The Larapinta Trail

West of the desert town of Alice Springs, at the dead centre of Australia, the West MacDonnell National Park is home to the Larapinta Trail, one of Australia’s best, and newest, long-distance walking tracks, opened in 2002.

Here you can follow in the footsteps of intrepid 19th century explorers across this remote and inhospitable desert. In particular, the route pioneered by John McDouall Stuart, who in 1862 was the first European to cross the continent from south to north and return alive to tell the tale.

The Stuart Highway, which approximates the route Stuart took was named after him . It is now a major Australian highway which runs from Darwin, in the Northern Territory, via Tennant Creek and Alice Springs, to Port Augusta in South Australia; it has a distance of 2,720 km (1,690 mi). Its northern and southern extremities are segments of Australia’s Highway 1. The principal north–south route through the central interior of mainland Australia, the highway is often referred to simply as “The Track”.

In 1871–72 the Australian Overland Telegraph Line was constructed along Stuart’s route. The principal road from Port Augusta to Darwin was also established on a similar route.

A track developed along the route of the telegraph, and by 1888 the road between Adelaide and Alice Springs was well known.] Several wells along the route provided water, although these could run dry or be contaminated by dead animals, resulting in sections as long as 144 miles (232 km)

Home to around 25,000 people, Alice Springs today is the largest town for well over 1,000 kilometres in any direction. It was named Alice Springs only in 1933 – up until then, it was called Stuart, after the explorer who first crossed the region.

Starting out along the Larapinta Trail from Alice Springs, pirior to the arrival of the first European explorers, the local aboriginal people managed to survive in this harsh land for thousands of years – finding water underground, and sustenance in the most surprising of places.

Hiking amongst dramatic rock formations and through spectacular gorges, whilst trying to cope with the fierce desert heat, our adventure takes us past Standley Chasm and Brinkley Bluff, first climbed by John McDouall Stuart, before reaching Stuart’s Pass, where Stuart finally found his way through the MacDonnell Mountains on his way from the south to the north coast of Australia.

Heading past the historic Ochre Pits where – for thousands of years – the local aboriginal people obtained pigment for body decoration and religious ceremonies, our trek concludes with a climb up to the summit of Mount Sonder – the end of the Larapinta Trail. The mountain offers stunning views over the surrounding desert landscape.

Link : Australia