West MacDonnell Ranges: Simpsons Gap and Standley Chasm

Simpsons Gap and Standley Chasm are often visited in one morning, yet they are run in different ways and reward different timing. Simpsons Gap is part of the national park, 18 km from Alice Springs, with tall red cliffs, water all year and wildlife that lives on site.¹ Visitors to the park need an NT Parks Visitor Pass.⁷ The gap is open daily from 5am to 8pm.²

Standley Chasm in the West MacDonnell Ranges sits on private land. The Western Arrernte people own all of it and run it themselves, holding it through the Iwupataka Land Trust with the Angkerle Aboriginal Corporation as manager.⁸ The owners point out that no other part of the ranges is privately held.⁹ It has its own gate, its own hours and its own entry fee, separate from the park pass.¹⁰

Getting between them is easy. Simpsons Gap is about 20 minutes from Alice Springs on a sealed road.¹¹ Standley Chasm is a 40-minute drive west of town on a sealed road, accessible during operating hours.¹² There is no public transport to the chasm, so you need a car or a tour.¹³ The trick is the clock, since the gap rewards early risers and late visitors while the chasm rewards the middle of the day.

The wallabies are the reason to come early. At dawn and dusk Black-footed Rock-wallabies may be seen from the walking track into the gap.³ Tourism Central Australia calls the site an important habitat for a surviving colony of this endangered rock-wallaby.³⁵ Scan the rocky slopes rather than the path, as they blend into the rock until they move, and never offer them food.

Short walks fill the rest of a visit. Behind the ranger station, the Ghost Gum walk takes about 15 minutes and covers under a kilometre.³⁶ The Cassia Hill Walk climbs to views over the ranges on a loop of 1.5 km, about an hour's walking.¹⁴ The Woodland Trail is a 7-hour return trip of 17 km to Bond Gap, with a shorter 5-hour return to Rocky Gap.^29,37 There are shady picnic areas and free gas barbeques near the car park.³⁸

You can also arrive on two wheels. The Simpsons Gap Bicycle Path runs 17 km from John Flynn's Grave Historical Reserve, 7 km west of Alice Springs, and suits all ages.^28,39 Allow 1-2 hours one way at an average pace.⁴⁰ Cycling is most pleasant in the cooler months, April to October.⁴¹ Mobile phones do not work along the path.⁴²

The chasm is 80 m tall and only 3 m wide.⁴ The best time to visit is noon, when the overhead sun gives a rich red glow.⁵ That is also the busiest time of day.⁵⁵ You can avoid the crowd by arriving when the gate opens at 8 am, accepting softer light in return.¹⁵ Most people spend only an hour or two at the chasm on a day trip.⁵⁶

Opening hours are short, so plan around them. The chasm opens Monday to Saturday from 8 AM to 5 PM with last entry to the chasm at 4:30 PM.³¹ On Sunday it opens from 8 AM to 2 PM with last entry at 1:30 PM.³¹ Public holidays run from 8am to 2pm.⁵⁷ After closing the main gates are locked and nobody can get in.⁵⁸

The walk in follows the creek bed past gum trees and cycads. Lush green cycads grow here thanks to a little but constant flow of water.⁵⁹ The owners' home page gives the walk as a 30-minute, 2.4 km round trip on a Grade 1 access path.²⁷ Their visitor page calls it a short 20-minute return walk, with walls rising up to 80 m.⁶⁰ Halfway along, Larapinta Section 3 climbs for around 45 minutes to views across the ranges.¹⁶

Tourism NT names the cooler months of April to September as the most popular time to visit.⁶⁷ Winter is the peak season, and Tourism Central Australia warns that rooms, car hire and tours book out quickly then.⁶⁸ Cycling out to the gap is most pleasant in the cooler months, which run until October.⁴¹ In winter the regional tourism body puts sunrise in the ranges at usually 6:40 am to 7:20 am, which makes a dawn wallaby watch a civilised hour.⁶⁹

Summer is a different trip. Between October and March, the heat in this part of Australia turns extreme.⁷⁰ Summer temperatures in the Red Centre go above 40 degrees celsius.⁷¹ On days tipped to exceed 36 degrees celsius, some walking tracks are shut entirely, so look up closures before leaving town.⁷² The sensible pattern is the local one: walk from first light and be finished before midday, then rest in the shade.⁷³

The light changes the plan in every season. The low sun of early morning or late afternoon brings out the contours and colours of the ranges best for photographs.⁷⁴ At the chasm the rule is reversed, and noon is the moment for the glow.⁵ Winter mornings in Central Australia can be frosty, so carry a warm layer for a dawn start.⁷⁵ In summer take plenty of water to both stops.⁷⁶