The Larapinta Trail, 2023



Day 2 (Saturday, 29 April 2023) – Section 8 of the Larapinta Trail (i.e., from the Serpentine Gorge Carpark to the Serpentine Chalet Dam): In May 2013, almost exactly ten years before Heather and I were hiking sections of the Larapinta Trail on this trip, I had been to Australia’s red centre together with my Canberra-based climbing-partner, Eric Hodge, in order to climb the highest mountains in South Australia and the Northern Territory. On that trip, our nemesis was spinifex. Its sharp, spiky leaves contain silica which makes them stiff and rigid, and their spear-like points can easily pierce several layers of clothing. For good reason, spinifex is sometimes also called porcupine grass. As a result, I wasn’t looking forward to the possibility of having any close encounters with spinifex while I was on the Larapinta Trail. I needn’t have worried. As this photograph shows, because the Larapinta Trail is a clearly-defined, well-used trail, it’s possible to walk utterly unscathed between the spinifex bushes. Whew, I confess I was really relieved.