- Start date: 6 May 2014
- Direction Walked: South to North
General Comments
Good preparation is worth it. Walking in Autumn from the south was warmer than I expected. A wonderful experience most of the time.
Food/Supplies Comments
I cooked and dried my own meals for dinners with lots of vegetables.
Favourite Section
Dookanelly to Murray to Swamp Oak
Highlights
Seeing an echidna cross the track a few metres ahead of me; seeing and hearing the birds so close - grey fantails accompanying me nearly every day, scarlet robins and blue wrens and so many more; enjoying spectacular scenery; the serenity, stillness and quietness of nature; meeting some great people; the accomplishment
Personal Reactions
Autumn is a great time to walk. Before the winter rains is a great time to walk if you are equipped for the cold and potential rain. Walking alone gave me the opportunity to see plenty of wildlife as I was quiet and didn’t disturb them. As I sat quietly at the shelter in the mornings, little birds came very close from around 8 am so I stayed late to see different birds at different shelters and enjoy a late start sometimes.
Wildlife
I saw dozens of wallabies, kangaroos, hundreds of birds, an echidna, a yellow-footed antechinus and I wonder if a dunnart was making a nest behind the notice board at Long Point shelter. I wish walkers understood that many Australian mammals are small and nocturnal but they are not rats! They are rarely seen so it is a great privilege to see them and they are absolutely beautiful.
Your Best Equipment
My polo-fleece booties; my coffee filter and a food dehydrator
Your Worst Equipment
Cheap walking poles (one broke so I had to carry it) and an air mattress that leaked
Advice for Others
Take top quality walking poles and know how to use them; Cook nourishing meals using 500 g of top quality mince dry and up to 25 serves of vegetables then dry it and divide into 5 packets (so 100 g of mince and lots of vegetables for every dinner); take the lightest pack possible - the less weight you carry, the more enjoyable the walk will be but you do need to be warm and dry.