Day 9: Serpentine Chalet Dam to Serpentine Gorge 14/08/2020

Today was fantastic. We slept in, did some washing, pottered around, then went to see the ochre pits before heading back to Serpentine Chalet Dam for the next section of my walk. The ochre pits were really interesting. They almost looked like a palette full of paints. Apparently for thousands of years aboriginals have mined ochre from here mainly for ceremonies but also for trading. Only men are allowed to mine this ochre but they have to mine enough for all the women’s ceremonies too. There’s a men’s ceremony where they draw elaborate sand drawings which are erased as part of the ceremony. The ceremony is too sacred for women, young men or children to see and no one other than those who attended can know about it, so they aren’t documented either.

I didn’t start walking until after 11am and by then everyone had well and truly left the hikers camp. That meant l had the whole walk to myself. I didn’t meet anyone until I was about 1km out of Serpentine Gorge. What a fantastic day! The trail started across open burnt out country before doubling back on itself and starting to climb.

The trail passed behind one of those rock gates I’ve been looking up at and I stopped there for lunch. There was a patch of trees and the area was so well protected by the rock wall there were even a few tent pads. Perfect spot to stop for lunch before tackling the climb up to the crest of Heavitree Range.

The track is so well constructed. There were stone steps up the really steep parts and then back to the rocky switchbacks up the side of the mountain. It’s amazing that fire got all the way up there! The climb was a pretty slow one, but even though I was in full afternoon sun, it wasn’t too hot. At the top I was greeted by a few trees and a choice – left to Counts Point and right to continue to Serpentine Gorge. The view from Counts Point was absolutely amazing! (Nick, I completely understand why it was your favourite!) Later in the day as I had just finished the descent, I passed a couple about to start the climb up to the ridgeline. They didn’t know where they were headed but Serpentine Gorge was full of hikers so they’d decided to take a chance of finding somewhere up high to camp. No gamble at all – I really hope they made it to Counts Point to camp on one of the tent pads there. What an amazing place to wake up!

From Counts Point the trail followed the ridgeline for about 4km. What an amazing feeling walking on top of the world looking out at enormous views on both sides. I could see cars driving along Namatjira Drive off in the distance. I was incredibly lucky to have all that to myself. I was quite surprised by how much vegetation there was up there.

At the end of the ridgeline the track descended steeply down the south side. Again, so thoughtfully constructed with series of steps made from local stone. At the bottom it opened out again into that barren, stony landscape I’ve grown used to walking through. Jubbie met me at the carpark which was before the hikers camp, so I didn’t see any of the people I’ve met along the way. Maybe tomorrow. Driving back to Ormiston Gorge it was pretty cool to look south to the ridgeline and see Counts Point and also the ridge I’d climbed up to get there. I could tell because Counts Point is the highest point along that ridgeline and also both have discernible clumps of trees on the ridgeline.

Tonight is our last night at Ormiston Gorge. We had a steaming hot shower followed by beers and a delicious Mexican inspired dinner and just kicked back. I had a long chat with Dad which was great. And to top off the night, a dingo walked right past us while we were having dinner. It didn’t seem very interested in our vegan cuisine though. This has been such a fantastic base – would definitely come back.