Trig Hill Circuit, Alice Springs Telegraph Station Historical Reserve - December 2015

It's not all hard bushwalking in Central Australia, a couple of minutes from the centre of Alice Springs is the Old Telegraph Station Precinct, where apart from visiting the historical telegraph station, you can also head into the surrounding country on a choice of short walks or, if you are up for something a bit more serious then you could maybe saddle up for a two week adventure on the Larapinta which has its eastern trail head in the grounds. We decided to head out just on sunset for a short stroll over Trig Hill before  returning to the ute in the dusk, a walk of less than three kilometres.

The trail head for the Trig Hill Walk.

The Trig Hill walk starts off at the Larapinta Trail Head so at least I knew where to find the start of the track, is it just me or do others find that frequently the hardest navigational challenge of a walk is finding the start of a trail? Once I'm on the right route I don't seem to have much trouble finding my way through even trackless scrub, but put me a car a tell me to head to the start of the trail and I'll need all the help I can get. Anyway like I said, from previous experience I knew where this walk started so we were soon heading off in the right direction towards the first point of interest on the walk, the old pioneer cemetery. 

This would of been a lonely spot back in the late 1800's.

The pioneer cemetery was used for a few years from 1886 to 1892, there are thought to be around five people buried in what would have been a very lonely and inhospitable spot back in the late 1800's. While the local Arrente had been living out here for thousands of years European settlement only really started in the late 1800's, the opening of the overland telegraph line in August 1872 helped to open the country up to some of the more intrepid Europeans. One of the interesting things you notice when checking out these old cemetery's is how young a lot of these old timer's were when they passed away, life for most in those days was hard and short. After a couple of minutes of quiet contemplation we moved off from the cemetery, heading for our next objective, Trig Hill.

Leaving the Larapinta.

The sun dipped below the horizon as we meandered our way to the base of Trig Hill, on the way leaving the Larapinta Trail to thread its way through the Western MacDonnell Ranges out to Mt Sonder. Trying not disturb a mob or Red Kangaroos who were grazing contentedly on some green grass at the base of the small hill we quickly climbed up to the trig on top. With the sun now down there was a limited window for taking photos, but what a window it was. The country was lit up in a beautiful glow that really worked wonders for my photos, definitely the bewitching hour!

With the sun below the horizon the country was lit by a beautiful light.

It was a little dark but if you squint you can see a mob of Red Kangaroos grazing among the rocks at the base of the hill.

The light on the small hills to the east was amazing.

While we watched the gently changing light show from the top of Trig Hill we were joined by a Rock Wallaby, pretty sweet I thought, then a little while later its little joey popped out of one of the rocky crevices to enjoy the sunset as well, awesome. With the low light it was a little hard to get a good photo but I tried anyway, so long as you don't zoom in too close the shots are OK. It was a little hard to know where to look now, we had the roos grazing on the flats below us, the wobblies perched on a rock beside us, Mt Gillen silhouetted by the last rays of the setting sun to the west and the low hills to the east bathed in a beautiful golden glow.

Looking west towards Mt Gillen, that's the access road to the reserve in the foreground.

A little Rock Wallaby popped out to check out the sunset.

And was then joined by her joey.

With the light all but gone we headed down, the white washed buildings of the old telegraph station guiding us back, trying to hold the camera still enough in the ever darkening gloom I tried get another couple of photos on what was turning into one of the better short walks that we'd ever done. Eventually it got too dark and we made our way back to the ute and headed five minutes back to our hotel in town, after what had been a very nice stroll.

The Overland Telegraph Station guided us back to the ute in the gathering gloom.

The Dirt.

We only walked 2.5 kilometres and climbed 35 metres on this stroll, that said I think this is a great little walk to do if you wan't an easy amble to stretch the legs a bit. Take a head torch and enjoy the sunset from the top of Trig Hill would be my recommendation, the tracks are all well constructed and sign posted so there shouldn't be any danger of getting lost. It's an easy walk that would be suitable for a young family or the elderly, although there are steps so no strollers or wheelchairs.The grounds of the reserve would also make a great place for a picnic with plenty of green grass and some BBQ's and toilets. There is probably enough information on line not to need maps or a guide book but if you want to use notes then John & Lyn Daly have written the walk up in Take A Walk In Northern Territory's National Parks.

These photos are a little deceptive, by now it was getting very dark.