Birthday Waterhole is a semi-permanent pool on the Hugh River in the Tjoritja/West MacDonnell National Park.
Yellow check marks show my recent destinations and blog posts... with the location of Birthday Waterhole clearly marked.
You can download the map and info here: Downloadable PDF Map of the Tjoritja / West MacDonnell National Park
As NorthernTerritory.com mentions on their website "Camping is permitted and access is by high-clearance four-wheel drive only. Birthday Waterhole is 14.4 kilometres from the turn-off on Namatjira Drive. Allow 1 hour driving time. There are no facilities at Birthday Waterhole so ensure you have all of your water and camping requirements with you."
Did you note - 14kms... allow one hour to drive... Yup, that is 4x4 driving for you.
One of the things I really enjoyed about this location is the fact that is it high clearance 4X4 access only, so there are no motorhomes or campervans at the waterhole. So despite being a lot closer to Alice Springs than the other sites I had camped at, it was actually a lot quieter.
The waterhole is also an access point for Sections 4 and 5 of the 231 kilometre Larapinta Trail that extends from Alice Springs to Mt Sonder. So you may find yourself sharing the waterhole with numerous trekkers who are walking the Larapinta Trail - but they arrive in the late afternoon and are typically gone early the next morning,
Budgies
This may show my ignorance, but before travelling around Aussie I thought budgies were birds you kept in cages, I had no idea they were the most incredible wild gregarious social birds that populate waterholes in large numbers.
After spending 3 days hanging out in their space, watching their lives, I now LOVE budgies!!!. I cannot imagine how mentally stressed a caged budgie must be!!
How horrific for them (or any bird) compared to the freedom of their natural life !.
Budgies love to fly in large flocks, mate for life and are incredibly social, vocal birds that filled the air around the waterhole with happiness and family love.
I felt like I got to know some of the birds in the images below, having spent 3 relaxing days at the waterhole watching them grooming each other, minding the nest and feeding their chicks.
Young chick in the nest while one of the parents stands guard.
I camped under the shade of the tree occupied by this budgie and his mate.
Friendship beside the fire
A couple of days before heading to Birthday Waterhole I spent a day/night in Alice Springs topping up on supplies. While camping at the Heritage Campground (which I really enjoyed) I met Matt & Lu who were just starting a multi-month tour up through Alice from South Australia, on to Darwin, then down the West Coast.
They had been told about this waterhole by someone else and in their turn mentioned it to me. It was an incredibly good surprise when I drove up to the waterhole 2 days later, to discover they were also there!
Happy times.
They didn't mind me setting up camp near their site and we became good friends as we shared stories, tips and advice around their campfire.
Travelling and exploring is actually hard work - sometimes you need to stop and rest
Sometimes you rock up at a site and don't even bother to stop, other times you pull in and think to yourself "I may never leave" and that is the feeling I got at Birthday Waterhole.
I spent 3 nights, swimming in the waterhole (very cold) when I needed to clean up, reading, watching birds and generally chilling out, oh and swapping tales with Matt & Lu.
The final night at the site I had the whole place to myself. I relocated around the corner to a spot that received direct sunlight for longer hours.
Normally in Aussie you want shade, but this was late May and it was quite cool in the shade still so sunlight was a good thing.
Great location
If you have a high clearance 4x4, a fridge, your own toilet and a stack of firewood you will enjoy camping here.
VIDEO - YES there is a video... see below
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Anyway, the little video is immediately below:
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