What if someone told you of a place full of wonder, where ancient stone corridors engrave a land rich with natural beauty and possibilities? Strewn with winding gorges, with flanks hewn from ancient rock standing proud above oases filled with vibrant sparkling waterways. Dirt so red it leaves a crimson mark upon your soul and sunsets that make the entire landscape glow with hues you’d never thought to imagine.
If such a place existed, would you want to know more? This writer certainly would. Yet when the notion of a rock-climbing trip to the Northern Territory was suggested, this dramatic ode is not even close to what my mind envisaged.
Of course I’d heard and seen evidence of such wonders. Yet the prospect of rock climbing this area still didn’t sit right in my mind. Instead within my uninitiated and genuinely ignorant mind’s eye, scenes were conjured filled with tottering stacks of crumbling sandstone, baking under the relentless fury of a thousand suns. Come on, seriously? Why would a Southeast Queensland climber, who is in possession of a sane state of mind, embark on climbing trip headed to a dusty red furnace in the North? All Queenslanders know it’s hot enough at home already.
If you’re not convinced of this, just listen to our endless winging. Trust me, we’ll tell you all about it. Yet in July of 2018 thoughts of a familiar pilgrimage south to the crisp climates of New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania or New Zealand were traded for Google searches about snakes and crocodiles. Luckily we saw very little evidence of either, well…just enough to warrant a mention. (Author: Lachlan Gardiner)
Lachlan Gardiner, Nathan McNeil, Alex “Moogii” Mougenot, and Carrie Doyle spent just over a week exploring and climbing the rock surrounding Umbrawarra Gorge and Butterfly Gorge, located about 150 kilometres south of Darwin. Their full adventure is captured in Wild #167 (September-October 2018) and Wild #168 (November-December 2018).
Filmmaker Nathan McNeil captured the splendor of these locations in the two videos below.