Onward
- Start date: 7 September 2018
- Age When Completed: 61
- Direction Walked: North to South
- Others in Group:
Solo Walker
General Comments
A huge credit to all the people and organisation working to keep this track operational, and improving. Nothing else is organised and refined like this in the rest of the country!
Food/Supplies Comments
Wish I had known that okay food for resupply would be available in all the towns, I wouldn’t have bothered with food drops. Great being able to buy proper meals, I lost very little weight!
Favourite Section
First section up to Mt Cooke. Loved the wildflowers, plants, rocks and occasional open sky!
Highlights
Watching a sea eagle fly past with a fish in its talons!
Breaking out of the damn forest to see open space and the sky again!
Shower at the Collie Tourist Info Centre…they even supplied a towel!
All the friendly/helpful people on the track and in the track towns!
Personal Reactions
Found the constant green or black tunnel and some road walking draining, but enjoyed the mental challenge of ploughing through it.
And it’s much wetter than I expected.
Wildlife
Didn’t see a lot, a few kangaroos, emus, various birds, 2 feral cats and 13 snakes…mostly tigers. In contrast to here in Victoria, all snakes were too shy to hang around for a photo!
Your Best Equipment
Locus Gear DCF mid tent. Quick to put up, very weather proof, quick drying and very light. Umbrella would come 2nd, only wore my rain coat twice (windy coastal section) rest was great just under a hiking umbrella. Everything I carried is pretty much dialed in, rain gloves the only non-emergency item I didn’t use.
Your Worst Equipment
Bloody new expensive orthopedic shoe inserts, never had so much pain walking. Glad I took my old off the shelf ones as well.
Advice for Others
Each section is not a hard walk, but putting it all together day after day is mentally harder than many thought it would be. Mostly, know your gear, do a few multi-day shake-down hikes, you don’t need a 20-25kg pack weight! I enjoyed doing it hard and fast…but wouldn’t recommended it for most, I think 42-45 days would be a good pace.