Mount Zeil - NT

Mt Zeil is the tallest moun­tain west of the Great Divid­ing Range and the high­est peak in the North­ern Ter­ri­to­ry. It sits at an ele­va­tion of 1,531m above sea lev­el, and about 900m above the sur­round­ing plain. Mt Zeil is locat­ed in the West Mac­Don­nell Nation­al Park and all require­ments of the NT Nation­al Parks are to be fol­lowed if you choose to climb the moun­tain.

For many years, the only access for hikers wishing to climb to the summit was to follow an unmarked trail along the ridge for about 20km from Redbank Gorge. Then a few years ago, a Day Park­ing Area within the Mt Zeil Wilderness Park (which also offers camping) was established creating a shorter route but it was a very difficult hike and was still unmarked - about 80% of hikers did not succeed in reaching the summit on their first attempt.

David and Michelle (owners of ExplorOz made a successful summit hike from Mt Zeil Wilderness Park in 2022) and published the first publicly available online route file using a Garmin Fenix to record the route - the TCX route file was then uploaded to the ExplorOz Traveller app and published as a Track Log on the ExplorOz website for others to download/use in the Traveller app if so desired.

Unfortunately, as of March 2024 the day parking area and access via Mt Zeil Wilderness Park was closed.