Bushwalk Australia

Thanks, icefest.

icefest wrote:I presume Macrozamia Amphitheatre is the top small bowl in Hugh Gorge

Yes, that's the one.

This photo is of a popular place in the NT. It's a named track, and the photo is taken from a different named track:

Are you on the Ghost Gum walk?

That's correct, icefest. The photo above was taken from the Ghost Gum walk, and is looking down over the Pound Walk. During May and June, Ormiston Creek was high enough that it was necessary to wade, which disturbed the deposited ash (from the 2019 bushfires) and left yellow sandy trails under the water.

It was the double track hint that gave it away.

I'm enjoying this NT game. What's is this feature we are walking along (exhaustedly)?

A difficult one, icefest. I can safely say that you're not on the Larapinta.

ribuck wrote:A difficult one, icefest. I can safely say that you're not on the Larapinta.

I'm not far from the larapinta, and we did this trip as a day walk from a (4wd) trailhead.

I'm assuming you don't consider the Redbank road to be 4WD, even though most of the car rental companies do . That leaves the Birthday Waterhole and Hugh Gorge trailheads as your most likely starting points.

Is your photo taken in Fringe Lily Creek? It would certainly be an exhausting day trip if you started from Birthday Waterhole, went up Fringe Lily Creek (climbing around the bottom pool), then completed the circuit by joining the Larapinta and coming back across the razorback and down Spencer Gorge.

ribuck wrote:I'm assuming you don't consider the Redbank road to be 4WD, even though most of the car rental companies do

I remember it being distinctly more 4WD in 2006 when I last went, but not 4wd this year.

ribuck wrote:That leaves the Birthday Waterhole and Hugh Gorge trailheads as your most likely starting points.

Yes, this was not near Jay Creek.

ribuck wrote:Is your photo taken in Fringe Lily Creek? It would certainly be an exhausting day trip if you started from Birthday Waterhole, went up Fringe Lily Creek (climbing around the bottom pool), then completed the circuit by joining the Larapinta and coming back across the razorback and down Spencer Gorge.

This is not Fringe Lilly creek. Were we planning on having a look at Fringe Lilly Creek the day after this trip. Do you know if that pool has a waterfall that you need to leave the watercourse for?

icefest wrote:This is not Fringe Lilly creek. Were we planning on having a look at Fringe Lilly Creek the day after this trip. Do you know if that pool has a waterfall that you need to leave the watercourse for?

Unless something has changed recently, the pool at the south end of Fringe Lily Creek can be swum (cold) or climbed around (40 minutes). No waterfall.

There's one other spot I know which looks a bit like your photo. Start by heading upstream from the Hugh Gorge 4wd road-end. At the first creek junction, fork left (west) to leave the Larapinta Trail and enter a tributary which has water a short way up. This is part of an energetic circuit that takes you up onto the range, to the highest point in the vicinity.

As far as I know, this creek is not named, therefore it's unlikely to be the feature that you're asking about, but it's all I've got. I will be interested to see the answer when it is revealed.

ribuck wrote:There's one other spot I know which looks a bit like your photo. Start by heading upstream from the Hugh Gorge 4wd road-end. At the first creek junction, fork left (west) to leave the Larapinta Trail and enter a tributary which has water a short way up. This is part of an energetic circuit that takes you up onto the range, to the highest point in the vicinity.As far as I know, this creek is not named, therefore it's unlikely to be the feature that you're asking about, but it's all I've got.

I used your route on wikitrails to plan another gorge to explore in that region, which was limited by a sprained ankle, the first side tributary

ribuck wrote: I will be interested to see the answer when it is revealed.

You mentioned hugh gorge several times before. I thought I'd be sneaky and post the same stream twice in a row. This photo is taken just above the main waterfall in Hugh Gorge (which itself is downstream of Macrozamia Amphitheatre).
I doubt anyone else will guess the location, so seeing as you said Hugh Gorge several times now feel free to post the next image.

OK, that makes sense. It looked a bit like upper Hugh Gorge, but didn't think you'd post another photo so close to your previous one. In any case, I would have guessed the western tributary, rather than a spot below where the tributaries join, so I still wouldn't have got it right.

Anyway, for a change I'll post a photo from somewhere in the NT that quite a few people from this forum would have been to.

Is that Smitts Rock on the far side?

Yes! Smitts Rock on the Katherine River. The photo is taken from near the associated campsite (part of the Nitmaluk Southern Walks), a day's walk from the park headquarters.

Thank you.

What walk was I doing in the NT?

Giles Walk!

That's the one. Pity it''s so short.

north-north-west wrote:Pity it''s so short.

I would have liked more of the western half... the eastern half, less so...


Still in the NT, we found these poles as part of an old stockyard on the walk in to a little conservation area.

Native Gap Conservation Reserve?

johnw wrote:Native Gap Conservation Reserve?

I'm a fair bit further south!

Yet to visit NT, this will be hit and miss.
Tnorala (Gosse Bluff) Conservation Reserve?

johnw wrote:Yet to visit NT, this will be hit and miss.
Tnorala (Gosse Bluff) Conservation Reserve?

Still too far north.

We walked into a stunning little spring about 60m from here.

Owen Springs?

eggs wrote:Owen Springs?

Still too far north.

We visited the giles walk the day after this photo was taken.

Illamurta Springs?

Are you perhaps at Kathleen Springs? Doh scrape that. Its not a small conservation park

I'll try Mattress Springs.

johnw wrote:Illamurta Springs?

Yes. one of the tiniest Conxservation Parks in the NT.

And we even met Moses, the caretaker!

Back to you john!

peregrinator wrote:I'll try Mattress Springs.

I spent some time looking for the mattress springs in the NT....

icefest wrote:

johnw wrote:Illamurta Springs?

Yes. one of the tiniest Conxservation Parks in the NT.

And we even met Moses, the caretaker!

Back to you john!

Thanks icefest, we went all over for that one!
I hope Moses wasn't carrying any stone tablets .

NSW:

Those below have found alternate uses for the construction materials that were used to upgrade this track.
The now, mostly closed, track and one or two others cross this well known feature, depending on how you analyse it.