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AlbuqRay Says: It was 17:00 on 18 Aug 2010 when we got to the Simpsons Gap access road. Because it was so late and because Simpsons Gap is only 17 km from Alice Springs, we decided to visit the next day. Although the Visitors' Center (see a separate tip) is 5 km away, it is only a 20 min...
AlbuqRay Says: There is a nice Visitors' Center on the access road with many posters and interactive displays. Simpsons Gap was discovered by non-Aboriginal people in 1871 by Gilbert McMinn, a member of the Overland Telegraph survey party. On his map he spelled the name as "Simsons Gap."...
Paved Roads in East MacDonnell Ranges
AlbuqRay Says: In the East MacDonnell Ranges, the Ross Highway is a normal two-lane, paved road until ~1 km west of the Corroboree Rock turn. Because there is so little traffic, most of the highway east of there has one paved, unmarked lane in the middle and wide gravel shoulders on both...
AlbuqRay Says: The Tnengkarre (pronounced art-nung-gara) is called the Dreamtime by non-Aboriginal people. It is the traditional Law that explains existence and guides daily life. At the beginning of the Tnengkarre, ancestral beings traveled across the bare and featureless land, creating...
Arltunga Historical Reserve Visitors' Center
AlbuqRay Says: In 1887 alluvial gold was discovered in a dry creekbed downstream from Paddys Rockhole. There was a gold rush and Arltunga officially became Central Australia’s first town. To get there, fortune seekers had to travel 600 km from the Oodnadatta railhead, often on foot. At one...
Arltunga Visitors' Center Courtyard Displays
AlbuqRay Says: In the courtyard just outside the back door of the Arltunga Visitors' Center are several hands-on displays. You can try to pan for gold, try dollying (crush a small sample in a dolly pot), and try hauling up ore. There are even homemade toys (tin trucks) that kids can play...
AlbuqRay Says: The Arltunga Crossroads Cemetery is just a little northeast of the Crossroads. There are only six graves. You can see the gravesites of early miners like James Woodford (2 Apr 1855 - 23 Sep 1921). His is the only grave with a headstone and it has a rock wall around it. There...
AlbuqRay Says: The Christmas Reef Mine dates back to 1896, when a German prospector, Frederick Messau found gold in a vein of white quartz. Fred staked out his claim and started digging a shaft the hard way with just a pick and shovel. The shaft evenually reached a depth of 7.5 meters. It...
Paddys Rockhole and Arltunga Bush Hotel (Closed)
AlbuqRay Says: When we headed back to Alice Springs from the Arltunga Crossroads, we took the road south past the turns to Ruby Gap and Paddys Rockhole. The latter is in a legal fossicking reserve (if you have a permit). The Eastern Arrernte Aboriginal people called Paddys Rockhole,...
AlbuqRay Says: During the rush to Arltunga in 1903, the Crossroads area was chosen as a township site for Arltunga. Several buildings were erected after a well was drilled in 1906. However, soon the gold fields petered out and the town never grew beyond these original buildings. The...
MacDonnell Range Reef Mine Walk
AlbuqRay Says: MacDonnell Range Reef Mine Walk is a self-guided walk that is 0.9 km and ~30 min return. Along the way you pass the Christmas Reef Mine and a number of shallow holes with low mounds. This is where surface soil and gravel were "washed" using precious water or "dry blown"...
AlbuqRay Says: The MacDonell Range Reef Mine was worked intermittently from 1892 to 1908. Over its lifetime it produced 248 ounces of gold from 353 tons of ore. This made it one of the area's largest and richest mines outside the White Range mines. The shafts are covered with gratings for...
AlbuqRay Says: The Old Police Station was built in 1912, and underwent a major renovation in 1985. We did not stop but you can step into the gaol and sense what it might have been like to be a prisoner. Nearby you can examine the Two-stamp Battery erected to crush White Range ore by the...
AlbuqRay Says: The Government Battery and Cyanide Works was established in 1898 as a facility for crushing and processing ore from the mines. It really only lasted until 1913 when the mining activity faded away. There are 10 buildings and sites that are marked on a self-guided walking tour...
AlbuqRay Says: The turn for the road to Arltunga is 77 km east of Alice Springs and 7 km before you reach the Ross River Homestead. It is a 33 km piece of unpaved road, which runs through Love Creek Station (private land) and is probably best negotiated with a 4WD. From Arltunga you may...
AlbuqRay Says: We actually stopped at the Trephina Gorge Nature Park on our way back to Alice Springs at around 6 PM. It was starting to get dark. We only had time to do the Gorge Stroll (500 m, 20 min return) up to the waterhole. There are four other longer walks. The Trephina Gorge Walk...
AlbuqRay Says: We stopped by the Ross River Homestead for lunch when we were in the East MacDonnell Ranges. It is shown as the Ross River Resort on maps and highway signs, but the on-site signs say Ross River Homestead. At a glance it looks like a place that has seen much better times. It...
AlbuqRay Says: On the Ross Highway just a little east of the turn to N'Dhala Gorge, there is an interesting memorial to Terry "Fish" Gill. We would call it a "descanso" here in New Mexico, USA. He was evidently killed while riding his Harley motorcycle on 23 Aug 1998. It just so happened...
AlbuqRay Says: It is 34 km from the Corroboree Rock access road to the Ross River Resort. We had driven ~12 min (it was between there and Mount Benstead Creek) when I saw a wild camel a bit of a distance off the road. I got Zyg to stop and took some pictures. Evidently it is not so unusual...
Time Needed to Visit West MacDonnell Range Sites
AlbuqRay Says: These times are based on the time stamps from the pictures that I took. Typically they start when we turned onto the access road and end when we get back to the main highway. They could really vary for other people, depending on what they do at any particular site. The...
Plan a Macdonnell Ranges vacation with reviews, tips and photos posted by real travelers and Macdonnell Ranges locals
Stayed here- 27th May 2006.We just chose this as it was close to where we where when it got dark.There's an honesy box to pay at (AU$6.50pp). Has very hard,...
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The West Macdonnal Ranges are accessable by 2WD, the East by 4WD, well we'd had enough of taking the 2WD van on 4WD tracks so headed West.
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West and East MacDonnell Ranges
Before the 2010 VT Meet in Alice Springs, Deb (Adelaidean) and Rosie (Rosie235) organized a "survivor" camp which included remote places south of Alice Springs, Uluru National Park, Finke Gorge...
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One of MacDonnels Gorges, Standley Chasm
I've got some interesting experiences in Macdonnell Ranges. I'd love to share with you the 0 tips I've written, the 3 photos uploaded, and 0 travelogues I've created.
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