Travel: Central Australia, Chambers Pillar, NT

When he first passed through this Central Australian landscape over 100 years ago, one of Australia's most determined explorers Ernest Giles, who extensively explored the ancient landscapes around the Finke River, was amazed at what he found, particularly the shapes, moods and colours of the place.

During Giles' 1872 expedition he made his first sighting of Chambers Pillar. His journal records: "There it stands, a vast monument of the geological periods that must have elapsed since the mountain ridge, of which it was formerly a part, was washed by the action of old ocean waves into mere sand hills at its feet. We turned our backs upon this peculiar monument and left it in its loneliness and its grandeur - mystic, wonderful!"

Today, this is still remote outback country, and despite the increase in visitors to the Red Centre's main tourist drawcards - Ayers Rock, Kings Canyon, Stanley Chasm and other gorge country east and west of Alice - few travellers find their way to the unique breakaway country in the south. Little has changed in this area from when Giles and other explorers came through all those years ago. Modern 'explorers' require a 4WD vehicle, as the trail is quite rough and in parts fairly sandy.

Lying some 85km by a 4WD track (60km as the crow flies) to the south-east of Rainbow Valley (still on the edge of the Simpson Desert) is another special place that will get you away from it all - extraordinary sandstone formations set in the 340-hectare Chambers Pillar Historical Reserve. Here, some 160km south of Alice Springs, these tall and impressive shapes tower 50 metres in the air from the surrounding red sandy plains. This isolated area sees even fewer visitors than its more accessible Rainbow Valley neighbour. The majestic red and yellow eroded sandstone mesa of Chambers Pillar, rising in dominant splendour above the plains, along with nearby Castle Rock and Eagle (or Window) Rock outcrops in the surrounding area, appear to be straight out of another world.

As the sun slowly disappears out here the camping area takes on a strange mystique. It is set among weeping casuarina trees (desert oaks) about halfway between Chambers Pillar and The Castle. From this quiet, remote campsite, the dominant, almost overpowering figures of these Centralian wonders - with the Castle backlit by moonlight, and the pillar standing tall, black and sombre - throw a ghostly, unsettling mood over the area.They are in fact the last vestiges of an ancient plateau, a breakaway from the nearby Charlotte Range, where the hardest rocks have resisted erosion and weathering where the surrounding land has been lowered to a flat and almost featureless plain.

Technically known as a butte, Chambers Pillar is the remnant of a tabletop mountain, estimated to be around 350 million years old and in its final stages of decay.

The gentle sloping mount of the pedestal is partially covered by loose sandstone talus (rock debris) that has fallen from above. In the centre of the pedestal base of debris, the column rises determinedly, its sheer vertical sides bleached white for most of its height and capped with burning red.

Despite its fragile texture the column is still solid and sound, measuring around six metres wide and 18 metres high. These strange outback sculptures were first sighted by Europeans back in April 1860 when explorer John McDouall Stuart and his party came across them as he was heading north from Adelaide on his first attempt to cross Australia. Stuart named the pillar, which he described as "a locomotive engine with a funnel", after James Chambers, a friend and businessman from South Australia who helped finance Stuart's expedition. Since that time John Ross, surveying the overland telegraph line in 1870, and Ernest Giles in 1872, used these towers as landmarks as they criss-crossed this remote outback region, along with many other explorers, surveyors and pastoralists.

Right up to the advent of the railway in the 1920s, Chambers Pillar continued to serve as a convenient desert landmark for journeys between Adelaide and Alice Springs. In addition it became a virtual 'autograph book' of early white settlement. A number of these outback travellers scratched their names into the soft sandstone base of the Chambers column.

Unfortunately the pillar is now ringed with multiple names, initials and dates from more recent outback explorers, disguised as tourists, who have been inspired to emulate their predecessors… at their own risk. Indeed, Giles in his notes commented: "The stone is so friable that names can be cut in it to almost any depth with a pocket knife; so loose is it, that one almost feels alarmed lest it should fall while one is scratching at its base."

A walking trail has been constructed on the hillside to the base of the tower, and a boardwalk around its western flank where small information boards have been erected, giving visitors a background to the early Central Australian pioneers whose names and visiting dates (among the many modern additions) can still be seen today. The authorities now ask that there be no more damage done to this historic outback monument - it is now an offence to do so and people have been prosecuted for their actions, with heavy fines being imposed.

Chambers Pillar, the Castle and nearby Eagle Rock formations really come to life in the late afternoon or early morning when the rich, colourful bands of these strange outcrops change and intensify. Chambers, at sunset and again at sunrise, has been described as a flaming beacon in the desert.

The spectacular sandstone cliffs of the main Rainbow Valley formation stand right on the edge of a claypan, which extends over a kilometre in length from near the park boundary. In earlier years the access track to the campsite was across sections of this claypan, but in recent times it has been completely fenced off by the NPWS. Driving on any part of the claypan is now prohibited - after heavy rain it fills with water, giving some excellent reflections of the jagged cliffs behind it.

There is no question that this isolated place is breathtaking. Visitors to this part of the world cannot help but feel privileged as the beauty of this magical breakaway country unfolds before them. It is a hushed corner of Australia, well away from the slightest sign of hustle and bustle - a great place to 'call your own', even if it's just for a few hours or a few days. It is sure to be a time you will long remember.

The dramatic, rocky outcrops that make up the free-standing Rainbow Valley formations, estimated to be around 350 million years old, are part of the James Range in Central Australia.

The vivid multi-coloured bands in these formations are caused by laterisation, a process whereby underground iron oxide is dissolved by water and then drawn to the surface and higher rock levels by capillary action.

Generally the colours extend from the rusty, deep-red, iron-rich layers (limonite rich zone - iron oxide) at the top of the cliffs down to underlying layers of yellow and orange (less iron) and then to soft, bleached-white sandstone (containing very little iron) at the base of the outcrops. The dark red capping is quite hard and weathers slowly, whereas the softer, white sandstone lower on the cliff weathers quickly, breaking up into loose sand at the base.

The erosion of the sandstone over millions of years, particularly when this entire area was a lot wetter and more tropical than it is today, has been responsible for the valley outline as we now see it, with many jagged 'sawtooth-like' bluffs and cliffs, eroded caverns and strangely formed square towers. This is fragile country, and one can only imagine that in a few million years' time it will look quite different from the way it is seen today.

In its own inimitable way, nature has produced some exquisite patterns and shapes here, which take on life-like resemblances, including the Lions Head, the Phantom and Mushroom Rock.

From both the campsite and vantage points on nearby sand dunes, visitors often watch, spellbound, as the rainbow-coloured bands and the shadows and shapes on the cliff face continually change before their eyes - very gradually at first, and then more rapidly late in the day. Its real splendour, however, is in the last few minutes after the sun has actually disappeared; the cliffs still glow in a rich, reflected light that spills over onto the claypan, changing its normally dull clay colour to a faint, warm orange. Once the light has gone, the rocky outcrop takes on a sombre appearance and then becomes an eerie silhouette against the night sky.

By day a laborious climb to the top of the outcrop through heavy sand at the back of the range is definitely worth the effort. From this high vantage point in the jagged sawtooth section of the mesa, a splendid view of the claypan, campsite and surrounding countryside is the perfect reward.

In this quiet, peaceful part of Australia's Red Centre there is another group of visitors to the camping area - a number of resident dingoes. They are seldom actually seen, but their footprints found in the sand close to campsites in the mornings reveal how close they come in overnight from the bush looking for food!

The entire region south of Alice Springs is notable for its bizarre formations, of which Chambers and its companions, as well as Rainbow Valley, are only a part. From high vantage points in the area, other pyramid-shaped hills and odd sandstone outcrops seem to spring out of the flat, open landscape as far as the eye can see.

Visitors can be guaranteed almost perfect solitude, but when it comes time to leave, many find it difficult to wrench themselves away from these exquisite places. Once you experience them for yourself, you will understand why!

Chambers Pillar/Rainbow Valley fast facts
The camping areas at both Rainbow Valley and Chambers Pillar, which are kept clean, neat and tidy, are quite basic: only fireplaces, gas barbecues, a pit toilet and information shelter.

Visitors and campers to these areas must be fully self-sufficient: bring all food, water and other supplies. All firewood should be collected along the way and be brought in to the campsites.

Accommodation out here is bush camping only. A small camping fee applies at both campsites.

There is pleasant bush walking - into the hills and ridges and in the rocky slopes behind Rainbow Valley, there is evidence of Aboriginal rock shelters, ochre paintings and ancient engravings (petroglyphs). Carry plenty of drinking water at all times.

Nearest fuel is at Maryvale Station and Alice Springs.

The best months to visit are from May to October. Daytime temperatures are usually in the mid- to late-20s, rising to early 30s by October. Night temperatures are usually cold, quite often dropping to around 0°C to 5°C. Summer daytime temperatures can rise well into the 40s and travellers are warned they must be fully prepared for hot desert conditions. No animals or firearms are allowed into these areas.

Roads into these areas can be closed due to rain. Current road conditions are available from the NT Emergency Service - phone the Alice Springs office on (08) 8952 3833.

Commercial tours are available - contact Alice Springs Tourist Centre on (08) 8952 1299.

For further information contact the Parks and Wildlife Commission of the Northern Territory, phone (08) 8951 8211 or Alice Springs Tourist Centre, (08) 8952 1299.