Day 1 – WGR World Heritage Walk

Washpool loop – 8.5km

Coombadjha to Grassy Camp – 7.5km

I was up early, ready and raring to go. The plan for today was to walk the Washpool circuit track sans backpack, before heading towards the intended campsite for the night, 7.5km away.

The Washpool circuit track was great. Terrific scenery and a good introductory workout for the body. Drifting between lush, green rainforest and dry, brittle schlerophyll meant birdlife was abundant.

The very first creature I saw was a nimble, little grey fantail. Straight away I am struck by the little reminder of home. The whipbirds were strenuous in their cries, whilst catbirds yowled in their mimicry. Russett coloured rufous fantails flitted through the understory and Eastern yellow robins repeatedly drew the eyes with their splendid pop of colour.

A highlight of the walk was staring up at two enormous cedar trees, both supporting an abundant array of epiphytes and wildlife. With an estimated age of over 1000 years old, it was impossible to look at these twin giants without feeling both a sense of awe and sadness, so aged and alone in the bush.

Back at the carpark I grabbed my bag, did a last check of my supplies and got cracking.

Now this wasn’t without a certain level of trepidation. I knew that my bag wasn’t exactly in tip top shape after the last walk. I hadn’t spent a lot of time on preparation, taking basically just a throw everything in the bag approach. And, the family I met the previously night had told me the Grassy campsite was “awful”. No facilities, hot, with hundreds of flies. They had pushed their young kids on rather than staying there. So it was with some nerves that I set off.

It didn’t take long for the landscape to change from thick, wet, green to bare, dry, brown. I should have expected it. Most of Australia looks this way. Recovering landscape in one way or another. Although still pleasant, I had now moved from a single track to a sparse, new fire trail and the level of heat intensity rose dramatically.

My bag also wasn’t feeling quite…right. Painful on the shoulders in a way it normally isn’t. You all know I love Aarns. And this one has done over 2000km now, so I really can’t complain. But you change just one little thing and everything is connected to everything else and cascades into….chaos. As I’ve said before. Sometimes I wish they were simpler. I stopped a few times, made adjustments, and continued on.

I was starting to feel a little hot and bothered as I staggered my way into camp. I have done absolutely no training for this (and don’t I feel it!) So it is an absolutely incredible surprise to find that the Grassy Camp is wonderful! A choice of tree scrub or creek lined grassy sites, firepits, a table and best of all, a babbling creek bountiful in frog song. I loved it. Perhaps I’m just more used to this type of no-facilities site, but this had everything I was looking for.

I quickly set up camp beside the tea coloured creek before plunging into the icy waters. No one around, so you know what that means! Somebody had left a nice load of campfire nearby, so I warmed up by the fire and enjoyed a relaxing afternoon. A reminder that with the tough times comes great reward and experiences.