The Munda Biddi Trail is a 1,100-kilometre mountain bike ride from the coast at Albany to Mundaring, high in the hills outside of Perth. It’s off-road in the main, promising adventure and strange beauty. We set off from Melbourne one fine morning, excited about the road trip across the Nullarbor and the ride into unknown territory.
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On a warm hazy afternoon, we met our French friends, Jean and Marie-José, on the steps of the Lisbon Cathedral, procured our pilgrim credentials and set out to walk the Camino Portugues.
This is our third Camino. In 2005 we walked the 750 km Camino Françes from St Jean Pied du Port on the French side of the Pyrenees, across northern Spain to Santiago de Compostela. Three years later we walked the Via de la Plata, a 1,000 km journey from Seville in the south of Spain to Santiago de Compostela. It was on this walk that we met and fell in with Jean and Marie-José, our affection for each other and ‘the way’ triumphing over our limited grasp of French. We last saw them in 2010 when we spent a few idyllic days in their village of Saint-Thomè in the wild and beautiful Ardèche. Now we are together again, to walk the 650 km Camino Portugues from Lisbon, through Portugal and into northern Spain, hugging the coastline where we can and avoiding the more travelled inland route.
The Larapinta Trail takes the walker deep into the astonishingly beautiful red-heart of Australia. It weaves its way through spectacular gorges, climbs over rugged peaks, drops into green oases and follows the meanderings of ancient rivers.
The Tjoritja / West MacDonnell Ranges is one of the oldest places on earth and when you look out upon these red-purple rounded ranges you feel their ancient ancestry. The indigenous owners of this land, the Arrernte, have a history dating back at least 40,000 years, one of the longest continuing cultures on the planet. Many of the sites you pass on the trail are sacred to the Arrernte people, who graciously allow walkers access to their country.
The Larapinta Tail has good facilities, with water, toilets and picnic tables at many campsites, a number of large shelters and USB charging points at several camps. The waymarking is good. The trail is mostly easy to follow although at times you have to keep your eyes open.
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The Larapinta Trail takes the walker deep into the astonishingly beautiful red-heart of Australia.
Following the spine of the Tjoritja / West MacDonnell Ranges, the Larapinta Trail traverses the land of the Arrernte people. Their songlines tell of ancestral beings who travelled this country, bringing its flora, fauna, waterholes and landforms into life. The trail extends for 225 kilometres, from Mt Sonder to the desert town of Alice Springs. It weaves its way through spectacular gorges, climbs over rugged peaks, drops into green oases and follows the meanderings of ancient rivers.
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