The colour palate of trekking is often a spectacular, though familiar, combination of green, brown and blue. But, as recounted by Linda Murden who hiked the Larapinta Trail last year, when you step into the desert, “The colours just change so much. You’ve got your oranges, pinks, yellows – all of those different colours happening around you.”
A refreshing burst of colour like that has to be good for your photo collection, your nagging curiosity, and most importantly your heart. Hearing Linda talk about her journey, it became clear the trek was full of all sorts of experiences good for you in this... howdya call it... spiritual way.
“We got up at about two o’clock in the morning, had a quick little sandwich and a cup of tea, then headed out to the bottom of Redbank Gorge,” she says.
“Then it’s an eight kilometre walk up in the dark to get up the top to watch the sunrise, so you’re up there just before dawn and you just watch all of the colours change.”
“Then when you’re coming down. What was really special was that because the sun’s still coming out, it’s shining onto Mount Sonder and then you’re dropping back behind it and then you can see Mount Sonder’s shadow – it’s like this big triangular-pyramid shadow on the ground, where you’re going to be walking, in front of you.”
The sleeping arrangements didn’t sound too bad either: “We took our stretcher beds and swags out of the tents and slept under the stars, which was pretty awesome, because there’s usually not a cloud in sight. I needed to put my eye mask on, to switch my mind off, because I couldn’t stop looking at them... and sometimes we heard dingoes howling in the distance, because sound travels so far there.”
You can experience the Trail in a number of ways. Linda experienced it through the ‘Classic Larapinta Trek in Comfort’ offered by Australian Walking Holidays. You can also take it on independently or find the middle ground by taking a self-guided option with Australian Walking Holidays. But ultimately, however you get around it, it’s sure to cleanse your soul.