"West and East MacDonnell Ranges" Macdonnell Ranges by AlbuqRay

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 National Park (Palm Valley), and the West MacDonnell Ranges (on 17-19 Aug 2010). The detailed itinerary and tips for 10-16 Aug 2010 (plus Hermannsburg and Gosse Bluff Craters) are under Alice Springs and Uluru National Park. Here look for the West MacDonnell Ranges tips under Things to Do, and the East MacDonnell Ranges tips under Off the Beaten Path.

Summary Itinerary for August 2010:
10 - Ewaninga Rock Carvings Conservation Reserve, Oak Valley, Stuart's Well/Jim's Place, Rainbow Valley
11 - Henbury Meteorite Craters, Stuart's Well/Jim's Place, Ernest Giles Road, Yulara, Imalung Lookout for Uluru sunset
12 - Uluru (sunset viewing area, Cultural Center, Kantju Gorge walk), Olgas' Valley of the Winds and sunset
13 - Uluru Waterhole and sunrise viewing area, Mount Conner Lookout, Kings Creek Station
14 - Kings Creek Trail, Kathleen Springs Trail, Tank Hill sunset
15 - Kings Canyon Resort, Morris Pass Scenic Lookout, Albert Namatjiras House, Palm Valley, Cycad Gorge, Arankaia Walk
16 - Palm Valley sunrise, partial Mpulungkinya walk, "I-caves" canyon, Kalarranga Lookout
17 - Hermannsburg, Gosse Bluff Craters, Tyler's Pass (start of West MacDonnell Ranges), Glen Helen Gorge, Ellery Creek Big Hole
18 - Redbank Gorge, Mount Sonder Lookout, Finke 2 Mile, Ormiston Gorge, Ochre Pits, Standley Chasm, Alice Springs
19 - Simpsons Gap

After a question in a forum, I got curious as to how much time we actually spent driving to and touring each site in the West MacDonnell Ranges. LOL, being a systems engineer, I had to do some analysis. Of course it would really vary depending on what you actually did when you stopped. I put the times for our trip in a General tip below.

Arltunga Mining Ghost Town

After the 2010 VT survivor camp and meet, I got to ride back to Darwin with Zyg (1+1), who is a ranger in Kakadu National Park. We decided to do a day trip to the East MacDonnell Ranges before we left Alice Springs. We saw Jessie Gap, Corroboree Rock, Ross River Homestead, Trephina Gorge, Arltunga mining ghost town, and many things in between, including a wild camel and the Terry "Fish" Gill Memorial. The Outback Australia Travel Guide has a nice web page on the East MacDonnell Ranges.

• Pros:Remote spectacular sites
• Cons:Sometimes need a 4WD to get to where you are going
• In a nutshell:Secluded and relatively untouched view of arid Australia nature