Last week my phone buzzed with a message from Nepal. It was Prashant, one of our porters, sending me a photo of his newborn daughter Diyaa, his third child. Prashant calls me Mum. So when that photo came through, it felt like getting a picture of your own grandchild.

This is what people don't tell you about trekking in Nepal. Yes, there's the altitude and the training and the gear lists. All of that matters. But underneath all of it is something that will surprise you if you're not expecting it. The people. Not just the people you trek with. The people who make the trek possible.

The Larapinta Trail is an incredible adventure and one that I thoroughly enjoyed and recommend!

But it’s also rugged, remote and fire prone, especially in the hotter months from October through to March.

So as to take advantage of the cooler day time temperatures, we hiked the Larapinta Trail during June which is wintertime in Australia.

Fortunately we had no exposure to active bushfires though the threat of them in this area is not to be underestimated.

There were many days on trail when we navigated through areas that had previously been burnt out and the thought of watching a fast approaching, out of control bushfire does not bear thinking about.