Ormiston Waterhole Walk is only a short, five minute walk down from the car park. This waterhole is majestic, with its overhanging cliffs and River Red Gums. Depending on rainfall, the waterhole may only be 10 metres across. On other occasions it can spread from one bank of the creek to the other and make it difficult to walk around into the Gorge.

Many of the small Ghost Gums that squeeze out of the cliff faces have grown little in many years. Photographs taken in this area in the 1950s show some of these trees to be identical in height and size. This natural bonsai effect is common in Central Australia where water and nutrients are limited.

Peregrine Falcons (the World's fastest flying bird) often nests along the cliff faces directly above the waterhole. These nest sites offer brilliant protection from natural predators as well as introduced predators such as the Feral Cat.

Along with Ellery and Glen Helen, the Ormiston Waterhole is a favoured swimming spot for both visitors and locals. The waterhole contains many thousands of fish and quite often in the winter months you may see natural fish kills. This is where some of the larger individual fish suffer from an over producing protozoa on their gills. The suffocate and can be seen along the edges of our large waterholes. Do not be alarmed, this is a natural process - a process that local Dingoes really appreciate. It's hard to imagine a Centralian Dingo tucking down to a good feed of fish but it regularly happens throughout wintertime.

The Black-footed Rock-wallabies can be spied along the edges of the waterhole and in the crumbling rocks on either side. These small mammals belong to the kangaroo family and live in small colonies scattered right across the MacDonell Ranges. If you are patient, you can get quite close them. They seem to have little fear as they know they can move across rocky boulders a whole lot quicker than any other animal, including humans!