Kata Tjuta – Walpa Gorge

Hi There,

Continuing our sojourn at Kata Tjuta, we next moved onto Walpa Gorge, a much shorter walk of about 1 hour return, this is a desert refuge for plants and animals as the soaring high walls shield the gorge from the hot sun.

Notice above on the left hand side on top of the dome, plants in a very exposed situation, coping with all sorts of extreme weather.  Walpa means windy and quite frequently you will get refreshing winds through here.  Refreshing in winter time may mean “cold”.

We didn’t see any animals in this gorge and one could imagine that with the hoards of tourists who come in here everyday, they would be quite selective with the times they would show themselves.

The walls are virtually straight up and down!

Not sure why I included this photo, just like how the water plays across the stony ground.  This is actually a very small stream that was trickling across the pathway.  Might be more apt to call it runoff.  Just imagine its a high-resolution satellite image taken from high altitude of a flooded plain.  Amazing what you can see in a picture!  Look at the size of those people walking compared to the gorge walls!

Here’s a few more water related shots.  No doubt the native fauna enjoys these cool ponds.

A nice reflection.

We are nearing the end of the track here and the flora landscape is dominated by the Spear wood vine, Pandorea doratoxylon ,  which is making very large shrubs and thickets here.  We have seen this at a few locations now, click HERE to revisit this plant at Serpentine Gorge, or just have another look at Serpentine Gorge, it is spectacular!  We even spotted it at Kings Canyon, now that’s a spectacular place, hint..hint

An interesting information panel above.  Below you can see some of the Spearwood in flower(white dots on green foliage, if you squint).

Well, we’ve reached the end of the track and officially our feet are now sore and tired after two days of a fair bit of walking, but we are at peace with the landscape and our minds are refreshed.

Thanks Kata Tjuta, we may or may not ever see you again, but your features and form are forever indelibly inked in our minds.

As we make our way back to camp for our last night in the Territory, we make one final stop at the beating heart of our great land.

So long Uluru, it has been wonderful!

Cheers!