Overland Track

Setting out on the track
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Completed the Overland Track, known as Australia's best bush walk.  Walked approximately 98 kilometers (60 miles), over 6 days, through amazing wilderness, carrying an 18 kilogram (40 pound) pack.  Hard to describe, but I felt I had achieved something when I finished.

High/low lights included:

Scaling Barn Bluff, despite taking the wrong path.  (It was steep and dangerous, and unlike the nine year old girl in my party, I was quite scared.)

Successfully pitching a tent in root-ridden terrain, and flicking off multiple leeches on my hands and arms before they got to my blood. ALMOST getting to the top of Mt Ossa (Tasmania's highest peak), before having to turn back due to cloud cover.

Cradle Mountain
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Making record time while getting absolutely drenched, walking solo to Pelion Hut.  The gear in my double lined pack stayed dry.  The camera in my unlined pants got rurnt'.

Taking a dip in the chilly "pools" at Kia Ora Hut.

Chuckling over a Dutch couple that wore jeans, ate food from cans, and carried some sort of axe/hammer that was tied loosely to the back of their packs.  (Even a complete novice like me knows that doing these things is dumb, impractical and dangerous.) Enjoying "real" food at the end of the trek -- hamburger with the lot, chips, chocolate and beer -- and a shower.