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.
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.
Read More
Read Less
Address:
Parks and Wildlife Commission of the Northern Territory Alice Springs Region, Box 2130
South Stuart Highway, Alice Springs, NT 0870, Australia
South Stuart Highway, Alice Springs, NT 0870, Australia
Tips: Access: Larapinta Drive to Hermannsburg; then a difficult track (all-terrain vehicles only) along the dry and rocky bed of the Finke River; a rare fall of rain may make it impassable.
Fees are for camping only and apply per night.
Read More
