Three quarters of the way through the Larapinta Trail I walked one of the most spectacular sections crossing the Chewings Range, with epic vistas in all directions, before ending the day in civilisation at Standley Chasm.
The day started from Section 4/5 Junction where nearby were rather a lot of bones scattered by the track, and a few minutes later I saw a pair of dingoes, the two may be related.
From Stuart’s Pass, found by the famous Australian explorer, the track started a steep ascent up the hillside.
The destination was Brinkley Bluff Summit, marked by this impressive cairn, with epic views of the surrounding landscape. It’s a popular spot to camp, though was pretty cold and windswept when I was up there.
The views actually improved heading steadily downhill along the ridge line, with some stunning rock formations and hills around.
You wouldn’t want to fall on the quartzite rocks making up the Chewings Range but it was an interesting surface to walk across.
Coming down from the ridge and along a dry river bed it was a real shock to come across this road. A rapid return to civilisation as I walked a short way into Standley Chasm.
There I had my first shower in six days and first non-dehydrated food for nine days, a stew for lunch and lasagna for dinner tasted so good!
The kiosk had the most wonderful table tops courtesy of local artists. Standley Chasm is on aboriginal land, which I learnt more about spending the evening watching the totally engrossing TV series The First Australians.
I also went for a walk into Stanley Chasm itself, a quite wondrous place.
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