JOURNEY of RECOVERY
The red sandstone gorge is a sacred, and incredibly spiritual site, for the Western Arrernte people.
THE DAY I HEAD TO HOSPITAL for major knee surgery, I set myself a challenge: to hike the Larapinta Trail within six months of being stitched up.
Trekking is one of my greatest pleasures – reconnecting with nature, feeling the full force of the weather, experiencing monumental highs and (at times) monumental lows. There’s nothing quite like it. I’ve travelled the globe to get my next outdoor rush: lacing up my first hiking boots at Cradle Mountain when I was six; climbing, breathless, to Everest Base Camp many years later; exploring New Zealand’s Milford Sound multiple times. But for some reason the Larapinta, perhaps Australia’s most classic outback trail, had eluded me.
At an age now where I prefer my luggage to have wheels, the idea
