Late last month I was fortunate to travel to the Northern Territory and visit Alice Springs and surrounding areas. Whilst we did not get the conditions we had hoped for, especially as photographing the stars was originally on the cards, we visited some incredible locations and saw them in dramatic and moody light. In fact on one of the days it even rained, and the fresh intoxicating smell of the rain hitting the warm outback soil is one that I can’t forget in a hurry.
I was fortunate to get a drone permit approved by NT Parks for the Western MacDonnell Ranges which allowed me to fly my DJI Mavic drone in some incredible places. We also enjoyed a doors-off helicopter flight from Glen Helen Gorge and over Ormiston Pound with Alice Springs Helicopters. Another highlight was visiting the Parrtjima Festival, an annual light festival held in Alice Springs. It was great to see the outback lit up in an array of colours and installations.
With so many great experiences in such a short time, I thought I’d let the images do the talking. So here are 15 images that show why I love visiting the Northern Territory Outback.
![Ormiston Creek red centre ormiston creek](https://luketscharke.com/tscharke/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/105A7484-20170928-3-2-BLOG-2.jpg)
![Glen Helen Glen Helen Gorge](https://luketscharke.com/tscharke/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/DSC03738-20170929-3-2-WEB-Copy2.jpg)
![Ellery Creek Ellery Creek Big Hole in the red centre](https://luketscharke.com/tscharke/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/DSC04029-20170929-3-2-MASTER-Copy.jpg)
![Finke River Finke River](https://luketscharke.com/tscharke/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Finke.jpg)
![Rainbow Valley DSC04202 20170929 Copy](https://luketscharke.com/tscharke/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/DSC04202-20170929-Copy.jpg)
![Spinifex Pidgeon DSC03972 20170929 3 2 MASTER Copy](https://luketscharke.com/tscharke/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/DSC03972-20170929-3-2-MASTER-Copy.jpg)
![Mount Sonder DSC03893 20170929 Copy](https://luketscharke.com/tscharke/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/DSC03893-20170929-Copy.jpg)
![Ormiston Creek and Pound Ormiston Creek](https://luketscharke.com/tscharke/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/105A7627-20170928-2-3-MASTER-Copy-1.jpg)
![Outback Road DJI 0540 20170928 3 2 MASTER Copy](https://luketscharke.com/tscharke/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/DJI_0540-20170928-3-2-MASTER-Copy.jpg)
![Ormiston Gorge Ormiston](https://luketscharke.com/tscharke/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Ormiston.jpg)
![Ormiston Creek 105A7571 20170928 2 3 MASTER Copy](https://luketscharke.com/tscharke/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/105A7571-20170928-2-3-MASTER-Copy.jpg)
![Outback patterns DJI 0399 20170928 4 3 BLOG](https://luketscharke.com/tscharke/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/DJI_0399-20170928-4-3-BLOG.jpg)
![Ellery Creek Big Hole DJI 0492 20170928 3 2 MASTER Copy](https://luketscharke.com/tscharke/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/DJI_0492-20170928-3-2-MASTER-Copy.jpg)
![Ormiston 105A7590 20170928 3 2 MASTER Copy](https://luketscharke.com/tscharke/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/105A7590-20170928-3-2-MASTER-Copy.jpg)
It was great to spend some time with Tourism Northern Territory and the extremely talented Gold Coast based photographer Melissa Findley. For some great travel ideas in the Northern Territory you can visit northernterritory.com