Three and half hours north of Adelaide tucked just off the main route North is a moderately sized national park. Less well known than rivals Wilpena and Kangaroo Island, but boasting a wealth of flora and fauna.
Alligator Gorge
The geological jewel of the park is Alligator Gorge named for a local sheep herder (Ali). Rather then any wildlife , besides no ‘gators in Aus as far as I know, just crocs. Owing to the distance (and just because it’s a fun thing to do) we chose to make this trip a drive & camp affair. With a photo foray in the park. On this trip with me were James and Dave both good friends and both keen photographers who I work with. James tries to persuade everyone he’s from Yorkshire but we all know he’s really from Canada.
I did the honours by driving and we made good time, we stopped off at Lochiel to explore a gleeming salt flat This really was quite something different, and different good. I’m not sure I how well I communicated that enthusiasm to the others. Although I did drag them deep onto the salt to get the view.
Bumbunga Lake - sometimes pink lake, sometimes salt flat
Anyway Nicols provided an awesome pie stop and recaffeination location. We got to the park in plenty of time. Found our camp site / pitched tents then scooted off in the car to get wood for a campfire. We found a good supply further north at a gas station. Having secured our home comforts for the trip we decided on ‘reconnaissance’. And so headed into the park with our camera kit.
From the outset James was in pursuit of a ‘kookaburra’ shot. Particularly as he’d had previous opportunities but hadn't yet bagged a good shot of one. However the park was alive with their sounds.
The walk to the lookout was memorable for the gradual emergence of the wildlife from the shade, wallabys’ and kangeroos. Most definitely human wary, not the tame varieties we encountered in other places. The calls of the laughing kookaburra were ever present but we spotted a diverse selection of other animals. Large ‘lace monitors’ were patrolling the campground. Emu, yellow footed rock wallaby , red kangaroo, Galah and rosellas in profusion. The forest floor seemed home to an infinite number of ants. Some red, black small or black HUGE. The ones that really had my attention were the Bull Ants. So numerous in places it was like a black carpet. They were particularly attracted to me as I walked. With a habit of hopping aboard my shoes and heading for flesh to wreak their particular havoc on. (..... more on Ants later).
That evening the stars sparkled with icy clarity we had a high spirited evening, all the more memorable as James and I watched David earn his title. ‘Fireman Sam’. (I shan't explain, simply you had to be there. Needless to say it is well merited) We followed our BBQ with some astrophotography.
Seems a good moment to share a word about my companions. Fireman Sam is an inveterate camera collector with a foot in both the digital and analogue formats, and James is long legged ‘Noveau Canadian' who worryingly supports Leeds United FC and has a penchant for chasing flashy birds (of the feathered kind) with his bridge camera.
I think we all slept soundly. Including the kookaburra, who must have been tired from a prolonged photoshoot with James.
It was only one night camping so before we began the hike we packed camp and reparked our car at the trail head. As usual my backpack felt heavy, but I have walked with much larger rucksacks so didn't worry too much. We set off as a trio along a shaded woodland path retracing our walk the previous day.
Planning and research are often hallmarks of my best treks. Notably absent on this occasion as we made a gung-ho choice to march across the entire park to reach Alligator Gorge. Now there is simply no excuse for our decision and it could have gone quite horridly wrong.
We were misinformed by the signage – that suggested water was available on the route we were planning. There was no definitive distance on the signage – substituted with suggested timings. As conditions and peoples abilities vary this seems to verge on useless information.
Wildlife was noticeable even though were a noisy group on the trail. Intentionally so on my part as it’s my habit to attach my plastic mug to the outside of the rucksack. Partly this saves space (important) it also give ready access at all times (also important) and additionally the rattle gives lots of warning to any wildlife, uber important if in bear country! ( Must have worked, I didn't see any Koalas ... ) Still barely five minutes after leaving the car park our cameras were trained on a large lace monitor keen to get out of our way, which it did by climbing up a tree.
Our route became less woody and shaded. I got the first views of the weathered orange sandstone cliffs that are a feature in many places of the park. I was interested in these formations so lingered a while, meanwhile James and Fireman Sam were very soon way ahead. Not to worry this is a usual pattern, particularly with James who can cover ground at a walking pace that has me jogging. I accept he’s just faster and let him get on with it.
The further we entered the park, the less wildlife I saw. I"m happy to blame my rattling mug, but that’s not the whole story, by wildlife I mean the big beasties Emu etc. Actually the forest floor was seething with ants. Australia has plenty of lethal wildlife, very few people would add ants to that illustrious list. I would. In particular one species colloquially known as ‘Bull Ants’. Now Australia has a wealth of species including – hopper Ant , Heart Bottom Ant, Big-Headed Ant, Muscleman Patch Ant Meat Ant Southern Plug Sugar Ant, Brown Bearded Sugar And and Green-head Ant. The inch ant (Myrmecia pyriformis)– or bigM*****F*******s (as I call them) are a member of the Bull ant species. Unknown to me at the time these ants have a fearsome reputation, an extract of online description of these beastie reads as follows
They attack intruders of any size that come too close to their nest. Bull ants also have well-developed vision and will follow or even chase an intruder a good distance from the nest. Usually the sight of large aggressive ants streaming out of the nest is enough to prompt a hasty retreat. If not, the ants deliver painful stings by gripping the intruder with their mandibles (jaws), curling their abdomen to reveal the sting and injecting the victim with venom. Often multiple stings are delivered.
To which I say. YES they do, I found this out first hand. As you walk most ants move away from footfalls. Not your friendly inch ant who runs towards the foot and grabs a lift. Now ok they’re isolated pockets of insects I hear you say well there seemed to be nests all along the route we took. More worryingly these little blighters cause at least six death each year!
So on a viciously hot windless day in the National Park, short of water and wary of known wildlife hazards it was the ants that caused me the most grief. Biting /stinging me from the top of my socks all the way up to and inside my shorts. The phrase ‘ants in your pants’ was never truer. A little twist to this tale was that neither of my two fellow hikers were troubled in the same way. In the end I jogged through areas of high density ants, whilst they looked on in bemusement. And a month later the tracks of the inch ants havoc were still clearly visible on my arms and legs. Next time I go to this park it will be armed with a flame thrower……..Anyway enough on ants.
I marched through a well trodden hard packed dry path. Sometimes it was rocky such as the dried up water courses. The path traced a route through dense scrub rising to 30 ft tall. A uniform grey green carpet across the landscape.
Birds were notably absent, although I did chance to see a huge red kangaroo lazing in some shade. At length I reached a picnic spot, at least that’s what I think it was. A combined table and bench affair shaded by an angled roof. The gutter from the lichen encrusted roof fed directly into a large plastic tank. I rapped the tank with my knuckles to gauge the water level, a booming echo … Oh dear! Well not so bad I’d had the presence of mind to completely fill my 3 litre water sack. Even so I’d made good inroads into the first litre and I wasn’t even half way. The map showed another tap further on, close to the gorge.
If i’d been relying on this water source things would have swiftly gone pear shaped for me. The next stretch of the walk was an undulating grind along a dirt track road. I took care to avoid the dense patches of inch ants. Still, one or two hopped aboard and made their presence felt. I caught sight of a distinctive figure. Fireman Sam was waiting for me ahead. Apparently James had marched off and he’d been left in the wake as well. His supply of water was far less than my own so I hoped the tap ahead wasn’t a cruel joke. At length the road arrived at a patch of tarmac car park, alongside which was a verdant expanse of grass. Outhouses / picnic tables and a coin operated BBQ. Phew! we’d made it back to civilization.
Sam and I stopped to enjoy lunch. I brewed tea and we both did serious damage to sandwiches. It’s safe to say the walk was stretching us both. But spirits were high, we were both curious to know where James had got to. He’d hoofed it up the road, well lets just say he’s gifted with longer legs. I wasn’t concerned for his absence. James would turn up at an appropriate point. Probably with an SD card full of interesting images. Water was on our minds before we headed up the road after him. The water at the picnic ground came from a tap. But had an odd look. Dirty brown when it was bottled. For safety I decided to only drink it (if needed) only after a good boiling.
The gorge carpark was a further one km up the road, if we’d been ‘canny’ we could have entered the gorge via the exit path. But we didn’t think to check that detail. Instead we followed the tarmac road to the high viewpoint above the gorge. It wasn’t ideal viewing. Diffuse flat lighting. A bit of directional light with shadows.
We visited both the viewpoints, and being weary of trying to catch up James I bellowed out his name across the gorge. His voice came back similarly loud, … “where are you?” We played a comic routine, and we worked it out.
I was in a poor frame of mind to take snaps. I gave it a whirl anyway. Hey I carried the camera all that way least I could was use it for a couple of panorama. We met James at the foot of a staircase to the gorge floor. He seemed chipper and unphased by the hike. He’d already explored the gorge and by the sounds of it done with photography for the day. By contrast Fireman Sam was making noises that suggested he’d had enough. I didn’t listen very carefully it was a conversation between the two of them. In fact they both wandered off and I lost the thread of the conversation.
The gorge was quite fascinating, but so chock full of vegetation I saw very little opportunity for my trademark panorama. The other two were out of sight but I could hear their voices. I was in no hurry, this was what I’d come to see. I clambered up to viewpoint on the side wall and explored the weathered geology. I avoided the numerous fallen trees, as I’d heard that snakes like those spots too. True or not I steered clear of them. I felt the gorge had potential. I didn’t get a ‘definitive’ image to take away with me. But then that rarely happens the first time I go somewhere.
Through the narrows James and Sam were metaphorically kicking stones. A little bored by the hold up. Sod that I thought I’m not walking hours through the bush to spend a scant 5 minutes at the destination. It transpired I really had lost the thread of their conversation Sam was done in. He would walk no further. Er …? James had agreed we would make a swift return journey, then drive to the gorge carpark. To be candid I thought this was a joke, right up to the point Sam took off his backpack.
Anyway a new plan was forged and I took the time to finish off the water in my rucksack. Then refill with the distinctly dodgy looking stuff from the picnic ground tap. I wouldn’t be sipping this. We would stop and boil it up.
Meanwhile a couple of logistical issues had come up. Sam was worried about his mobile phone battery in case it ran out before we returned. We needed to agree a definitive collection spot. I pointed out it would be hours before we’d be back. It’ had taken us the best part of 4 hours to walk here (when fresh) likely to take a tad longer now we were tired. Then we had to drive a good distance once we’d made it to the car. Sam would turn off his phone, save the battery then turn it back on near our return time. We would meet in the gorge car park. I was against the idea of splitting up but Sam was adamant he would walk no further. The carpark was civilization of a kind and apparently there was a vacation lodge not very far away if he got bored or worried.
So without further ado James and I packed away our cameras and set off at a brisk pace. Sam went off to find some shade. Km after km James and I kept at it, it was a long dull hike on a route we’d only just done. I mis-remembered, big chunks of very similar landscape seemingly edited out of my short term memory. I did remember to jog around the mass of bigM*****F*****ing bull ants. James and I covered the ground much faster than before. We stopped twice to brew up reviving tea, and yes we did use the dodgy water. Well boiled.
When the road eventually petered out we returned into single file in the bush proper. We fret about Sam and began to fixate on the 2 beers that we’d left in the car. They were on our mind as we counted off the km markers. Towards the end we spotted a few wallaby’s and kangaroos. Thankfully the car was where we left it. And mercifully I had the keys!!! That warm beer from the car boot was damn fantastic. We both had broad grins on our faces. Elated. Now to rescue Sam.
Sam had sent us a text with his map coordinates. (Very organised) well done ..but save your battery!! Anyway as the crow flies it may only have been 16 / 18 /20 km back to Sam. But the road from the campsite to the gorge carpark was a good 50kms mostly on backroads. The sun had set by the time we neared the pick up spot. Pure darkness (no homes along here) so we opened up the windows cranked up the stereo with an appropriate rescue tune (orchestral theme from the film 'The Mission' piped from James iphone) We swung into the carpark with the car hazard lights flashing and stereo at full tilt. I think Sam was happy to see us ... We might have disturbed his sleep. In any event he was there and no worse for the wear for his long wait.
It was a long drive home, we rehydrated on very long drinks from a petrol station. Sam and James were delivered to their respective doorsteps and when I got home I found I still had some of the 'dodgy water. That's it in the glass. Oh and the other pic is the kit I carry to boil and brew up. (James please note PG)
Epilogue
A few days later I was talking about our trip to another colleague. He’d heard about it from Sam. Apparently Sam spent hours just waiting for us …… ! Factually correct. Oh, and I did return to Bumbunga Salt lake a few weeks later. This is the snap I took