The oldest river

THE Finke is an ancient artery that predates the dinosaurs.

Finke River

THE West MacDonnell Ranges near Alice Springs challenge any preconceptions of central Australia as a series of endless plains in a low-rise desert landscape. This is not a flat interior. Ridges of heavily weathered rock crumble in parallel formation. From the air they speak eloquently of the caterpillar dreaming that is at the heart of local Aboriginal mythology.

These ridges and troughs formed more than 300 million years ago when the tectonic plates compressed and buckled the outback flats. It is the landscape captured by indigenous artist Albert Namatjira, most famous for his portraits of ghost gums against the desert cliffs. And it is not far from where the fabled Lasseter’s Reef, said to be a huge gold deposit, was purportedly discovered in 1897.

But many people believe that long before the forces of nature squeezed the MacDonnell Ranges into existence, the Finke River had already wound its way through the red centre of the continent. If Uluru symbolises the nation’s heart, the Finke must be its ancient artery. It is believed to have meandered from the confluence of the Davenport and Ormiston Creeks, just north of Glen Helen, for more than 300 million years. According to the Northern Territory Government, this makes the Finke the world’s oldest river following its original course. It says the Finke has followed its present course for about 100 million years but parts are believed to date back 340 million years, well before the time of dinosaurs. The age is determined because the Finke flows through deeply incised bends which form only on flat plains.

Ian Scrimgeour, director of the NT Geological Survey, confirms that the Finke is an incredibly old river system but says it is not really possible to say definitively that the Finke is the same river course that flowed 340 million years ago, when Central Australia was covered in major mountain ranges. What is certain, he says, is that the Finke has followed exactly the same course for the past 15 to 20 million years and generally flowed along the same path for 100 million years.

The Finke, which once drained the continent’s great inland sea, runs for about 600km to the western edge of the Simpson Desert in northern South Australia. Today it is usually a string of waterholes, but it can become a raging torrent during rare flood events.

Aboriginal legend has it that the Finke was formed when the Rainbow serpent thrust north from Lake Eyre. And in extreme events, water from the Finke can still flow into the Macumba River and into Lake Eyre, a total distance from its headwaters of around 750km.

For visitors to the Finke, there is a 4WD route to Illamurta Springs and Watarrka National Park starting at Hermannsburg. There are also a number of bush walks within the Finke Gorge National Park ranging from an easy 20-minute climb to two-hour trails that meander among the lush oasis of Palm Valley.

To get there

Glen Helen Gorge, 123km west of Alice Springs, is accessible by sealed roads. Accommodation is available at Glen Helen Resort, www.glenhelen.com.au; for further information about Finke Gorge National Park, see www.nt.gov.au/nreta/parks/find/finkegorge