Larapinta 16: Walking to the Beginning of Time

 

 

Use this gadget in case of an emergency; help is only four months away

 

The campsite exploded in a flurry of activity at 5:30am. Torches flickered around in tents; the sound of zippers and the rustling of canvas filled the pitch-black, chilly air. In record time we were all packed and ready to go, drawn to the ultimate prize of the day, the Larapinta finish line.

 

Telegraph Station

 

 

The first building in Alice Springs

The Telegraph Station is worth having an extended look at, since it is the place that marks the first white settlement in the red centre.

The Alice Springs Telegraph line was midway along the Overland Telegraph line from Darwin to Adelaide. Opened in 1872, the line suddenly reduced the isolation of Australians from the rest of the world.

I was surprised to see my lawyer swallow the hill in the distance in one gulp before I could strap my pack on. The Hilton was calling.

On top of Euro Ridge I was greeted by the rising sun, shrouded in a faint morning haze. The left of the ridge was a spinifex covered, rounded hill and to the right was a sudden dangerous drop, with far reaching views. Our splintered group of hikers took the trail teetering right on the edge of this dramatic plunge. While I unpacked my camera I could see them all disappear, one by one,  over the hill in the distance. My word!!! I could not believe what I saw through the viewfinder of my camera. I lost a piece of my soul up there on that ridge.

 



The steep rock-face in the morning

 

I have always attempted to share the finish-line euphoria with friends, family and the people I love. Five kilometres from the end, I texted those people, announcing my imminent, hard fought achievement. My phone did not stop with the congratulatory responses all day.

My small moment in the winter sun!

 

My lawyer who managed to stay out in front of me this whole morning came into view only four km's from the end. Now so much stronger and faster than ever. We walked together for a while; it was a joyous highlight-recalling session. At the last kilometre mark we decided to walk alone.

Somehow the trail gifted us a flatter area and passed a tiny graveyard. There lay people that died way before their generally accepted due dates even in those tough colonial days. Maybe a warning for when you start the Larapinta Trail, maybe when you are finishing the trail, the headstones in the cemetery queue you to thank the millions of lucky Larapinta stars that you’ve made it; safe and alive.

 

 

 

Ernie died of tuberculosis and was the brother of the station master T A Bradshaw. Imagine being terminally ill in a place thousands of kilometres away from civilization. The first building has only just been built and it isn't a hospital. Imagine having to stand by your brother helplessly and watch him die.

 

I felt more than alive walking the last couple of hundred metres. My thoughts and emotions were mixed like an expensive cocktail - happiness – feeling reenergised – dying for a good coffee – chest swelling pride for finishing  – sadness it  was all over – absolute awe of the natural beauty I had witnessed - feeling strong and fit - overcoming the physical and mental hardship.

Good things happen in the presence of beauty

 

The many days of limping in solitude were finally over. A little gazebo appeared in the distance with a large sign announcing the trailhead of the Larapinta Trail. I crossed the finish line with the biggest dingo howl and fist-pump imaginable. Grant was waiting for me there and after a serious handshake and some back-slapping, he offered to take a photo or two.

 



Mars is done!

 

For me, all that was left to do was wait for the man of the law to finish his long journey of survival and nail it down in kilobytes.  As he rounded the corner, a large smile rolled across his face and his arms reached up into the sky in triumph.

 



The trial finished

 

Grey Bits

Thanks to all the amazing people I have met on the Larapinta Trail. I hope our paths will cross again soon.

Grant - in a good place

The coffee tasted great at the Trailhead Café. We celebrated our hike for a couple of hours out on the terrace. Find more information on the Café and the Telegraph Station at this link alicespringstelegraphstation.com.au




Packs down

 

Please don't forget to read the government website before you take on the Larapinta Trail.
nt.gov.au/leisure/recreation/bushwalking-hiking/larapinta-trail

Thanks to the Government and Parks and Wildlife for the funding and upkeep of this world class hiking trail.




Follow the trail of the Yeperenye. It is in your hands

Last but not least, a warm thanks and a big hug goes out to my partner Jules for supporting me all the way along the track, putting up with my crazy antics and editing every thingymebob of mine into palatable English.

 

Thanks to you too mate

 

I often wonder what this place would have been like in the days of the first settlers.  The fact still remains - this is one of the most isolated, magical places in the world and in my opinion well worth visiting.

A long time ago came a man on a track

walking thirty miles with a pack on his back

and he put down his load where he thought it was the best

made a home in the wilderness.....

 

Telegraph Road written and performed by Dire Straits
 



The wires that connected Alice Springs to the rest of the world

Larapinta 15. Wild

It seems an age since I’ve seen you

Count down as the weeks trickle into days

I hope that time hasn’t changed you

All I really want is for you to stay 

My happiness slowly creeping back

 

"My happiness" written and performed by Powderfinger

For the first time on this trail I slept in. All that stargazing put me in a deep recovering sleep I could barely break out of. That finite discipline you need in the morning to pack your bag neatly and get going early was absent. It being the penultimate day on the Larapinta, I seemed to have relaxed almost beyond caring, choosing to join the sweet chatter around the camp.

When my inner starting gun finally went off, I flew up the first hill to see if I would get any reception on my phone and had a long, in my mind, needed conversation with Julie while overlooking a vast open Australian desert with Honeymoon Gap and the Mount Gillen range baked in golden morning light.



The conversation point with Mount Gillen Range on the right

Soon after, I let out an almighty dingo howl to express my happiness and show my appreciation for the beautiful world I was standing in. A reply in the shape of a ‘Coooeee!’ came from one of the two other lone dingoes across the valley. The three of us all waving at each other from afar.

Thursday 28 July 2016

Section 1: Simpsons Gap to Alice Springs Telegraph Station 

Section 1 is a 23.8km section. You will need to camp overnight to finish the section.

It is a long distance with some steep ascents. Section 1 gives you views over Alice Springs and the surrounding lowlands, as well as good bird watching opportunities.

 

Information from the government web-site.

 

This bird was singing its little heart out at Simpsons Gap

 

I spent some time walking with Grant who had suffered from huge blisters on his feet. The gentleman had to stop hiking for many days to recover and take the bus to catch up with his mates who would walk on and complete the Larapinta at blistering speed. How frustrating? I spoke to him at length about the challenging, but very social Camino de Santiago. and hope I have convinced him to walk it solo some time. Grant's feet were obviously healed enough to leave me for dead on the trail. Being slower than others is also something my competitive self has to come to terms with some day. Maybe it is time to get that knee fixed.




Walking on this amazing Larapinta trail

There was only a little bit of suffering to go through before I reached Wallaby Gap where I passed out in my warm, lime green shelter for a couple of hours. How much sleep does one need in this place?

Hiking in the wild makes you stink like an unwashed wheelie bin. Every day I venture out with toiletry bag under my arm and micro-fibre towel slung over the shoulder in search of that ultimate spot of serenity and a quick, but glorious one bottle wash - au naturel. I had just found my shower spot overlooking a small valley and had my hands on my shorts to draw them down, when the sound of a large engine disturbed the peace. A huge 4wd bus pulled up on an access road I had not quite spotted only 50 metres away. A young man carrying a large watermelon jumped out and walked up to me and told me he was working for one of the tour companies and was about to deliver a large quantity of food for a large group of hikers. I told him my purpose of being out there and he laughed. So did the others in the camp when I told them I was nearly sprung in my birthday suit. The fact still remains that standing out in the open of the Australian emptiness without a string of clothing is a total liberation of spirit that I highly recommend. Give it a try, but beware of the bus full of watermelon-wielding day trippers.

Mid-afternoon, the man of the law walked in to the Wallaby Gap campsite. I immediately put the billy on and made a reviving coffee for the three of us. Roz and John joined in and we all shared our food with each other. There was dark chocolate, biscuits and Grant's famous dehydrated hummus with crackers. The Larapinta community spirit was very much alive.

The massive hiking group of mainly ladies with a female guide conquered and left the campsite without giving us much attention or share a bit of that huge watermelon with us real full-time, end to end hikers. Most of us hadn’t seen fresh fruit for two weeks. The conversation reverted to food soon after and what we all were going to eat once we arrived in Alice Springs the next day?

Its going to be yummmm...

A café at the end of the trail - the old Telegraph Station - the finish line.

Looking back to Simpsons Gap

Looking back at all the people that I have crossed paths with on this trail, I had come to a surprising conclusion that, as it was on the Kokoda track, the majority of the hikers on the Larapinta trail were woman. Many of them walked in groups or in organised tours like the one that just left us at Wallaby Gap. Quite a few walked solo through this harsh, desolate country where the nearest point of civilization or help, if you needed it, could be days away. I have seen a woman with a snapped achilles tendon climb through a dangerous narrow gorge, met a young lady who walked the whole 231 kilometres with one shoe and a thong on the other foot.  To top it all off Roz mentioned talking to a ‘hikester’ at Ellery Creek who asked her where the hard part of the trail was as she had called the track including Razorback Ridge ‘easy’???!!! Go figure.

After several discussions with the man of the law as to the reasons behind this phenomena we attributed, to a large extent, this spike in classy, trailblazing broads to the book and the movie Wild. Cheryl Strayed wrote a terrific account of her 94 day, 1000 mile battle on the Pacific Crest Trail in the United States. Starring the beautiful and talented Reese Witherspoon - the story is an intense recount of how an inexperienced hiker overcomes the wild and heals herself in the process.




Photo courtesy of Word Press

 

Maybe none of the woman on the track have ever read the book or watched the movie. Maybe they just have a healthy sense of adventure. Either way I still have to say – power to the 'wild woman' - kudos by the bucket load.

 

Grey Bits

 The movie and book Wild is available in all bookstores. You cant miss it.

One of the many thought provoking quotes from the
movie Wild

Find more quotes here
http://thoughtcatalog.com/koty-neelis/2014/12/19-life-changing-quotes-from-cheryl-strayeds-wild-that-will-inspire-you-to-take-a-journey-of-your-own/

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Do you want to become a guest blogger, write your own story and publish on my blog? I would love to hear from you. Email me at storiesfrommars@gmail.com

 

Larapinta 14. Three Lone Dingos and a Black Dog

 

 

That night I was suddenly woken by a blood-curdling scream of a child. I opened the tent noisily and looked around for a small person in trouble or maybe even Azaria Chamberlain. Nothing!!

Sometime later I heard the sound and felt the vibrations of a heavy hooved animal.  Fearing for my own safety in my tent I lay nailed to the ground, holding my breath with the headline running through my head "Hiker Trampled by Bull" until the sound disappeared in the distance. Pheeww!!!

Much later on, during one of my visits to Desert Park, (only twenty kilometres from where I was lying), I was told the nocturnal bush-stone curlew or bush thick-knee screams out like a child in distress. A good explanation for the spine-chilling sound I heard. I also learnt at the park that the curlew (see photo above) freezes and stands completely still, relying on its camouflage, when it feels threatened. In the vain of "I am not really here you know" or "I am really a tree". 

As for the hooved experience, we are now walking close to cattle stations and judging by the shit on the track it spells only one thing. Welcome to civilization!

 

Wednesday  27 July 2016

 

Slow but steady progress put me in an almost unbelievable position. I was walking towards the trail-head of section 1. The job almost done, a couple of nights to go. All big hills conquered, only relatively flat and comparatively easy terrain left to walk.

Walking the planes towards Simpsons Gap

 

I barely wrote any notes on the track for this day. Sometimes, someone can say something to you, maybe a well-meant criticism, a flapped-out comment or a joke that skirts around the edge of a hard truth. A throw-away comment, that has a profound effect on your state of mind.

  

I don’t understand how the brain fabricates this gnawing negativity that appears to be stuck on repeat. The whole day was spent looking inward, trying to iron out the character flaws that may annoy someone else enough to mention them to you. Then the questions came in my head: Who the hell are you to tell me that? What is your problem? In true 'poor me' style, unjustifiable rage wells up.

 

Anger is such a useless emotion. Where do you go with it and what can you possibly do that makes any sense? Slowly, the anger mixed with an occasional dip in mood here and there until the core of my soul was swallowed up whole by the black dog of howling self-doubt, negativism and self loathing.

Out on the Larapinta I just limped along the small winding track trying to find a seed of reassurance or a little inner pep-talk that appears in my grey matter like magic - but it just didn't. 

 

A colourful Spinifex Pigeon

 

It can be tough out there!

 

At Simpsons Gap I felt weirdly out of place and tried to call Julie with my non-Telstra phone in a mobile hot-spot station that did not work. In frustration I explored the magnificent rock walls around Simpsons Gap; walked along the water’s edge of the still water and sat down in a dry part of the creek bed. I caught up with my writing but sure as hell I wasn’t going to give you, dear reader, my inner, most darkest thoughts of the day. Nahhh!!!

Everything is hunky dory right?

The rock walls of Simpsons Gap

 

 

I chatted with Grant over a cuppa when late in the afternoon, completely exhausted, my lawyer stumbled  into the hut. My mood was slowly released from the heavy veil of depression by the same species that unintentionally triggered it.

 

Simpsons Gap

When it was dark and the air had changed to a light, biting chill my lawyer decided to lay down on his back between the hut and the toilet in the dirt for a spot of star gazing. After the initial "I am not laying down there" feeling, both Grant and I relented and took a spot either side of the notary.

It was incredible.

Here we were - three lone dingos of the Larapinta Trail – laying on our backs covered in dust - holding hands (only joking) -  galaxy stretched out in front of us with glorious clarity – space junk passing by rapidly – tail trailing shooting stars lighting up the black amphitheatre disappearing in a flash – infinite stars, planets and space – a world so much bigger than us.



A "grand design" galaxy like ours called M81.
Photo courtesy of National Geographic



The night sky provided a shimmer of light. 

 

Grey Bits


The photo of the Chamberlain bird or curlew was taken at the amazing bird show at Desert Park. If you like birds 'this' is the place to hang out. www.alicespringsdesertpark.com.au


I have absolutely no cure for the Black Dog and do not profess to be an expert on the subject. This time I just waited it out and the company of others seemed to help. I know many people suffer from depression. If you feel the need to talk to anyone, Google 'depression' and you will find many agencies that could help out. Here is one of them; click on this link  www.blackdoginstitute.org.au

 

Section 2 done. One to come

Larapinta 13: My lawyer and I



Fire is Life - Survivor

Some courage is what I needed to approach the bong-smoking  young man in the morning. In general, I don’t believe I have the right to tell anyone how to live their life, but there was a large list of pointers in my head, spun together during a bad night of hyped-up scatter braining. I managed to reduce an all out verbal assault to a friendly chat about how fast news travels on the trail (especially the bad things) and acted with dumbfound surprise when Alex told me he was still making coffee at eleven thirty at night. In my experience hikers generally go to bed just after dark due to exhaustion and the need to recover one’s sore bits. Every minute of sleep is a gift of energy the next day - an extra lit up bar on the mobile. Any break in sleep transmission is hugely frowned upon. The man wasn’t my son - if he was , he would have copped the full list of amendments, misguided behaviours and broken laws I could have mustered. I am not sure if Alex got the message or whether the answer is still ‘blowing in the wind’.

Another personal opinion point has to be made I feel, right here. Walking the Larapinta is an incredible experience in its self, bordering at times, on the mind altering. No other substance is needed to enjoy it in its full glory. Endorphins, adrenaline, mates and the sheer beauty of the place will see you through. I promise!

 

Section 2: Jay Creek to Simpsons Gap

Section 2 is a 24.5km section. You will need to camp overnight to finish the section.

It is a long distance with some steep ascents. Highlights include walking through the home of the few brushtail possum colonies in Central Australia and exploring a landscape of rock outcrops over 2 billion years old.

 

Information from the Government website

 

The common brushtail possum is actually not that common in the centre of Australia. In and around the West Macs there are only a couple of colonies foraging for eucalyptus leaves and small rodents at night. As you can see from the green bludges in the centre of the map, they have chosen to move away from their coastal cousins.

 

 

 

The rebel colonies of possums in the red heart of Australia

In Australia the possum or Trichosurus Vulpecula is now a protected species with the exception of Tasmania where they are still hunted for their hide. The fast talking Kiwi, Douglas, told me that brushtail possums were an introduced species to New Zealand in 1840. The breading in the wild went, shall I say, better than expected with the population reaching an estimated 70 million. Prolific!!  The main problem for NZ is that possums carry Bovine Tuberculosis, a nasty chronic infectious disease, which still is seriously affecting life stock throughout the country. Nevertheless,  it was kind of strange hearing how the man was talking about knocking off cute little possums by their thousands.

  

 

Cute but deadly, photo courtesy of Pinterest

 

 

Tuesday 26 July 2013

 

My lawyer and I walked together on this day and involved ourselves in my favourite past-time, a good dose of 'walk and talk' therapy.

I found out he did several tours as an army lawyer in Iraq. This meant that he was away from his family, who were in Brisbane, for extended periods of time and living in a country at war. After many years of service to his country, my hiking attorney found out that he had bladder cancer in the classical way. Finding blood in his urine.

What followed must have been a nightmare. The operation was very intrusive where everything was lifted out, the bladder removed and everything lifted back in its place. 'Oh yeah, and by the way you get to pee in bag for the rest of your life'. I could not even begin to imagine being on the wrong end of those words. The consequences...

 

Some time after the Larapinta he wrote to me “I looked well and felt well until I went to hospital and got dipped in chemo. It was actually a good year for me because I was released by the Army to go home for treatment and convalescence.  So I was with my wife and my family full-time and that was wonderful. And of course I played the cancer-card so they had to bring me cups of tea whenever I wanted.”

It was obvious the man of the law was struggling physically on this track. The time between his bout of cancer to hiking a tough trail was relatively short. The decision to punish one self in the land of the caterpillar is a courageous and understandable one. Having stared death square in the eyes and defeated its glare ‘now’ is as good a time to hike as ever before. Outrageous solitude, absolute natural splendour and the physical test of all tests - the answer to a life almost lost. If I had my last day on earth please let me climb Razorback Ridge, watch the stars from Brinkley Bluff and soar through the Heavitree Valley.  

The self-deprecating humour and sparkling personality, drawing every hiker in. It was truly an honour to walk alongside, bask in the positive vibes and talk the kilometres away with this man.

We strolled into Mulga Camp ridiculously early. Roz and John had all ready set up and the afternoon just went as I had hoped. Lunch at the campsite, how unusual. A chance to rest our tender bits,  lots of laughter with great conversations all around.




Roz in a good mood



John enjoying himself

Believe it or not, a bon-fire spontaneously combusted in the evening. Only during emergencies are fires allowed on the Larapinta track. Ormiston Gorge, Ellery Creek and Standley Chasm being the exception. After an hour of deliberating the degree of criminality of the illicit flames we took the law into our own hands and extinguished the prohibited fire.


The jury was unanimous, a great day on the track.



Grey Bits

 
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The offending fire is clearly being arrested