Temperature

With around 600 E2E hikers, about 50% going each direction, it is worth noting that there is a 25-30% DNC rate. Apart from injury and fatigue, the main reason is heat. BOM temperatures are measured at the Alice Springs Airport, and local hikers recommend adding 3-5 degrees to the maximum temperature and subtracting 3 degrees from the minimum temperature to have a more realistic idea of trail temperatures. So, if BOM is 2 – 24 degrees, then it is more likely on trail to be -1 to 28 degrees. This will vary depending on your location: gorges, riverbeds, ridgetops, or open plains areas. Additionally, temperatures can differ between night (colder in valleys, riverbeds, and exposed ridges) and day (warmer on north and western slopes).

The Trail Assist companies note a significant rise in pullouts once the day temperature rises towards 30 degrees.

Here are the minimum and maximum values for the past 5 years for May – August.

During my 2 weeks, I experienced clear skies (except for a drizzle on Day 1) and BOM temperature ranges from 1 to 24 degrees. I was sleeping in a -10 OnePlanet Bungle V2 sleeping bag with a silk sleeping sheet, and it was just enough to keep me comfortable at 5:00 am. While the above are averages for the months, there can be sizable variations. Most E2E hikers experience 1-2 days of rain.

Direction of Travel

Option 1. West to East. Most people travelling this direction say they chose it because it provided ultimate flexibility, as they had no specific day/time for pickup in Alice Springs.

Option 2. East to West. Starting in Alice Springs, this direction entails organising a pickup at Redbank Gorge. (e.g., trail support company). You could wing it and attempt a hitch back to Alice, but that would be relying on the vagaries of other travellers.

A benefit of E2W is that the sun is essentially at your back (but watch out for sunburn behind the knees) while hiking, and I also had an enjoyable tailwind for most of the duration. It seemed I was either following the sun during the day or the moon at night as they set in the western sky. For me, travelling E2W also meant every step I took was one step closer to my home in WA!

Booking Trail Campsites & Walking Pass

Process

• Start here and create a Northern Territory (NT) account
• Select Park Pass. An NT Park Pass is required to access NT national parks if not an NT resident (2-week access option = $30 adult). More background information can be found here
• Select Book a Walking Trail.
• Select the Larapinta Trail. It pays to have determined your day-to-day itinerary before starting the booking process (see the picture of camps and facilities below to help)
• Select your start date and the number of nights you plan on staying on the trail. This is important because it provides you with a table of campsites and dates to select. Any change to the number of nights and it all resets. Select the number of people in your group.
• This will open up a table with your travel dates across the top and campsites available on the left. You can see the campsites and how many places are currently available.
• You can view the facilities available at each campsite (ie toilets, charging) if you want to refine your selection by selecting the “i” icon.
• Each night is $10
• Although not mentioned until your Checkout page is reached, a Multi-day Walking Fee of $25 per day, capped at 5 nights ($125), is charged as part of the campsite booking process. Reasons for this fee see here.

Resources

1. 14-day self-guided trek itinerary
2. 9-Day self-guided trek itinerary
3. Alice Springs Visitor Centre
4. Compact guides to use on your hike;
   • Central Australian Flora, Forbs and Shrubs
   • Birds of Central Australia and
   • Central Australian Flora; Trees, Large Shrubs, Grasses, and Sedges

Food

Here are my fundamental meal components. I will be providing some videos related to food preparation, as this was both a cost-saving exercise and allowed me to create my own meals using food from the farm.

Breakfast: cereal + coconut powder + coconut chips + rolled oats + dried  fruit/seed/nut mix

Lunch: wraps tuna/salmon sachets, Nutella, apples, oranges

Dinners:

• Indian – red lentil curry + dried veges 30gms + 2 rounds of Mr. Chen’s thin egg noodles
• Asian – dried veges 30gms + miso + pine nuts + 2 rounds of Mr. Chen’s thin egg noodles
• Italian – mince + tomato paste + dried veges + parmesan + 2 rounds of Mr. Chen’s thin egg noodles

Snacks: a mixture of dark chocolate + lollies + nuts, and dried fruit

My Food Drop Points

• Standley Chasm
• Ellery South
• Ormiston Gorge

Go all out on what you put in your drop boxes. Think BBQ nachos cooked on foil with layers of corn chips, salsa, cheese and avocado, grilled donar kebabs (wraps with hard cheese, salami) and fresh salad, rice pudding with mangos and passionfruit syrup, fizzy drinks or alcohol, fruit cake with custard NOT more dehydrated meals!

Food Drop Options on Trail

One of the great features of the Larapinta Trail is having regular access points from the main road. This means you can drop off food and will only need to cary food for 2-4 days (depending on your speed of travel).

1. Paid Trek Support Options

This essentially includes pickup/dropoff at Redbank Gorge carpark, as well as the placement of your three food boxes at one of four designated drop-off locations. They will also allow you to put rubbish and other unnecessary items in your box. If you want to pick up your gear after finishing (e.g., a flat battery bank, clothes), let them know.

• Larapinta Express (Anna & Alex)
• Larapinta Trail Trek Support (Zac)

2. DIY Option

You will need a car (hire – see below for options, borrow or hitch depending on time constraints) and to ‘purchase’ a drop box key ($60) from the Visitor Centre. This allows you to place your food drop boxes in the four official drop box sites (Standley Chasm, Serpentine Gorge, South Ellery and Ormiston Gorge). You will receive $50 back on the return of the key.

Once you have purchased your food supplies and sorted them into clearly labelled food drop boxes (cardboard boxes from Woolworths work), you can drop off the food boxes yourself. While driving the Namatjira Drive, consider visiting some of the accessible places along the way (e.g., Ochre Pits).

This option will save you money; however, the trail support companies are very accommodating if you need an unscheduled pickup (e.g., injury, fatigue, domestic emergency), or if you need something ‘extra’ added to your drop box that you may have forgotten (e.g., a charger cable).

Hiking Equipment

• Lone Dingo for last-minute hiking and related purchases. These can be done online before you arrive, ensuring they are available. Pricing is competitive, and the range is good.

Accommodation

Budget Options:

• YHA- Alice Springs. Local talk suggests that the YHA will be pulling out in 2026, but it is more likely that the venue will be purchased and continued to be used as backpackers-style accommodation. Can store your gear.
• Alice’s Secret Traveller’s Inn 6 Khalick Street, Alice Springs. Can store your gear if you book a return night.

Accommodation with Comfort Perks:

• A range of hotels to suit the price range.

Transport

Car Hire

Option 1. Standard hire through Hertz, Thrifty, etc. Generally, the daily rate is lower than Option 2, but you are also charged a per-kilometre rate. If you are planning to travel to Uluru or other distant areas, consider your total kilometres and the total cost, not just the daily hire rate.

Option 2. Hire a car through the Alice Springs Tourist Centre. They have a higher daily rate, but at the time of research, no per km rate, so if you are driving to Kings Canyon or Uluru, this might be your cheaper option.

Option 3. This is ideal if you are flexible and travelling at the end of the season, in August. Through the leading car rental agencies, they offer a $1/day rate, provided you end up in Adelaide. In this way, they save on the cost of trucking or driving cars back to the main point of origin, and you will save a lot of money.

Arrival by Air

The airport is located approximately 15 kilometres outside of town. There are multiple ways to get to town from there:

• Airport Shuttle:
  • Alice Silver Passenger Services ($20pp). Can be pre-booked online or by phone +61477245941
  • They may not operate on public holidays.

• Taxi: 
  • About $45 door-to-door.
  • Call “13 Cabs” under 132 227 or Alice Taxis under 131 008.

Arrival by Bus/Greyhound

The bus stop is in front of the Alice Springs Library. Check Google Maps to determine walking distance to your accommodation and consider a taxi if it’s too far or if you are transporting extra luggage. 

Arrival by Train

Depending on where you are staying, it may be easiest to take a taxi (see above) to reach your accommodation.

Depending on where you are staying, it may be easiest to take a taxi (see above) to reach your accommodation.