Day 10 – Kiosk means coffee!

Our full day in Alice was to be spent touring the West Macdonnell ranges and we headed out around 8 .45 a.m. so that we could get out to Gosse Bluff and back, checking out several of the points of interest along the way.

I was enthralled by the view of Mt. Sonder on the way out. The alternating bands of light and shade, the orange hues and the faint blue haze when viewed from a distance were very, very captivating. The photos may not do it justice. We may not have huge mountains in global terms but the ones we have are just beautiful in the right light!

We decided to stop at Ormiston gorge on the way out when GG's coffee gremlins started nibbling away at his resolve.  When we saw the sign "kiosk open" G caved in…”kiosk means coffee was the chant until I’d turned off!

The best coffee I’ve had since we left home preceded our tour of the gorge.   We met a couple who were just blown away by the scenery and the lady just kept saying “wow!”. A few well chosen photos and a brief wander around and we were back to the car . We ducked across the road to Glen Helen gorge which has an associated “resort” but which I thought lacked the impact of Ormiston, possibly die to our proximity to it, or more accurately, the lack thereof.

We drove for about an hour and stopped at Tylers lookout and let me tell you, Gosse Bluff is a very impressive sight from up there! We probably should have turned around at that point, having savoured the view but decided to go to the gorge. The gravel road into the bluff shook the daylights out of my poor Kluger in places but we made it and had a snack. The picnic area has a drop toilet and a few benches to sit on. GG went for a brief wander to the tip of a nearby pinnacle for some photos.

Back on the road heading back to Alice and we called in to the Ochre Pits and Ellery Big Hole on the way, arriving back in Alice around 4pm. I managed to find a universal charger for my SLR battery at Jaycar, we grabbed some supplies and then went to the top of the hill on which sits the Anzac Memorial to take in the sunset.

As today was all about taking in the scenery I hope the photos tell the story!