Finke

If the Finke River was having a birthday party there would be two hundred and fifty million candles on the cake, give or take. That makes the Finke River the oldest watercourse on the planet.

Having had a cursory glance at this aged stream I conclude that it is yet another one of those places where the pictures are better than any description my meager grasp of the English language can come up with. The best I can do is Awwwwww…. or maybe…. Oooooooo!

Access is via a four-wheel drive track so a lot of people don’t make the trip. The sign at the start of the track suggests that it is very arduous, we found it quite easy compared to the Gibb River Road, that is to say no wheels fell off, and lets face it the Paris to Dakar Rally is easier than the Gibb River Road.

The Finke Gorge track starts at Hermansburg, home of the famous indigenous landscape artist Albert Namatjjra. Driving through the surrounding countryside it’s not too difficult to see where Albert’s artistic inspiration came from.

Palm Valley in Finke National Park is quite unique it has a stand of Red Palm Trees that grow only in a two kilometre stretch where conditions allow for year round water. The leaves are red on the new growth and turn green as they mature, so if you visit don’t expect to see red palm trees like some people do.