and remoteness make all the rough going worth while I think. Boggy Hole is a great camp spot however there are other nice spots along the river too, especially if there has been decent rain in recent past. We camped at both the Kings Canyon Resort and Yulara on this trip as it was by far the cheapest option. We have stayed in the accommodation at these resorts many times over the years though and they are pretty nice.
Relevant Posts.
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Believe it or not this is the only photo of Uluru that I took on this trip.
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| Heading into Yulara - the afternoon storms were back. |
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