I slept amazingly well listening to the frogs happily chirping all night long. I wasn’t sure what had happened when I eventually woke up, hot in my tent, the sun streaming in. 8.15am! Unbelievable! Something about being the only camper in a walk-in only site makes me feel extremely secure. That, and the frogs.
So it was a late start whilst I had my cuppa and took stock of affairs.
Positive – I’d had a good night’s sleep, It was only 10km to Boundary camp with a few extra side trips. One 10 Amp battery pack working. A pack of matches (7 years old and thrown in at last minute) which are working.
Negatives – Dodgy bag. Supplies a little bit dodgy. Not enough coffee for one (terrible rookie mistake) and the coffee I did have hadn’t seen sunlight for more than 7 years and was two years expired. Same with my sunscreen (it’s a long story). Probably not quite enough unhealthy snacks. Pillow not replaced or repaired following previous trip, and, surprise surprise, it’s still deflating at night. One dead 20 Amp battery pack (checked but now not working – and bloody heavy!). A torch that must have turned on by itself and drained the battery. One bar left. The ignition on my stove no longer working. No cigarette lighter.
All in all, not too bad.
Negative – it is already blisteringly hot.
Positive – it is time to get going.
The start of the day was a nice, little uphill. Just to get the pulses flowing. At the top, five minutes later, I couldn’t bear it any longer, so stopped and readjusted my bag again. To my utter relief, whatever I did seemed to work a charm, because when I shouldered it again, it felt somewhat “pleasant”.
I set off, admiring the dry Australian bush with its hazy colours, delicate scent and abundant birdlife. An interesting looking rock stack loomed in the distance and provided a marker by which to measure distance walked.
A small sign indicted the turnoff to Duffer Falls, which I imagined to be a gloriously blue haven; cold water splashing and the thrum of the cascade. I hastily abandoned my pack, having long ago gotten over the fear of somebody stealing my belongings. Armed with just my water and small towel, I skipped along the path towards watery salvation. Down, down, down and down some more. Mildly beginning to question why I couldn’t hear the roar.
I reached the bottom to find a family, seated on the rocks, one small child running their hands through a meagre looking puddle. My despair must have shown, for they were quick to inform me that if I walked upstream a little, I would come to a “trickle” with enough water to lie in. This sounded like better than nothing to me!
A short clamber, and there, as promised, was the pool looking majestic in the heat, despite it’s lack of grandeur. With the place to myself, I stripped and breathed a sigh of joy and anticipation as the rush of the icy cold water hit my sweltering body. Nothing like cooling off on a hot day, and reaping the reward for effort.
As I set off for the top I passed another small family who had just reached the bottom. I recognised the despair on their faces as they surveyed the parched scene. With a grin I let them know that if they just walked upstream a little they would come to a trickle, enough to swim! Smiles ensued.
Back at the top, with just 3km to camp, I powered along the mostly flat track, aiming to arrive relatively early and beat the afternoon heat. Off to the side of the track, a red beacon glinted at me, and I turned to stare. A beautiful Gilbralter Range Warratah, so graceful in its blatant beauty, a solo pop of colour in the pale greens and yellows of the bush.
On arrival at camp, I set up at my designated camp site and gulped down some water. Too hot to lie in the tent, I dawdled around the campsite visiting Lyrebird Falls and then braving the stairs to Boundary Pool. This was more like what I had envisaged earlier in the day with a cascading torrent, black water that you know even before feeling it is going to be cold, and logs and debris scattered along the shore. Another bracing swim!
A pleasant day was topped off with a spot of spotlighting in the evening, scaring Euros (and myself!) in the process! Tomorrow is the longest day of the walk!
