Glen Helen and Ormiston Gorge

We thought it would be remiss not to go back to the Larapinta trail. Rather than load Michael's knees with a heavy pack we had a base camp at Glen Helen.
Road to Glen Helen.

There was only few days left, so we walked the areas around Glen Helen,  Ormiston Gorge and the pound. It was a fitting finish to our trip.

Reflections

The resort (if you can call it that) at Glen Helen was reasonably priced and was set in a great location to access Ormiston pound and Mt Sonder (which we chose only to admire from a distance). For more details on this region see: http://macdonnellranges.com

Glen Helen
Glen Helen: it would be easy to spend a week or more here, especially if you are into hiking. The resort grounds provides plenty of areas to explore.
Creek bed

Water providing an oasis in the gorges, which by the way are very cold.

Reflections

with the nearby very dry dramatic red rocky mountain walk of Ormiston pound is so very special.

Ormiston Gorge

There are plenty of budgerigars and other birds here, as there is in the valley between the two ranges that form the Larapinta / McDonald ranges. The availability of water probably a compelling reason for them to be here.

Budgerigar

Overall, these couple of weeks have been a well rounded trip of walking and sight seeing. The injury to Mike's knee was not an impediment as there were plenty of fantastic alternative options, which we had anyway and just needed to reconfigure the timing of.

I like the idea of breaking the Larapinta trail into chunks of 4-7 days, it gives you the opportunity to rest and appreciate the other amenities offered.Would I come back ? Sure, if the opportunity arises I'd complete the traverse in its entirety. Do I need to come back ? No, the sights and experiences are are embedded in my memory banks and I have chosen well in the areas I've visited.

Mt Sonder
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