In and around Ross River Resort

Binns Track stretches from Mount Dare in the south to Timber Creek in the north, a distance of 2194km, with a minimum quoted time of 10 days.  Bruce and I did about a third of the track in 4 days. The track is named after Bill Binns, who worked with the NT Parks for 32 years.

Graham of the Ross River Resort drove us along “Graham’s Track” passing an airport that had been used by TAA planes, and was once busier than Alice Springs. He then showed us the “Great Wall” and “The Sphinx” both major geological formations. Graham was keen to show us the resident herd of camels, and we saw: camel tracks; camel dung; camel hair on barbed wire; and even the smell of a camel’s fart, but no bloody camels.

In the afternoon, we ventured south to the N’Dhala Gorge, and we are still discover the origin of the name. The drive itself was exciting involving (dry) river crossings, wild horse sightings, tilted and folded ridges of rock, and the remnants of an old timber cutting engine.

The Gorge was very interesting, with a number of petroglyphs, some featuring the local Indigenous dreaming involving caterpillars – a most endearing dreaming subject.  We found a cave with swallows nests, a cave with an old fire, a wonderful scaly rock looking like a huge reptile, and another Sphinx-like rock.

That evening, Bruce barbequed chicken with sweet potato, served with broccoli, and we finished off a wonderful day in front of a roaring campfire.