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 Getting
There
Haasts Bluff, near the Aboriginal community of
the Ikuntji and known also by same name Haasts Bluff
which is approximatley 230 km west of Alice Springs
in Northern Territory Central Australia.
Ikuntji, or Haasts Bluff as it is known, is home
to mainly Luritja and Pintupi people of the central
western desert. It lies 230 kilometres west of Alice
Springs and is nestled within the spectacular West
MacDonnell Ranges. To the north is Ulampawarru and
Anyali (Mt Edward and Mt William), and to the south
is the stunning Mereenie Bluff.
These small, remote places are served by a mail
plane from Alice Springs and a flight with these
is well worth it for the views on the way.
 Travelling
west from Alice Springs, it is possible to reach
Ikuntji (Haasts Bluff) with a four-wheel drive via
the Namatjira Drive past Glen Helen Gorge, traversing
the wide landscapes of West MacDonnell National
Park.
From there a track leads to Papunya, a large community
of Pintubi and Loritja people, that can also be
reached by a better road that goes all the way to
Kintore, near the Western Australian border and
beyond, passing Mount Liebig, where a small Aboriginal
community sits below a 1524 m high mountain with
the same name.
All this land is part of Haasts Bluff Aboriginal
Land Trust and permits
are required to visit. Further north,
taking the Tanami Road leading north west towards
the Tanami Desert, is the large community of Yuendumu
(or, using the correct Warlpiri spelling, Yurntumu),
a community of around 2000 people; this is the heartland
of the Warlpiri people, who also live in the small
communities and stations around here, and as far
as Lajamanu, 600 km to the north. About 160 km south
west is the small community of Nyirripi, near Mount
Cockburn, and to the north east are stations like
Mount Denison, Napperby and, further afield is Willowra.
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