MacDonnell Ranges Attractions
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The MacDonnell Ranges round Alice Springs are the most easily accessible hills in central Australia. A series of separate ranges running east-west extend over an area of 400km from east to west and 160km from north to south. They consist of much eroded quartzite and sandstone. The sandstone has rounded forms, but jagged ridges of limestone strata can be seen on Namatjira Drive.The highest peaks are in the most northerly ranges (Mount Liebig, 1524 m; Mount Zeil, 1510 m; Mount Sonder, 1380m). The southern ranges extend to Kings Canyon (George Gill Range) and Rainbow Valley in the east (James Range). These ancient hills, originally over 3000m high, have been worn down to stumps by erosion, and now rise only 500-600m above the surrounding country, which itself lies at around 600m above sea level. Seen from above, the steep-sided parallel ridges and deeply indented valleys look like a series of waves with furrows between them.The sparse arid vegetation on the hills allows their contours and the varied colors of the rock to be clearly seen. The charm of the landscape lies in the contrast between the sharply outlined chasms and gorges, carved out by the force of water in the remote past, and the blue of the sky.John McDouall Stuart, the first white man to travel through the center of Australia in 1860, named the hills after the then governor of South Australia, Richard MacDonnell. His route, however, did not take him through the Heavitree Gap to the south of Alice Springs, where the Todd River, the Stuart Highway and the Ghan railroad now run; instead he followed the course of the Hugh River, which flows through the Chewing Range (50km west of Alice Springs) in what is now known as Stuart Pass.The Aranda people call their territory Altijra, the 'eternal land'.The visitor center in Simpsons Gap National Park, 24km west of Alice Springs, has informative material on the Macdonnell Ranges.
Finke Gorge National Park
45,856ha.Finke Gorge National Park extends along the Finke River between the Krichauff Range in the west and the James Range to the southeast. The imposing rock formations in the park are of ritual significance to the Aborigines. The prehistoric red cabbage palms (Livistona mariae), extinct elsewhere, seen here are relics of a much wetter period. They grow in the valley of Palm Creek, a tributary of the Finke River. From the earliest times the bed of the Finke was used by the Aborigines as a route through the hills, and in 1872 Ernest Giles, on the first of his five expeditions through the Red Centre, followed the Finke valley upstream from Chambers Pillar. At the mouth of Ellery Creek he found a number of palms which Ferdinand von Müller, director of the Botanic Gardens in Melbourne, identified on the basis of Giles's specimens and sketches as the ancient Livistona mariae species. The river was named by Stuart in 1861 after his sponsor, Finke.Palm Valley was probably also discovered by the German missionaries of Hermannsburg, an interesting example of early European settlement in central Australia which was handed over to Aboriginal administration in 1982.Because of its inaccessibility, Finke Gorge National Park drew few visitors until a camping ground was established on Palm Creek, near Palm Valley, around 1960.For visitors without an all-terrain vehicle there are organized tours from Alice Springs (information from Northern Territory Government Tourist Bureau).
Henbury Meteorites Conservation Reserve
16ha.The Henbury Meteorites Conservation Reserve, a kind of lunar landscape, contains twelve craters left by a meteorite which exploded some 5000 years ago. The largest crater is 180m across and 15m deep; the smallest, barely perceptible, has a diameter of 6m and is only a few centimeters deep. The park has only a scanty covering of vegetation except in the crater basin, where water collects and growth is lusher. The fragments of the meteorite that have been found are very heavy, consisting as they do almost solely of metal (90 per cent iron, 8 per cent nickel). It is not worth looking for further fragments; in any case this is prohibited. The craters are seen at their most impressive in the sun of early morning or late afternoon.There is a walking trail, signposted, round the craters. There are few trees to give shade.
Tnorala (Gosse Bluff) Conservation Reserve
Tnorala (Gosse Bluff) Conservation Reserve, the gigantic crater left by a comet which hit the earth well over 100 million years ago, was discovered by Ernest Giles in 1872 and named after Harry Gosse, a telegraph operator in Alice Springs. It has yielded much valuable scientific information, particularly by satellite photographs. The crater and its rim have been much worn down by weathering.Tnorala (Gosse Bluff) Conservation Reserve is of great importance to the Western Arrernte Aboriginal people. The area is said to have been formed by a baby falling out of its wooden carrier while women were dancing across the Milky Way.
Illamurta Springs Conservation Reserve
Illamurta Springs Conservation Reserve features a permanent spring and is very isolated. Due to cattle spearing by the Aboriginal population the Illamurta Springs Police Camp was set up in 1893. Eventually the need for this camp subsided and in 1912 was no longer used. Ruins of the camp can be seen today.
