Day 17 – Hilltop Lookout Camp to Redbank Gorge (Section 11 Larapinta)

 

Dawn on Mt Sonder - the view from my tent on Hilltop Lookout

https://nt.gov.au/parks/find-a-park/tjoritja-west-macdonnell-national-park/larapinta-trail

https://nt.gov.au/_media/docs/parks/bushwalking-and-hiking/larapinta-trail/larapinta-trail-section-11-information-sheet-and-map.pdf

https://northernterritory.com/alice-springs-and-surrounds/see-and-do/mt-sonder-rutjupma

We were awake at 6:30am to watch the beautiful colours of sunrise spread across the surrounding country. The way the colour of Mt Sonder (and the surrounding area) changes as the day dawns is magical. Again, absolutely worth the effort and extra weight of water for a dry camp.

Last night was very still, with just the dawn breeze. This was definitively our nicest weather conditions while high camping on this trip.  Due to the lack of wind it was a warmer night.  We headed off about 8:15am, to begin the rocky and technical descent.  Once down into the valley, it was a rocky path with intermittent smooth areas. The views of Mt Sonder were spectacular. In this valley we same different types of vegetation to what we had previously seen on the trail and a good amount of birdlife, including spinifex pigeons.

https://northernterritory.com/alice-springs-and-surrounds/see-and-do/rocky-bar-gap

We arrived at Rocky Bar Gap campground about 10:45am. We took an extended break to eat, and purify water before continuing to Redbank Gorge.  Approximately an hour after we left Rocky Bar Gap, and after Conical Hill, we saw a small helicopter circle and land quite close to the trail. Initially we were concerned someone may have been hurt but quickly saw that the two occupants were attending to something off the trail. (Talking to other campers at Redbank Gorge in the evening, the rangers were replacing batteries in cameras that spray poison at feral cats). The generally flatish trail travelled through various types of woodland. There were areas of red and black rocks that looked like they had been burnt but hadn’t -these made particularly hot walking on a hot day. The last part of today’s trail was along the creek.

We arrived at Redbank Gorge Trailhead about 3pm. As we were going to be here three nights we set up our tent rather than camping in the shelter. We relaxed and cooled down. The creek around the campground had many zebra finches.

Statistics

Hike Distance                 16.19km

Hike Time                        5h 14m

Ascent                              182.3m

Descent                           499.7m