Larapinta 4 Great Southern Land

 

It was cold “all night long”. My tent is suitable for warm Western Australian conditions with the inner tent completely made of mesh. Any wind blows in underneath the fly and when it is below freezing, like it was that night on Big Hill, watch out. I had to set up the gas burner in the tiny porch of my tent so I could remain laying/sitting inside during breakfast while the frosty wind howled around and through my fluro summer shelter. My bottom lip had cracked from the dry gusts of cold air. I needed to get off this hill…. And fast!!!

Getting down Big Hill

Any feeling in my hands had gone and I noticed that they were bleeding from a couple of cuts acquired from yanking out pegs at great speed. John asked me if he could borrow my burner to cook up some porridge for his frozen family if I could spare the gas. His fuel burner wasn’t working, probably frozen. The last I saw was Mum, Dad and four kids all huddled together in a two-man tent defrosting whilst spooning their porridge from the pot in the middle. Definitely the most adventurous family I ever met on any track.

 

Spinifex covered hills around Big Hill

Like a true frost-bitten geriatric I danced down Big Hill as fast as I could. I was praying for the sun to start warming everything up but was still waiting at 1pm. I came to the oldest river in the world, the Finke River - large white gums stood around the banks of the still water body. It is a beautiful  broad river - more broad than the many creeks I have crossed previously.  I was thankful for the hand written sign alerting hikers to the fact of the 300m detour. I didn’t fancy a waste deep wade in water that was as cold as a penguin's pecker.

 

The oldest river in the world

There was a major decision to be made at the Glen Helen Resort turnoff. They not only had hot showers, budget accommodation and a restaurant but open fires and a bar as well.
Tough decision!

At the Finke River hut I stopped for an hour and chatted to two sisters that were hiking in the opposite direction. It was busy around the hut with several groups coming in and out using the long drop throne and other facilities of the trekking shelter.

The Finke River Hut

Wednesday 13 July 2016

Section 10: Finke River to Ormiston Gorge

Section 10 is a 9.1km section of the trail. This has some steep ascents and is one of the shorter sections of the Larapinta Trail. This section winds through limestone hills at the headwaters of the Finke River, one of the world's oldest rivers.

 

Information from the Government website on the Larapinta trail



Lots of ups and downs through this section

 

The following stretch was a winding, mind-numbing hike through the most amazing barren land. In the end I forced “all night long” (Lionel had to go) out of my mind and changed the ol' LP to “Great Southern Land". I sang it out loud for the Kangaroos and all the other critters that were out there somewhere. Nobody else would have heard.

Great Southern Land, burned you black
 

So you look into the land and it will tell you a story
Story ‘bout a journey ended long ago
Listen to the motion of the wind in the mountains
Maybe you can hear them talking like I do
“. . they’re gonna betray you, they’re gonna forget you
Are you gonna let them take you over that way . .”
 

Great Southern Land, Great Southern Land
You walk alone, like a primitive man
And they make it work, with sticks and bones
See their hungry eyes, its a hungry home
 

I hear the sound of the stranger’s voices
I see their hungry eyes, their hungry eyes
Great Southern Land, Great Southern Land
They burned you black, black against the ground

Written appropriately by Ivor Davies of Icehouse

 

I was punching the air by the time I reached Ormiston Gorge late in the afternoon. Funny how arriving after a tough day is always memorable. At Ormiston, but only after a hot shower, I got to know and enjoyed the company of  a group of five youngsters. Young people for someone as ancient as myself seemed awfully fresh-faced but we got along famously.

Looking towards Ormiston Gorge from the top of a lookout

One of the girls of the group had been walking the whole track from Alice to Ormiston wearing one boot and one thong as one of her hiking boots fell apart on the first day. How tough must this chick be??? An eighteen year old young fella split out of his trousers and only had one set of clothes left and told me how cold he was every night. The oldest of the bunch was a geography student who told me how interesting the MacDonnell ranges were for him from a Geographical sense. At the café of Ormiston Gorge they bought a $25 pizza and gave me a slice which was extraordinarily generous. They told me they were short on food and I gave them all the supplies I could spare.

Night fell while cooking and chatting to this inspiring fivesome. A great Ranger talk with slide shows and information about local flora and fauna capped off a great evening.

Grey Bits

Check out the details of the Ormiston Ranger talks here
http://www.nt.gov.au/westmacs/things/activity/52

The gumtrees in the Finke River bed

I recommend a tent with higher resistance to the cold for the Larapinta or a good warm sleeping bag.

Read more about the Finke River use the following link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finke_River