Palm Valley Campground - Finke Gorge National Park

3 – 5 September 2017

After our few days in Alice we were ready to head out again, this time to Palm Valley in Finke Gorge  National Park. There are two campsites in the park but only Palm Valley is suitable for vehicles towing. Boggy Hole is not. All of the 4WD roads we had travelled so far in the Northern Territory have really been just rough dirt roads, but this one was completely different. Leaving Alice Springs and travelling towards Hermannsburg was a pleasant and easy highway drive. The turn-off to Palm Valley is just past the Hermannsburg turnoff and the sign stated “Extreme 4WD”. We didn’t really know what we were in for, so Mick took over the driving straight away.

This road is not for the faint hearted! The first challenge was a bull-dust hole about 50 metres long, about 5 kilometres along the road. We made it through that and continued on across and through the sandy creek bed several times. We stopped to collect firewood before we entered the national park. The road to the campground was alternately sandy, rocky, corrugated and always fairly rough. We arrived at the campground to find we were the only ones there. During the afternoon, others arrived.
 

The burnt hills behind our campsite.

Australian Ringneck Parrot

Major Mitchell's Cockatoos were nesting in the campground.

Mick was keen to drive the 4 kilometres down to Palm Valley itself, but I had read that it could take up to an hour so I was reluctant. Undeterred, we headed off and gained an understanding of why the road was labelled “extreme”. We had driven just over 2 kilometres when we decided we would turn around and save the rest for the next day, when we could allow the whole day to explore.

The Palm Valley Campground has hot showers and flushing toilets, as well as gas barbecues and communal fire pits. We chatted to neighbours as we sat around the fire on yet another cold Central Australian night.

In the morning we packed a picnic lunch and headed off back down the road. The short drive from the campground to Palm Valley is accurately described as extreme. The fairly narrow track, which at times is hard to follow, travels across river rocks and boulders. This was certainly a challenge, and should not be attempted by the inexperienced. The drive took us about 45 minutes, but we were rewarded with the sight of this beautiful valley in one of the oldest rivers on earth.

It's a rough road to the Palm Valley walks.

We chose to complete the longer of the two walks, Mpulungkinya Walk, 5 kilometres, described as a Grade 2. The track started as a very easy stroll along the river bank – there was no water to be seen – but then climbed up across the rocky side of a rise. It became somewhat more challenging until we reached the top. From there it was easy again until we began the descent back to the carpark. The geology of the valley is quite amazing, and coupled with the rare and isolated population of red cabbage palms, it quite a sight to see. After our walk we had lunch and returned to the campground, glad we had made the effort but not sure we would ever do it again.

Part of the 'road' that winds through Finke Valley.

The walk continues when the 'road' runs out.

The view into the valley.

The view into the valley.

I saw about seven Western Bowerbirds in a fig tree on the walk.

Ring-tailed Dragon.

After another pleasant campfire chat with fellow travellers, we enjoyed a second night before packing up to head out of the park and back to Alice. There were a few vehicles on the road and everyone was taking it cautiously. Then we reached the bulldust hole. My goodness it was so much worse than it had been two days before. The folks in a vehicle coming towards us told us they had just winched another vehicle out. Not what we wanted to hear! The Ranger was in the vehicle behind us and she told us that there was a grader and a load of gravel due to arrive “before tomorrow, but I’m not sure if they will be here”. Too late for us anyway, we were committed to leaving.

We held our breath and drove through – we made it, but it was a close call as the underneath of the Prado scraped along as Mick proceeded with extreme caution. Shortly after making it through he stopped to check that everything looked ok. There were no obvious signs of damage so we crossed our fingers and hoped for the best as we drove back to Alice Springs.