Serpentine Gorge and Lookout Walk, Western MacDonnell National Park - December 2016

Serpentine Gorge was another of those places that I've visited a few times over the years but I'd always had it in the back of my mind that there was a lot more to see here, I'd always thought that one day I'd come back and check out the untracked gorge. That little fantasy came to a bit of a halt today though, it seems the Northern Territory Parks people have declared the gorge off-limits. Even more of a disappointment for me today in the hot humid conditions was that swimming was now banned in the water hole at the entrance to the gorge, not only was this a good place for a cooling dip but it was also by far the easiest way into the rest of the gorge. Not to worry, I wasn't planning on an exploratory walk today anyway.....but a swim would have been good!

The hills don't look that spectacular from here.

The old pump is about the only thing left in the original Larapinta Trail Camp..

Things start to get a little more spectacular as I get closer to the hills.

Pulling on my boots and reseting the GPS I grabbed the pack and wandered off in the direction of Serpentine Gorge. The path along here is along an old management track and like a lot of the walks up here it is also part of the Larapinta Trail, in fact back when I walked the trail the camp was just over the creek in a bare rock strewn clay pan, nowadays the only thing left over from the old camp is the water pump, with the flash new camp a little way down the track to Ellery Creek. After trudging my way up the fairly uninspiring track for ten minutes or so I picked up the route up to the lookout. This short spur track is a really good walk, the route climbs steeply up the red rock slabs, with the views more than compensating for the effort.

The track to the lookout climbs up these rock slabs.

The view's becoming more expansive as I climb.

Topping out at the Serpentine Gorge Lookout is another of those oh wow moments, the view up the gorge maybe going some way to explain why I'd had this spot pencilled in for an exploratory walk one day. My limited vocabulary isn't really up to describing some of the scenery in Central Australia, how many times can I use awesome and spectacular! Lets just say its bloody good!. While the fenced lookout provides a good view up the gorge, if you scramble around the surrounding rock slabs a bit some of the scenery is even more impressive, with the sheer red walls framed by a few native pines that cling to life growing out of the faults in the rock. With the odd light shower passing through I eventually decided that it was time to head back down and pick up the short track to the gorge.

The view into Serpentine Gorge from the official lookout.

I'd always though that one day I'd explore the slot canyon at the top end of the gorge.

There are a few native pines clinging to life growing from the faults in the rock.

With all the rain up here this summer Serpentine Creek was flowing strongly, which made the no swimming edict even more depressing. Not to worry, I picked my way upstream as far as I could go without entering the water to try and get a shot of the water hole at the entrance to the gorge. With the creek flowing well and the water hole full it meant that there were a couple of old Red Gums with there trunks submerged in the water, no doubt enjoying a drink and preparing for drier times. Serpentine Gorge is a little hard to get a good photo of from down here, I just can't seem to capture the scale of the place, but even with the grey overcast conditions overhead the place looked pretty epic, even if my photos don't show it. After sitting for awhile and just enjoying the ambiance of this place I reluctantly started on the easy ramble back down to the car park.

Hmm....this isn't ideal!

There was plenty of water in the gorge today.

And the creek.

The Dirt.

This is another really easy walk. According to my GPS apparently I walked 3.5 kilometres on this stroll (I did a fair bit of wandering around looking for a good photo I suppose) and climbed 106 metres. This walk is suitable for younger children but they would need to be watched closely up around the lookout as there is some very big drops if you move off the track a bit. The access road into Serpentine Gorge is dirt and in dry conditions it is suitable for a normal car, in wet weather though there are a couple of deep water splashes that require a 4wd. If you want walking notes then Take a Walk in the Northern Territory's National Parks is probably your only option.

Relevant Posts.

Northern Territory, 1999.

Larapinta Trail, 2007.

Inarlanga Pass, Western MacDonnell National Park, 2015.

Darwin to Melbourne, 1986.

Bowmans Gap, Western MacDonnell National Park.

The road in has a couple of deep water crossings if there has been rain.