Larapinta Trail

The Larapinta Trail runs from Alice Springs to Mount Sonder though the West Macdonnell ranges and takes 15-20 days end to end. I wish we had that much time because it was a stunningly beautiful place to be. We walked for five days, starting at Standley Chasm and finishing in the town of Alice Springs. This covers sections 1, 2 and 3 of the trail. As we were only covering three sections we used John Chapman’s notes from ‘Hiking in Australia’ rather than the full Larapinta book or trail notes. Both the notes and the book are well produced and have good information on flora and faunas as well as the route and we will certainly be buying them when (not if) we return to complete the other sections.

We arrived in Alice Springs on Saturday and took a transfer from ‘Alice Wanderers’ out to Standley Chasm at 7 am Sunday morning. We had hoped to overnight at Miller’s flat, but as Fig Spring was dry we continued on to Jay creek (taking a high route over the ridge). This made day 1 the hardest day, both in elevation and distance. Coupled with packs full of five days of food, we arrived at Jay creek pretty spent. Luckily there were so many beautiful sights (Fish Hole! Rock Wallabies!) that our minds were distracted from the heat and weight of our packs.

The following days the temperatures soared far above the 21C-24C averages we had expected, reaching at least 33C and not dropping below 13C at night (we expected down to 0C). Every day we started earlier and earlier to beat the sun until on day five we rose 40 minutes before the sun and setting off and first light.

I can’t possibly describe the beauty of the trip in a way that could do it justice. Except for the crazy heat and subsequent thirst, everything was wonderful; the views, the trees, the terrain, the animals, the flowers, the incredible night sky and even the people we met en route (Hi Barbi and Thomas!).

Enjoy the photographs and the video. There is no question that it is hard; the heat, the lack of water, the remoteness and the terrain all contribute to this. But, if you ever get the chance, definitely do it anyway.