Larapinta Trail – Day 3

By Stephen M on July 16, 2014

Date: Wednesday 16/07/2014
Weather: Clear Blue Skies, 19C
Distance covered Approx. 13km
Start: Serpentine Chalet Dam (Section 9)
Finish: Waterfall Gorge

 

Section 9 of the Larapinta Trail is 26.8km long, so is typically tackled over 2 days. This simply means the necessity of carrying 2 days water supply with us as there is no guarantee of reliable water being available at Waterfall Gorge (Don’t let the name fool you!).

Some state that you should carry 6 litres of water per person for drinking and cooking for 2 days. This would add an additional 6kg of weight for each of us! Whilst not saying we disagree with this advice, we calculated that a total of 8 litres shared between the 2 of us should be sufficient factoring the cooler walking conditions (19C) and that fellow walkers walking in the opposite direction had said that there was water available in some of the water holes that could be used if sufficiently treated.

Well the extra 2-3kg was hugely noticeable on our backs and navigating up very rocky gorges which included some rock hopping proved challenging. Along our walk today, we were treated to vastly different landscapes, from very pretty gorges to walking in very sparse valleys with sheer mountain ranges on either side always with a variety of desert wild flowers to soften the rocky terrain. One could easily imagine spotting Dinosaurs roaming this section of the trail.

We never thought Waterfall Gorge was going to appear. The last km always seems to take much longer than expected as you anticipate your campsite being just around the next corner! Waterfall Gorge did in fact have some water in it, but not quite what you might imagine when hearing the name. There were limited campsites available in the gorge and the ones on the far side located on the sand of a dry riverbed were already spoken for, so we made for a few strategically placed “pads” in the red soil cleared for camping purposes, complete with rock camp chairs and tables (Classic numb-bum variety, the only type you get out here on the trail!

The day ended with a beautiful red sunset followed by the most brilliant stars you’d ever see!

The Sony RX100v1 Max’s out at a 30sec exposure!

 

Check out the photo gallery – Here!