By the end, leeches clung to most body parts, we’d shared a hut with rodents, and traversed many muddied steps.
It’s clear early on that we may have chosen the wrong trek. Our knees wobble just going from the minibus to the start of the track under the weight of our 10-kilogram packs. And a couple of hours later, as we haul ourselves over the final boulder to arrive at Marions Lookout, we barely notice the stunning vista below. With lungs burning we wonder, ‘Whose ridiculous idea was this anyway?’
It’s a difficult choice, but there’s a guide saying that goes something like, ‘With some walkers, if we didn’t turn them around, god might have’. But time – and daylight – is ticking on. As we set off after lunch, minus one group member and a guide, a helicopter lands on the rocky outcrop to collect an injured trekker. It’s a surreal reminder that from here on, the only way on or off the Overland is on foot or by chopper.
Inside, I lie down on a window seat, guzzling water and ibuprofen, while a search party is raised to find our other guide. She’s still on the track, having set out in the dark along the same route we’d covered. There’s willowy Skye in her early 50s, funny and warm, who’s with her dad David, a farmer with the love of a yarn and a poem. Then there’s Philip, an Irish-born Sydney executive who one night performs an unexpected rendition ofA basic kitchen hut along the Overland Track – sleeping accommodation is more salubrious.An experienced trekker, he never complains about being held up by our slow pace.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
In an industry fixated on youth, why are 90s supermodels still so influential?Now in their 50s, four of the original supermodels have recreated their famous 1990 Vogue cover before the release of a documentary. We look at why we’ll never see another golden era of modelling
Read more »
Australia at 40 million – grey-haired and in need of careThis week’s intergenerational report will show the population on track to reach the mark within 40 years, but we will be older and need an army of carers to look after us.
Read more »
Australia at 40 million – grey-haired and in need of careThis week’s intergenerational report will show the population on track to reach the mark within 40 years, but we will be older and need an army of carers to look after us.
Read more »
Australia at 40 million – grey-haired and in need of careThis week’s intergenerational report will show the population on track to reach the mark within 40 years, but we will be older and need an army of carers to look after us.
Read more »
Single mum: I swapped my corporate job for life on Centrelink‘I’m independent, I’m not a government leech. It was a huge hit to my ego to have to do this.’
Read more »