Enthralled by the East Macdonnells

After Aileron and the 10m high Altijere man and woman, and Barrow Creek with one of the old telegraph stations, we turned up the Plenty Highway in pursuit of Tower Rock, a quiet conservation reserve that looked great in a camping book. After 45km of dreadful corrugations we decided to stay at the campsite at Hart’s Range, called Spotted Tiger. We were the only ones in the campsite and it seemed no-one had been there for some time. The water had been cut off, the solar panels and most of the infrastructure had been demolished and stolen so it was a strange feeling, 8km from Hart’s Range which itself only had a relief manager in the very small store.

We’d been hanging out for some real peace and quiet away from the crowds so this was it. We climbed some nearby hills and marvelled at the remaining Mica from the mines and the stunning nearby red/purple hills of the Hart’s Range. Spotted Tiger had been the biggest mica supplier in the world during WW2 when it was used for electrical parts.

We decided not to risk the next 100km into the art gallery and conservation, assuming the road would be similar to the last 45km. We continued back west along the Plenty, then south on Pinnacle Road and along dirt roads to the friendly Old Ambalindum Homestead where we stayed. This part of the East Macdonnells is certainly very quiet in spite of the beauty, probably because the roads are pretty bad.