On the very first pages, Jan Bauer makes it clear that his focus in “The Salty River" is solitude, peace and quiet, the inner self. This is a self-discovery trip to help him cope with the loss of his mother and the end of a 16-year relationship. The salty river is a dry riverbed which Jan Bauer, starting in Alice Springs, follows for 25 days and nights – 450 km. Of which 233 along the Larapinta Trail.