As always, holidays and mini breaks are always over much quicker than one hopes. The trick is to be able to switch into holiday mode as quickly as possible – stay ‘in the moment’ I believe is the phrase.
The Larapinta Trail follows the West McDonald Ranges from Alice Springs to Redbank Gorge, some 240km to the West. It’s a well marked track, but due to the arid conditions, rough terrain, and scarce water, it’s only for the intrepid – or those in a tour group.
We were the latter and joined Trek Larapinta for a supported 6 days hike. It was mostly fun, and any bits that were not fun were my own fault for not being fit enough. The guides, fellow trekkers, campsite, food and transport were all excellent. The bonus was that Kerry joined me, a first for an overnight hike.
This is a collection of photos from the next six days. We hiked for most of the days. Okay, we had two rest days out of six. Both of us enjoyed our rest time and don’t feel bad we missed on something. In reality, our fitness and desire to punish ourselves was lacking. The ground was rocky which means you take many short steps and somehow I became quite slow and not enjoying it one little bit. Once on the flat, I stretched out with long strides and regained some of my own perception of dignity.
Great scenery, rocky track. That’s Larapinta.
Hakea – endemic to these rangesIf you take the time, there is plenty of life to see here in the desert.Little lizard camouflaged to avoid eaglesNative Hibiscus and a visitorDaisyMultiple ranges intersectingAn odd plant with stalks growing out of it’s leavesRipple rock, created a long long time ago when water covered the landIs that a dragon tail?No one fell in. Kerry being assisted by lead guide RobOrmiston GorgeI’m totally captivated by things growing out of rocksPlenty of permanent water aroundBlue skies, red rock, green leaves and white trunks. Trees eking out and existence on the moisture in the cracks on the rocksEllery CreekFinke RiverA hole fit for a nestHakeaNot one bit of visible soilIs this wallaby waving to us?Ellery Creek. A glistening oasis, not far from Alice SpringsLooks like that wallaby could have a joey in the pouchDuckling at Ellery CreekTWO ducklings at Ellery CreekWe appreciated some very pretty spots, and were given time to savour them.Ormiston pound. A large area encircled by ragged cliffs that made it a perfect holding area for stockTwo of our three guides preparing a lovely lunch in an awesome kitchen. The third guide was back at the campsite and driving the shuttle bus that dropped us off in the morning and picked us up around 3:00pm each day to return to camp.Ochre from these walls has been traded across to the coast, thousands of kms away.Ringed parrotLunch on the trailMajestic scenery
Lunch spot on day one. Still looking fresh.Ormiston PoundPlenty of hills to climb. None too steep or high, but the rocky trail made for hard walking – not worth a twisted ankle, or worse, out here.Plenty of opportunity to chat along the wayMaybe a GrevilleaSome very pretty valleysUs in a gorgeThe moon cast a soft light most nights.Tree on a cliffDebris catches in trees along the creeks during floods. On a closer look, this pile of debris had been made into a nice soft little nest, empty now. Our guide said some birds just make the nests and hang out in them, not laying eggs.Stanley ChasmGuide Dee from Cultural Connections. A grand job telling stories of her culture and the way people survived in this harsh landscape.Long narrow canyon. What’s around the corner?Story telling Dee.We saw a guy about my age with a big pack strike out with great purpose up these steps. He came to a halt a few metres further and was walking much slower up the next incline.I like the trees and rocks of inland Australia. So much texture and variety; plus an extraordinary toughness to surviveThree hikers setting off with many kms to go. We didn’t see many people. One or two male hikers, and two females all solo. One couple, some family groups. Maybe ten people altogether.Our home under the river gums. A fire morning and night. Entree served from the wooden table on the left. Stories told around the campfire whilst the guides prepared the meal. This was very pleasant.Our gangDamper, a roast, curry – the camp oven produced marvellous meals.
The grand toilet. How this worked involved ensuring the engaged sign was across the pathway – a rope across the path. Then after paying attention to the task at hand, it required placing a cup or so of wood chips onto the poop and paper that had been captured by a double lined biodegradable plastic bag. Each day the camp guide would drop the bag into a compost bin and after a year or so, it’d be ready to use as fertiliser. No water used in this bit. A nice bowl of water, often frozen in the morning, was used to wet one’s hands, and washed with a pump pack of hand wash. A tin was then filled with water from the bowl and hung onto a specially constructed stick. The tin had holes in the bottom and the resulting trickle of water worked perfectly fine to rinse the hands. This was a great system.Semi permanent kitchen is removed at the end of the season as the river floods over summer. Gas cookers, fridge powered by solar cells, a library. All very liveable. Food was prepared by head torch which I think was a challenge, but it certainly tasted wonderful.KitchenRocky terrain made sure you paid attentionSharp rock could easily cut weak shoes. We both walked in light weight shoes which were fine – but certainly showed wear after 60kms of this.Okay, you get the idea
We both enjoyed our week. I’m pleased to have done it. Pleased Kerry joined me. No regrets for not climbing Mt Sondor to see the sun rise. This involved getting up at 2am, hiking 800m vertical over 8kms, then waiting in the desert chill to watch the sun rise.
We stayed at Chifley in Alice, a decent hotel that served our needs.
I hope you’ve enjoyed the photos!! Your enjoyment is why I take them.
Hiking along the Larapinta trail in the West McDonald ranges, Central Australia, has been something to do for a while.
The distance, lack of nice campsites, and water had put me off, as had the need for food drops. All too hard, like the harsh inland environment.
My lovely wife Kerry however has given me the impetus to get on an do this walk, but she had provisos. She would walk with me if we did a supported walk, one where we only carried a small Day pack during the day and our other needs were met by people we paid money to.
For a little moment I felt like I was moving to a next stage of life, from a tent to a caravan, from a house to ‘downsize’. I quickly stepped over that threshold when I heard the bit about her walking with me. This was going to be nice. And truthfully the idea of not carrying 20kg each was very appealing.
So after a bit of googling, we booked with Trek Larapinta. I’d also looked at Inspiration Outdoors who I came across when looking to become a tour guide a little while ago. But their tour was longer and included places we didn’t need to pay to be taken to again.
Today we fly to Alice Springs, and we’ll be home again in a week. Not sure how regularly the updates will come, it is the outback after all!!
