It is great to be on the road! Donna sits well on the road and we listen to an audio book as we drive (Great Expectations). Our journey begins with a air of calm freedom.
We set-up camp for the first night. Camp is on top of a hill with views all around: hill and winding roads. Green trees and golden light.
Like our America road-trip we’ll be camping and hiking for most of the trip. In America we found it best to do hardest hike(s) first, followed by a good sleep and the shorter walks the next day. So we put on our boots (I can’t remember when I last wore them!) and we set off for the gorge.
It was a misty morning. Between lush bush I could see glimpses of the high rocky cliffs, made pale by the fog. As the sunlight warmed the rock walls to orange the mist lifted and the bush thinned out – high above us, now all around, we were walking into the embrace of the gorge.
Initially on sand, the walkway became rocky, we were met with river crossings and then the path was just to follow the river. The main track was to a place called Big Bend, but there are many short offshoots on the way.
At The Art Gallery we saw amazing rock art. Only a narrow ribbon of light could penetrate Boowinda Gorge and the effect was quite mesmerising.
In all we walked 25km, quite exhausted we collapsed for sleep at camp. It wasn’t meant to be…
Someone (not me) left some food in their pack and brought the pack into our tent. And so came some mice. Only two managed to chew through some mesh and get inside. And only one taste-tested Anna’s index finger – but that was enough! Eventually with everything removed from the tent except me and the mice I chased, flicked and kicked until our night friends had left. Our restful night didn’t eventuate.
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