16.7km +393m -419m
Another cold morning, though not as bad as the one before. I was packed up and twiddling my thumbs while I waited for Rod to get his shit together.
The first few kilometres were unremarkable, though the sky was clear and blue and the temperature quickly climbed to a very pleasant mildness. Open plains and rolling hills and the occasional copse of snow gums.
It’s a long walk down to the Murrumbidgee, with great views of the valley. Last year we tried twice to cross it and were foiled, choosing to walk an extra eight kilometres rather than risk drowning.
First you have to cross Tantangara creek.
This time we found the Murrumbidgee’s level more manageable, though this was the first crossing where my waders failed, letting a small amount of water into each boot. I still stayed a lot drier than Rod.
We chat a lot about things we remember from last year, and things we don’t. Having finally conquered this crossing together feels like a victory, and means we get to walk a section of track we haven’t seen before.
Last year we were both being driven by an urge to prove ourselves; to overcome the huge effort required and the pain and discomfort and unexpected obstacles and be able to say we had done it. No such drive exists anymore. There’s nothing left to prove here. Which in a way is freeing.
We startle a mare, foal and stallion, and again see the behaviour where the mare runs off with the foal and the stallion stays to guard their retreat.
It’s a game of find and lose the path through the back woods south of Millers hut. Eventually we just picked a bearing and headed that direction.
I’m becoming quite fond of these rustic, ramshackle old huts. No two are ever the same, and they each have their charm.
The logbook says we missed somebody by a matter of hours at this relatively infrequently visited hut. The only people we saw all day were a couple of parks or snowy employees who drove past on a rough track without stopping.
Somewhere at home I have a list of all the huts in KNP with a handful of them crossed it. Millers hut is one more I can cross out, and Bill Jones hut tomorrow is another I haven’t been to before.
We were done walking for the day by about 1:30. I’m a mess of aches and pains, and sitting on hard surfaces wasn’t doing me any favours. I did my best to be sociable for as long as possible but with a few hours of daylight and an early dinner (tuna and cheesy rice) done, I retired to the blissful comfort of my hammock to nap and doze for twelve hours until it’s time to get up and start walking again.
