Hike Day 2 - Tharwa to Caloola Farm

This was an easier day. 19km along, first, road and then farm track. The only hazard on the first stretch (the Naas Road!) was the pick up trucks hurtling towards us at full speed.

We made good time and had our picnic lunch by a bridge. This would have been very picturesque, but as soon as we sat down it started to rain. Also, the much-anticipated flask of tea from our fearless leader failed to materialise.

In the afternoon (legs beginning to hurt now) we plodded along a farm road. The scenery was beautiful – an Australian pastoral scene, with the red dirt road (made redder by rain), lush grass and lots of cows.

Unfortunately, lots of rain too, though some sun in between to help us dry. My quick-drying trousers proved to be truly quick-drying. James (of James and Jo the Super Support Crew) turned up in his car with takeaway containers of tea. He was EXTREMELY popular as a result.

We reached the farm (our destination) mid-afternoon and dried out by the fire for a while. Then we went down to the campground (basic, toilet was a very smelly long drop…) where our tents were pitched by a rondavel with a fireplace adjacent to it.

Dinner was a barbecue, then we had mugs of tea round the campfire.

Early to bed (to tent?) but not much sleep because of the loudest frogs in the history of the world. Ever.

Hike Day 1 - Canberra to Tharwa

Bob says: Go forth!

We started off early on the Saturday morning, to be at parliament just after 7. There were speeches to remind us why we were doing the hike (and Simon read from Paulo Coehlo’s The Pilgrimage) and then we each received an ndoro. (Inspired by the fact that pilgrims of old – and new, I suppose – get a token of their pilgrimage, we each got an ndoro, a metal copy of the shells that were once used as currency in Zimbabwe.) Each hiker received one and gave one to someone else.

And then we started walking ….

The first day we had to cover 32km (or 33km or 36km, depending on who was telling you) and most of it was through the suburbs of Canberra. Not very inspiring. We were following a cycle track out of the city and several times had to hotfoot it across freeways in the style of wild animals. I felt very much like an extra in Watership Down.

The only real landmark we passed was The Lodge, where the prime minister lives. Note absence of security – Australia is a very safe place!

Morning tea was meant to be at a greasy spoon, but to everyone’s disappointment it was shut. We had a quick snack outside, then trudged on.

Lunch was on the shores of Lake Tuggeranong, a little delayed by us going the wrong way round the lake (and getting caught in the rain).

The afternoon was more of the same. More rain too – though fewer houses and occasional more exciting glimpses of countryside.

The last stretch of the road seemed endless. Mile after mile (or kilometre after kilometre) on the side of the road, asphalt underfoot. Lots of cows (and calves), lots of sore feet (and calves).

We finally reached the Outward Bound where we were staying around 5. Hot showers followed by chicken curry.

I climbed into my bunk (it was the top bunk in a stack of three, right under the ceiling) and wondered how I would get out of it if my legs seized up in the night. Sleep was a long time coming as I started to realise just what I might be letting myself in for.

The Runners Are Dead

I brought my blue Converse runners which were, admittedly, on their last legs (feet?) on the hike. They began to smell pretty bad, so I left them outside my tent one night. The next morning they were soaked from the dew so I stuck them in a plastic bag. When I opened the plastic bag back in Melbourne, there was mould on the shoes. I took this as a clear sign that I needed to throw these runners out.

BUT I had signed up to do another (short) hike on World Food Day (Saturday) so I needed something else to wear. I can’t put my hiking boots back on until my toes have recovered, so I went in search of some new runners.

And in the Adidas outlet store on Smith St I found these:

They are light, comfortable and every time I look down at my feet in them I smile.

The runners are dead. Long live the runners.

Official Treats Day

And lo, these many long years, I have observed Official Hints Day, and saw that it was good. (Okay, sure, I’ve been a bit slack recently, but I did provide a hint yesterday, ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?) And so, in recognition of having walked 240km and broken my feet, I decided that today was going to be Official Treats Day. It’s a good day.

So I:

Slept in until 9am. (The point was not to set the alarm.)

Had breakfast reading Jilly Cooper. (Jump! – excellent, lots of horses, Rupert Campbell-Black, puns etc)

Got a taxi to Georgie’s to drop off some things she lent me for the hike.

Picked up four parcels. (Thank you parcel senders!)

Had pizza for lunch. (With artichokes, yummy.)

Had a bomba for dessert. (Róisín said she missed pictures of cake.)

Why yes, that is a family sized dollop of apricot jam.

Drank three coffees. (No coffee in the wilderness.)

Did some retail therapy and scored a very cute pair of Stella McCartney runners at the Adidas outlet shop. (One day soon I’m going to post about the amazing outlet shops in Melbourne.)

Sorted through many, many photos from the hike. (It’s a work in progress.)

And when I’ve posted this I’m going to have steak with broccolini from the market and a big glass of red wine.

I think I might hold the hike stories until next week, but since I promised, here are a couple of photos in the meantime.

Boxing kangaroos:

And me with my feet in a bag of ice:

South Australian Time

(Image via satravel.net.au)

I know some of you are hoping for photos of joeys and brumbies but I haven’t had time to sort through the pictures from the hike yet – but tomorrow, I PROMISE, I have set aside time to do so.

In the meantime, I have an important hint to travellers going to South Australia. SA and the Northern Territory are among those tricksy places in a special half hour time zone. So Adelaide is half an hour behind Melbourne.

This caught me completely on the hop on Monday (I don’t think they mentioned it on the plane, but I was a bit woozy so can’t be sure). I thought it was just taking me a long time to get to everywhere because my watch showed me half an hour late all day. Eventually someone took pity on me and explained.

Being half an hour out of step with most of the world puts Adelaide in a special group that includes Delhi, Tehran and Kabul. But from my quick trip, I don’t think it shares many other features with those three places.

PS for anyone keeping track, I've now been to four states (Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia) and one territory (ACT). Two states to go (Western Australia and Tasmania) and at least one territory (NT).

Oh, Possums -

I’m back! 240km, eight blisters and two completely discoloured toes later. The hike was amazing, and the sense of achievement when we scaled Mount Kosciuszko (covered in snow) was huge. It was tough (particularly the fourth day, when I walked 40km and thought that was me finished … but I kept going) and there were plenty of challenges (camping in a raging thunderstorm, anyone?). But there were also incredible compensations: seeing kangaroos (and joeys!), wild brumbies at dawn, wading through the Snowy River, tobogganing down Mount Kosi on our coattails.

I’m sorry not to get back to blogging sooner but I had to go to Adelaide yesterday and between that and the humongous pile of laundry, have had only limited time to sort through the photos and stories from last week.

I will be posting lots more about the hike but I just wanted to say, first, thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who has sponsored me so far. Anyone who hasn’t, it’s an excellent cause: the money is going (via the Hunger Project) to finance seed projects in Malawi.

From hike4hunger.org:

Money raised under the hike4hunger name in 2010 will be used by The Hunger Project to provide food security to existing epicentre’s in Malawi, a densely populated and rural country in Southeast Africa.


Your funds will go towards:

- Food Banks: ensuring access to staple foods year-round and providing stores for dry season, famine or droughts. Food banks also stabilize day-to-day food prices in local markets during times of crisis.

- Agricultural Innovations and New Technologies: providing improved seed and fertilizer as well as innovative and low cost technologies such as drip irrigation, the use of micro-dose fertilizer and new food storage technologies.

- Community Farms: enabling people to work together as a community and learning sustainable methods of composting, intercropping and restoration of soil fertility.


- Agricultural Diversification: improving nutrition, economic stability and soil health through diversification strategies such as off-season gardening, crop rotation, income source diversification and local organic fertilizations.


- Microfinance Programs: providing women farmers with easy access to credit allowing for family health care and education and an improved standard of living.

Doesn’t that sound worthwhile? Please help me to reach my fundraising target and sponsor me at www.everydayhero.com.au/eithne

The Night Before

So tomorrow I'm heading to Canberra and the start of the REALLY BIG, NO SERIOUSLY, ABSOLUTELY HUGE HIKE.

Here's what I'm bringing:

The hike will consist of 240km through Australian Capital Territory and New South Wales, winding up on Australia's highest mountain.

I think blogging is probably out while I'm on the road (though if it turns out I can access internet in the bush, you'll be the first to know!) but I will be back on the 10th of October with many photos and stories.

If you'd like to donate to hike4hunger, or know more about why I'm doing this, see

www.everydayhero.com.au/eithne

A huge thank you to everyone who has donated so far. I'll start the challenges (yes, there'll be photos!) when I get back.