Behind the Blogger

I grew up in an environment where it was very hard not to develop a deep love for the outdoors. Home, where I spent the first 22 years of my life, backed onto a 571 ha State Forest. There wasn't a week go by that didn't involve bushwalking or a BMX ride through parts of it. It also made a handy shortcut on the days we had to make our own way to school.

My parents were avid campers and most school holidays would involve getting all 4 kids into the back of an 80 series Land Cruiser and finding a new camping spot in the tranquillity of the bush or heading to an old favourite. Beach spots, amongst other families to play with, seemed to happen often as well... I think that was Mum and Dads way of getting us out of their hair so they could have a holiday too! If it wasn't camping we were heading away to the lake for water skiing or off touring to one of Australia's many natural attractions. There wasn't such a thing as a 'stay at home' holiday.

As I grew so did my love for the outdoors. By my teenage years I had already begun doing many multi-day hikes trough the National Parks and Forests of South-East Queensland. When I was old enough I got into 4wding to explore even more. With the love of water and exploring new locations it didn't take much of a jump for me to get keen on Scuba diving. It quickly became another passion vying for time.

I started recording trip journals for some of the adventures, mostly as a memory and a way or organise photos. I never really enjoyed writing as a kid, much preferred building a camp fire or getting dirty, though now I like being able to go back and relive what I've done. The mistakes that turn into lessons, the highlights of trips going perfect to plan and the excitement finding that new direction when things don't.

If you're looking for ideas on where to go on your next adventure, or simply want to share in one of mine, read on!

For what I generally take on my local treks you can check out my pack list on the LighterPack website. I'll generally include a separate list for any significant trips.

Diving - 2026 10 - Bali (Part 1: Pemuteran)

Day 1

 
Smooth drive to the airport, which I guess is expected at 415 in the morning... Arrived just before Coralie and Alan got in and we begun the check-in process. I had checked in online so just had to print bag tags and do the drop. Simple, right?

Off to a great start with the baggage conveyor belt having an issue and everyone being confused why it looked like their bags were almost on their way... Thankfully the staff were pretty on it and reset the system fairly quickly and they were off to, hopefully, Denpasar. Quick bite for breakfast and at least a few people I recognised from the baggage drop grabbed a beer. Always 5pm somewhere I guess. Though currently 530am here... and 330am at our destination. That's a Bali flight for you.

Flight boarded pretty quickly and we were on our way. I had a window seas and the man in the middle seat was travelling with family who were in the two seats in front. Several times through the flight he lent over to pass phone cables, water, snacks or talk through the gap. Encroaching into my space but he (and his kid in front) were quiet and polite so there are worse plane buddies out there.

Entertainment on jetstar flights is apparently an extra $9, so lucky I have plenty of games on my phone. Sounds like someone was happy to pay for the entertainment but not buy a pair of headphones. It lasted shy of 5min before an attendant asked her to put her show on mute...  

We finally landed and where off to Immigration which hasn't always been fun here. I had pre-done my Visa and Travel Declaration online so I could use the quick gates and we were through in just a few minutes, huge improvement on last trip 3 years ago. Couldn't believe the sheer amount of people that hadn't pre-filled the travel deceleration online and needed to wait for the very few terminals with pretty long lines building behind them. 

Though that victory was short lived as they came the wait for bags... Eventually we all got ours, were waived through customs and eventually met Nelly (had arrived on an earlier flight) outside. Then it was time to search for our transfer driver. Lots of signs, none for us, but eventually we made contact via whatsapp and had to walk well past the usual "Taxi Sir?" and a gauntlet of signs for probably a hundred other hotels and travellers to meet them. Eventually we were off. After a 6.5 hour flight we now got to enjoy 4.5 hours in Indonesian traffic. At least this time it's a different route. over the mountains through the guts of the island, rather than skirting along the coast.  

Heading to the far north-west corner of the island, so up and over the side of some stopping near the top for a great meal and strawberry smoothie after one of the longer climbs. Also nabbed a 50 cent 1.5lt bottle of water. Much better than the $9 they wanted for a litre at the Brisbane airport... Back down the other side of the mountains, towards the coast, it was another 1.5ish hours to our accom.

Nice little spot tucked a few hundred meters behind the main drag. Looked like a few nice options for a dinner out. We were shown to our rooms, beds a little close for just friends sharing a room... but at least a gap between them and mosquito netting making you feel like you had your own space. The others changed and hopped in the pool to try soak out the stiffness from being cramped in a seat the whole day, I soaked up a beer to try achieve the same. With little energy to go walking we just ate at the small in house restaurant before turning in for bed.

Day 2

Nice little set of hill behind us caught the morning sun and looked pretty nice. Included breakfast was ok. Egg station, pancakes, fruit, juice, toast etc. Downstairs for paperwork and gear setup before a short drive to the beach, which took slightly longer as the guide ducked into a store to buy a pack of cigarettes, and then into the boat for dives in Pemuteran bay.  

 

Dropped in on Napoleon Reef for our checkout dive. Pretty standard SE Asia reef. Colourful, gentle slope, hardly any current. Just as we dropped in I realised that when putting my camera case together last night... I forgot to put my camera in... Whoops. It's kinda handy to have that if you want to take pictures... 

Fairly quickly into the dive our guide, Kadek, found an octopus. Sadly it retreated (or more correctly, he chased it) into a deep hope before we could get a good look. As is often the case when I forget my camera, someone finds something really cool. Coralie spotted a tiny flat worm I've never seen before. Beige, with an orange trim and a black outline. Coralie has kindly provided a picture.

 

 

My "didn't have my camera" luck kept rolling in with a few more nudies, though mostly fairly common ones, throughout the dive. I found a second one of the same Flat Worm Coralie spotted (wouldn't have seen it if Coralie hadn't found the first and I knew what I was looking for.)

Up on the boat for the surface interval and almost immediately the skipper, Katut and Kadek sparked up a smoke. Unfortunate direction for the light breeze meant we had to deal with the smell too....

Second dive in on Deep Middle Reef. More of the same but also a few of the cyan/blue flat worms I've gotten pretty good at finding over the years. A few pretty small ones this time. More Nudies, some crayfish. Less overall than dive 1 and slightly worse vis too. Being 15m ish compared to at least 25 on the first dive.

Short trip back to Arjuna (accommodation) to rinse off the salt and have some lunch. Good food in the restaurant, especially getting a Chicken Schnitty and chips for about $6 Australian. No beer for lunch as we're in for a night dive tonight.

Lazy afternoon planned. Nelly and Coralie ducked over to the next village for some meds and returned pretty quickly. We got in a few rounds of cards before getting on our wet gear. We went back to the same spot we caught the boat from this morning, less than 5min drive, for the night dive at "Macro Jetty." Not much of a jetty to speak of, but plenty of night macro life living on the black volcanic sand. Including the weirdest looking decorator crab I have ever seen, looked like a jelly fish on it's head, and thousands of sea lice if you held your torch still, like when you are trying to take a picture of something small.... First time testing out the new macro lens... bit of a learning curve... First trick I learnt is that I need way less light (and a higher shutter speed) than I'm use too.  

Pretty hungry when back, but wanted to wash the salt off before dinner. Time difference here is only 2hrs behind Brisbane, but I'm still feeling the switch so it wasn't long after dinner before I was off to bed. 

Day 3

Quite a bit busier at breakfast this morning with 12 arriving off a flight yesterday afternoon. One lady from the bunch didn't seem to understand what a line was... Still plenty of food to go round, so no loss.

Off to Menjangan Island today. National Park and protected and the reef looks super colourful and healthy. Despite the great reef at the 'Post 2' site and huge fan corals we weren't spotting much small life. Plenty of fish ect, and for a fresh diver would be super impressive. However I was looking for the small colourful, Flat Worms, Nudibranch etc etc and we couldn't find much at all. Our guide also struggling to find anything too (though it's a bit hard to spot anything floating 2m off the reef... And without, you know, actually looking for stuff) 

 

Second dive was more of the same at the 'Anchor Wreck' site. Apparently a wreck, not much left, just past the 45m mark which we didn't see. Bit deep for a recreational tourist dive.... Great coral on a great wall again descending off past 50m. Nice slight current to slowly push you along, with little effort on our part. Really pleasant diving. Again though, not much in the way of small/exciting stuff I'm looking for. 

 

 

Lunch on Menjangan island, at least 2 dozen boats all tied off to each other at the jetty. We had to cross over 4 boats before we could step up onto the jetty itself. Bento boxes for lunch had a pretty good chicken curry. Plenty busy with people but the majority here looked like snorkelling/day tourers.

Back in for the third dive on 'Eel Gardens' though we didn't see any eels... Kadek did impress this dive with spotting a tiny Pygmy Seahorse though. Beige of colour, on a beige fan coral. He made a bee-line for this one particular coral when he spotted it. Something makes me think he already knew where to look. When I looked away to change camera settings it was very hard to re-find... and not like it had moved... so I still have to give him credit for spotting it. Even knowing where to look it was hard. Sadly it wasn't in the best position for photos... I did manage to get a clear shot of its tail though... Towards the end of the dive we came across a Pacific octopus, pretty large, hanging out on a rock. 

 

Back to shore, most day tour boats already long since back and tied off to the dock and the area now looked like a ghost town. Guess the day trippers had a long drive to get back to... anywhere... Quick shower before time for a beer before hitting the 'town' for dinner.

Lakawi restaurant looked good on Google reviews and had some nice items on the menu. The local large rack of pork ribs for about $11 looked fantastic... But they were out of pork ribs... So I pivoted to the Pork Satay that Nelly and Coralie had ordered... But they only had 2 left. So I pivoted once again to a burger named after a local dive site. It was a fantastic burger, that came with yummy sweet potato fries.

Day 4

We had to switch up plans today as where we thought we were going (Bio Reef, an artificial reef project) was commandeered for the CMAS World Diving Photography competition... A new guide as well, also Kadek (traditionally given to the second-born child in a family in Bali.) So back to Macro Jetty (where we were for a night dive.) I have to hope the competition photographers had more enthusiastic guides.

Off to the site we hit a delay for a funeral procession. Apparently they have 5 cremations today as its a special day in the Hindu calendar. Big Kadek (a distinction he himself used) told us that's why younger Kadek had the day off. 

Dusty fine silty/sand entry (not quite the course volcanic sand I'm use to over here) easier to see in the daylight. Big Kadek seemed to be more active in his searching and was spotting a few more things for us to see. A cool frog fish right near the start was happy to pose for pictures, Coralie then spotted a very camouflaged Spider Crab in some discarded fishing net. 

 

Vis wasn't fantastic, but enough to see the bus in its entirety. There was a Moray tucked inside that retreated back into the wheel arch when I approached. Couldn't find the sea horse from the night dive but quite a few normal pipe fish and loads of robust pipe fish swimming around. It was also nice to see a dense school of catfish mowing through the sand.

 

Another procession on its way out when we were on our way back to the dive shop but not long later and we had stripped our dive gear and placed it out in the sun to try get it a little drier. After lunch it was time to pack and jump in the van for the ~3.5 ish hour drive to Tulamben and meet the other half of our crew for part 2

Hiking - 2026 04 - AAWT Part 5 - Kiandra to Tharwa (Namadgi Visitor Centre)

Day 33.5

From the resupply it was a river crossing, about knee deep through very cold water, and then onto a gravel road-base road. Looks fairly fresh. Bright and reflective in the midday sun made for a bit of an annoying glare. At least they had culverts across the creeks I guess. 

8.3km later, with a rest in the middle, we arrived with sore feet to a junction. On the way we finally did see a few horses. Most far off across the meadows but a few close or on the road, startled and ran off as soon as they heard our trekking poles clacking along the gravel.  

Left turn onto a seldom used 4wd track meant softer ground and often grass. Much more kind on the feet. Quite a few places torn up by the wild horses. We also saw a fairly large herd, about 25 all up, running across a field. 

Collected some water about 2km before camp as apparently the small water source near the planned camp had been chewed up and made muddy by horses. Only a short distance, and little climb, but 4lt of water and a full food bag does make it seem longer...

Arrived to a single room Witez Hut, nice to have a table and chair. Still a bit of sun left, plenty of time to dry the tent and collect a little wood. The hut is made from vertical wooden slats, with decent gaps between each board (largest about 30mm) so I'm not sure it will keep the heat in too well...

Day 34

A bike packer arrived around 715 to catch us having breakfast. Left Four Mile Creek Hut (4km past where we were night before last. Started 5am apparently. Would have been cold! She brought with her an update about weather, apparently rain late tonight, continuing tomorrow...

Definitely a lot more clouds in the sky today. Blocking the sun, with the cold wind returning, it was a bit chilly on the go. After about a k we turned onto another Snowy Hydro road. Silver lining for the clouds it wasn't as glary. It only lasted just over 3k before we shot off on another 4wd track. 

We stopped for smoko at Tantangara Creek, a creek so nice we cross it thrice. (Well 4 times actually, it's where we collected water yesterday arvo too.) Rather than following the creek in a nice open meadow though, we went up and over a hill each time...

Soon after it was wet feet again crossing the Murrumbidgee river, which had nice camping nearby. Over the other side of the river there was no track, rare glimpses of horse tracks raised hopes, then quickly dashed them as they turned off in the wrong direction. At one point we found a track marker on a GI post, in the middle of a field, no track around. (Can you see it?) 

Open country for the most part though so aim for the saddle, or left of a knoll, and work your way there. Bit harder than rolling grounds as tussock grass is longer and much lumpier necessitating careful placement of ones feet. Lots of rabbit and wombat holes to fall down too. 

We have seen quite a few more animals today; Roos, Rabbits, horses, an Eagle and even a fox dashing away for cover. When we reached some old decommissioned power lines the track became a footpad again and before too long we found ourselves on another gravel road. 

Through Ghost Gum Flats camping area, looks like another nice 4wd accessible spot, saying hi to a couple with their horses using it as a base camp to do a few day rides out and back. Past the camping was a softer management trail and it wasn't much longer before we arrived at Hainsworth Hut. 

In a meadow and all close firewood looks picked clean so a bit more walking further afield to dry out the wet shoes and both pairs of socks tonight. Saw a cool little Micro-Bat as I was brushing my teeth at sunset. 

Day 35

Cut it a little close digging a cat hole in the morning, no loo at this hut for some reason. It's getting dark earlier so we're having dinner earlier, which is shifting all things forward it seems...

Quite a few heavy rain squalls passing over us at night but they thankfully eased off by morning. 

Leaving Hainsworth hut at a fairly decent time we had 12km of fairly monotonous management trail to follow before the Blue Waterhole Trail, which was another 3km of fairly monotonous management trail... All the while dealing with on and off showers. Mostly just spitting, some light rain. Thankfully all the heavier rain seemed to bit hitting hills not too far away... 

At Blue Waterholes it was getting heavier so we hid under the information sign roof to eat lunch. The occasional wind gust ensuring we weren't too comfortable or dry... In a break in the rain we rushed to setup our tents and stash gear before heading off to explore the area.

We started off down Clarke Gorge and down to Cooleman Falls. Spectacular. The 6 or so creek crossings didn't seem to matter as we were already wet from the rain... Probably made the falls better too. 

We returned to camp for a snack and then set off upstream to visit Cooleman and Murray Caves. We took our head torches to explore inside a little and followed Murray cave back to the point it once again became an underground river. Couldn't get any further... without dive gear... next time... 

On the way back we caught a brief glimpse of blue sky, quickly engulfed again by cloud... A couple setting up camp nearby saw our small hiking tents and warned us there was heavy rain forecast for tonight. Thankfully they also shared that it was meant to ease off again by morning. I don't mind the rain when I'm safe and dry in the tent :)

Showers on and off for the rest of the afternoon forced us into our tents for dinner. Small breaks were useful for brushing teeth etc but it was risky to leave the tent door open too long. Some heavier showers passed over while I was writing these notes and killing time until I could justify falling asleep. 6:05pm is a little too early for bedtime... 

Day 36

Definitely got much heavier rain overnight, though most rain sounds a little heavy with the tent roof about 0.5m from your face. A few times water started to building on the grass before it let off a little and it was able to drain away. Glad we picked a spot on top of a little knoll. Shoes still wet from yesterdays creek crossing, and probably a bit of splashing in the heavy rain. Cold. Wet. Shoes. Always fun to put on first thing... 

In the morning it was on and off drizzle, except when it was time to put down the tent when it became proper rain... So much for easing off. It switched between a light sprinkle, showers and rain for the rest of the morning. Still on management trails but the wet tyre tracks became slick mud. 

We pushed a bit further than normal to make our first break Oldfield's hut. Nice deck area and we could hide out of the wind inside. I hung my tent up on the deck, but it didn't seem to get any drier. The rain also seemed to almost stop when we were eating... Only to start once more as we recommenced our hike...

Big climb up to Murray Gap, a surprisingly swampy saddle. It also marked the crossing of our next state border, we made it to the ACT! Up here is the side trail to Mt Bimberi (highest in ACT) but it was covered in clouds, still raining on us, Andrew had done it before and I was getting tunnel vision for the finish line, so we gave it a miss. 

By 230 in the afternoon we were catching brief glimpses of blue sky and even managed to spot (very faint) shadows as the sun tried to break through the thinning grey clouds. By 3 we were actually seeing sunlight on the hills and quite a bit more blue.  

One last climb up to Cotter Gap for camp, we passed about a dozen students and 2 teachers heading down to Cotter flats (above photo) to camp. They only started today but some gear on the outside of their packs looked pretty damp. Hopefully clear skies for everyone tomorrow. They seemed in good spirits anyway.  

At the gap we had about 25min of pure sunlight bliss, not enough to dry shoes or socks but the tent got mostly dry at least. Looks like it will be cold wet shoes again tomorrow and this time I don't even have dry socks. 

Day 37

It was a comparatively warm night, kicking off the sleep socks half way through and unzipping the sleeping bag a little. We even had hardly any condensation on the tents which was unexpected as we setup on wet grass. Didn't make putting on the wet socks and shoes any easier though. 

Having wet shoes first thing in the morning does have its advantages though, when we hit a swampy section less than 100m from camp I didn't have to worry about keeping my feet dry... 

As we camped up in the saddle we had a bit of down hill to complete first. A little steep in parts but not too bad overall. Nice large granite boulders to keep the track interesting. Near the bottom we popped out onto a management road and followed it down to Orroral Valley.  

On the way we came across a dozer with a slasher on its back on the way out for some maintenance. The driver pulled over to the side to let us past and gave us a friendly hello as we did. 

Eventually we made it to the valley, large open grass plain, manicured by hundreds of eastern grey kangaroos. Grass looks better than most lawns! Soon it was time to cross the Orroral River, but luckily ACT parks has a bridge installed here. Just have to work out how to get through the 20 or so meters of flooded road to reach it... Lucky the shoes were still a bit damp I guess...

Past the river was probably the biggest climb since leaving Mt Kosciuszko. Pretty steep in parts, but a few gentler sections where you could catch your breath. Over the top and then a long way down to Honeysuckle camp for lunch.  

This was a planned camp spot. 19km from where we left this morning (which was a few k past where we had planned to be.) We had all but decided last night that assuming we made good time here, we would pish on to finish. A few different distances from multiple sources, but at least another 15km.  

We had the chance to dry shoes in the sun for a bit and my socks were pretty much dry when I put them back on. With the finish line in site (and maybe a few extra handfuls of skittles) we set off on a pretty fast pace from lunch. 

Soon the energy from lunch faded and we returned to a good 4.5kph pace, slightly slowed by steeper steps heading down past Booroomba rocks. Its a nice trail through here, reminds me very much of Girraween NP near home. So many extra side trips to come back and do one day. Past a mostly dry creek and dam.

Back onto another 4wd track for a short stint before pulling up for a rest before the very last climb of the AAWT. Feet were a little sore, having done about 28km by this point. Once in the up we encountered many rock stairs, but relative to other climbs this 10% grade 180m climb (with a mostly empty food bag) didn't feel too bad. 

It wasn't until we were past the Mt Tennent summit turn off, and started the massive descent, that I started feeling sore again. So many rock steps. Solid and uneven heights and lengths, relying on the trekking poles to help save the impact on the knees and feet. The stairs seemed to go on forever. 

We were at least rewarded with the occasional good view and a were able to take comfort in the fact we were almost done. By 4:07pm we had finally arrived at the end. The Namadgi Visitor Centre, just outside Tharwa. They close at 4pm... 

Andrews wife kindly came out to pick us up. Can't imagine we smelled fantastic for the car ride after a ~34km day. A nice burger from Grill'd for dinner to top off a good day. 

Day 38

Since we missed out yesterday arvo Andrew a I drove the ~25min back to the visitor centre to officially "finish" our AAWT hike. They give out a nice Certificate and, if they have one, a retired track marker that had been replaced. They only had one left and Andrew, the absolute champion, said I should have it.

After that it was just a quiet lunch and relaxing morning before he dropped me off at the airport and I enjoyed a beer before catching a flight home.

Overall the AAWT has been one of my more difficult thru hikes, logistically, terrain wise and (as far as an "established" trail) navigation. Nav wasn't hard, especially if you're someone with a bit of off trail experience, but there were certainly sections where I could understand why people struggle. Especially if they head into it expecting a similar groomed trail experience like the Bibbulmun, or the Pacific Crest Trail. It has some absolutely fantastic areas with spectacular views and truly scenic vistas... stitched together by long stretches on monotonous fire/management 4wd tracks.

Less social than other more popular hikes, I'm generally happy to hike alone but it was great to bump into the Andrews and enjoy some great company while on the trail. It's really nice when you sync with someone that has a similar hiking style/speed and can enjoy the experience together.

Wouldn't be in a rush to do it again, but I'm very glad I set off and completed the AAWT! 

Hiking - 2026 04 - AAWT Part 4 - Thredbo to Kiandra

 Day 28

Few late night patrons from the pub/restaurant next door making a bit of noise but I think I slept through most of it. Cereal for breakfast before we had to check out of the room. Not a huge day today so we were hanging in Thredbo for an early lunch. New shoes are feeling fantastic :)  

 
Stopped at the Foodworks for some last minute essentials (corn chips, salsa and soft drink for lunch, more M&Ms for the trail) and then to the bakery for a smoko sausage roll while others had coffee. Lunch was as above plus fresh fruit and a few slices of a $12 loaf of bread. (M&Ms were $9 a packet...) We were then dropped back at Dead Horse Gap to resume our hike.

After goodbyes we started. Up. Lots of stairs. Some made of wood sleepers, many of rock. Looks like lots of recent track maintenence and a few Bulka Bags of tools, rocks and mulch helicoptered in. More climbing, almost 500m up over 5km... 1.5 hours later and we reached the top of the Thredbo Chairlift. Geoff decided to hike this portion yesterday, with an empty food bag, and take the lift down (then back up after his rest day and resupply.) After our climb that felt like a very smart idea...  

Probably as a result of good weather and ANZAC day long weekend people were absolutely pouring down the path past us. Super busy. I had hoped with our late summit time we might have had it a bit quieter. When we reached the top there was still a long line for summit photos and people doing 5-10 poses and we didn't want to wait too long, so I took a picture of the (lid of) the actual monument, a Permenant Survey Mark. Which confused a few tourists. 

Heading back down from the top of Australia we turned off onto 'The Rolling Grounds' route and not long after, turned off again to Wilkinson's Creek campsite. We stopped short of the creek itself, it was already crowded and where all the cold air will drain. Not the most level spot but a good view over the valley. Even on the hill it got cold pretty quick though, we're still above 1900m. More people strolled in, at least 18 tents and many of them 2 person tents.

By the time we were reaching for our sleeping bags cold misty cloud was rolling over the mountains and already forming above the creek. Nice to watch... for a few seconds before hiding in the tent to get warm. It had already reached some of the tents near the creek. 

 
Day 29

Climb out of the creek and then back onto the Rolling Grounds. The first 6 or so kms are shared with a ~22km loop you can do from Charlotte's Pass, via Blue Lake and over Kosciuszko. Seems to be a popular route as we were seeing lots of people, quite a few apparently starting at sunrise.

As a result of the extra use NSW parks have made it a much more substantial trail. Some metal boardwalks, but many sections of large rocks placed. Pretty hard underfoot, really glad I got those new shoes. You could say the path was Rock solid. Other sections had retention fabric and large gravel, which was equally uncomfortable to walk on... 

Soon we reached the turn off to Blue Lake. As deep as a 10 story building apparently. We dropped packs and did the 2.5km return to the lookout. Guess it looks more blue when it's half frozen in winter...

  

From there the track was much less maintained... and much easier on the feet. Still crossed paths with 5 hikers out enjoying the long weekend, but no more day hikers. With less walkers it also meant a less defined foot track.

It was fine over a few peaks and saddles, I think it's still part of a 15 peaks loop (the highest peaks in AUS) that seems fairly popular. Eventually the foot track gave way to grass and there was little or no track to speak of. Navigation was pretty easy, don't head into the valley either side.

When we lost the track it was a quick reference on the Topo map if we needed to be on the right or left side of the next peak and then head off in that direction. Often we could see a track far off on the next saddle to aim for, sometimes we even found it before we got there... Far above the tree line we had sight lines for days and no scrub to get in our way, so it wasn't difficult.

Lots of mountain soaks, which many turned into creeks. Boggy grass and moss and hundreds, if not thousands, of bright green (apparently native) grasshoppers. As long as they're out here and not eating my plants, I guess it's ok...   

 

Eventually we reached the end of the range and it was time to head down. Soon trees were back and so was the scrub. Clear, worn, footpad to follow with knee high scrub encroaching from both sides. Short distance down and we reached Whites River Hut. Lost the sun behind a ridge about half way down. Still very light but already cold.

The hut was occupied by 3 hikers (parents and their adult son) and limited bed space so we set up our tents. They had the fire going inside though, so we joined them for dinner and a good chat in the now-warm hut. 

 
Day 30

Yet another frosty morning but this time we were in the valley so it took a bit extra for the sun to reach us. Not long after it did the frost melted away and with clear skies the tent actually got mostly dry before it was time to pack up and get going.

We started up the Schlink Pass Road, which seems to be the main maintenance road for the powerlines we were also following... For about 5.5km before turning off onto a more 4WD track. It's can't be all scenic views all the time I guess. Recently bulldozed, it was pretty dusty and rocky but still a bit softer than the gravel road. A few easy to hop over creek crossings and some climbs and steep descents later and we reached a bright red Valentine Hut. Little love hearts painted, or fashioned out of steel rods, adorned this cosy little hut. 

 
After enjoying the hut for lunch we set off down an apparently seldom used track to find Valentine Falls. It started ok and then quickly became scrubby. Easy to see the direction the track wanted to go though, but slow moving through it. At one point there were a heap of fallen, and cut, logs. So it was maintained at one point. Unfortunately, new trees had fallen in the exact same spot... However, the cut logs underneath did make for good steps to climb over the newly fallen. Pretty good falls. 

 

From there it was back to the hut and then continuing on the 4WD track. A few river crossings now, no way to keep dry shoes by rock hopping. So we ploughed on through. Quite refreshing, lucky its a warm day. The track seems to do a massive loop, over another (wet feet) river, up over a hill and then back down. On the way down you could look left and see the same falls we visited near lunch off in the distance.

Yet more creek crossings, at this point with still wet shoes not much effort was placed on a dry way across. Another 4 in total. The last only roughly 2km from camp. Strolling into camp with wet shoes and we bump into Jenny, who we met a few nights ago at Tin Mine hut. Still just doing some out and backs.

There was also 3 other mates out for a week, following a similar trip to our last few days, but the other direction. So it was a good info share and we got some tips about what's ahead. They had collected some wood already and got a fire going, and we were able to upgrade our shoes from absolutely soaking wet to merely damp.

As I went to screw on my stove top to boil some water for dinner I snapped off one of the pot stand legs (of 3) rendering it useless. It had a good run, 13 years old and completed the PCT (4,300km), Larapinta (220km) and Bibbulmun (1,005km) with me as well as loads of QLD Great Walks, the Overland Track in TAS and countless shorter hikes all over the place. Lucky hiking with Andrew he was happy to share hot water from his jetboil. I've cold soaked before... but it's not my preference. Especially with frosty mornings.

Day 31

More frost today, but we were on the western side of a shallow valley so sun hit the tents fairly early and it started melting off pretty quickly. The others all took off shortly before us as they stayed in the hut and didn't have tents to semi-dry. 

About 6km after we started we caught up to Jenny heading north (the other 3 went off south) and not long after bumped into a couple of SOBO doing the Kiandra-Kosi section. Soon followed by another group of 4 doing the same. Popular section.

It was 4WD trails all day, with a few wet creek crossings. We made good time to O'Keefes and pulled up a little early for lunch. The inside of the hut is lined with old newspapers from the late 1930's and early 1940's. Some interesting headlines. A few about WW2 as well.

More of the same 4WD trail and a few more creeks involving wet feet. We came across some Snowy Hydro employees working on one of their rain gauges. Installing new heating system as it has to survive ~4 months of snow with no visits. I did ponder for a second which way they were driving out... 

We made it to Mackay's Hut by about 3pm and propped our shoes up in the sun. Still damp by sunset we lit a small fire inside to finish drying them off.

Day 32

Early start for a planned longer day, 27.6km with a bit of up and down but no massive climbs. First creek near the hut had a nice foot bridge so we were able to keep our feet dry... for a while. About 8km in was another creek to walk through. Nice and refreshing.

Still on 4WD tracks all day and one short stint on a gravel road which is hard on the feet and we were glad to be rid of it. Passed the turn off to Happy Hut (which was a potential shorter camp) but we decided against it as it's 2km off trail. Then a backtrack, or bush bash up a ridge in the morning.

I was able to get service near Tabletop Mountain and let people know I was still alive. Good view back to Mt Jagungal, a side trip I'll have to come back to one day (we didn't fancy an extra 500m climb and a few extra kms yesterday.)

Despite passing through some brilliant and scenic open meadows the only animal life we've seen are insects, a few birds and the rare small skink scurry away. No feral  horses, sorry 'Brumbies', not even a kangaroo. Apparently emu are around here too, none of them either. For 2 days now, beginning to wonder if the larger animals know something we don't... 

We made it to Nine Mile Creek just before 3pm, not a bad effort. We had a look around for the (Chapman guidebook described) 'pleasant campsites' and couldn't see squat, but found suitable flat space in a saddle a few hundred meters beyond. Made for a good spot to enjoy the sunset, though quite cold as soon as it was gone. In our sleeping bags by 6pm.

Day 33

For the first time in about 2 weeks we woke without frost on our tents. Up in the saddle we had the sun rise behind a ridge by about 7:20am but even when I woke up around 6am at first light it was all water droplets. 

As we got moving there was some frost still hanging on under bigger logs or thick clumps of grass, but the day was quick to warm up. Cold wind did start to make a return, but in the sun it didn't feel too bad.

After smoko we started seeing very fresh evidence of horses, but they were still proving elusive. We made good time and reached Kiandra by about 10:30am. My original plan from here was to catch a ride into Adaminaby to resupply, but Justie (who ended his hike in Hotham) kindly offered to let me raid his drop. 

His trail diet is a bit... healthier than mine... But I was able to make do. As a forward thinker I was prepared and carried extra Skittles and M&Ms from Thredbo... His protein dessert bars should make a good breakfast. Lunch here at the boxes, then onto our last section!

Hiking - 2026 04 - AAWT Part 3 - Benambra-Corryong Rd to Thredbo

Day 21

Another misty/foggy morning packing up with a wet tent. Straight out of the gate was a 500m climb over a little under 3km. Who's idea was it to have such a big climb immediately after one of the more convenient resupply points? Pack is heavy with 6 nights of food... 

Luckily the bush was fairly open so using trekking poles helped with the elevation gain. There were a few loose rocky sections that took a bit more effort but over all the climb seemed to go smoothly. We even managed to climb out of the cloud and see our first blue skies in a while. 

There was yet more climbing to do, but it became more gentle and on a fairly recently maintained track. Sawdust piles still visible at some of the larger cut logs. We popped out onto yet another forestry management road, our track for the rest of the day, until we summited Johnnies Top.

A comms tower here, but either not Telstra, or we were too close, as we had little in the way of phone signal. A good full water tank and nice grass sites amongst the trees. As we had a bit of time in the arvo I also took to repairing a hole that developed in my shorts pockets. Definitely not as neat as mum could do, but should do the trick. 

Nick rolled in not long before dusk on his 4th traverse of the AAWT, which was amongst 9 different thru hikes through the area, the other 5 having varying routes following the same general direction southward over the great dividing range. 

Day 22

Sounded like the wind was howling last night, but wouldn't have known it in the tent. Dense regrowth after a fire provided much welcomed protection. Full blue skies, first time in what feels like a lifetime. The trail from the top was on an old management 4wd track that quickly morphed into a single foot track as it made its way down. 

Gentle at first for a good few k, it took a sharp nose dive near the end of the descent down to meet a nicely flowing Corner creek. The description for the next few km of track was 'swampy marsh' but we found it relatively dry. With a lot of low spots though, you can easily see how it would become swampy in wet weather.

Lots of criss-crossing brumby tracks leading off in various directions. More open bush and a bit of chose your own adventure, as long as you kept heading east and didn't cross the Creek to the north. Plenty of pink flagging tape made for very easy navigation in this 'non-defined' section of track. 

The valley then narrows and has you skirting up the side of a steep bank near the creek, loose soil and tough in sections, before opening up again. Less/no tape here but same general principle, head east and don't cross the creek. We definitely lost the track a few times but eventually found our way onto Beunba Flats. 

Large open valley popular with campers and hunters. One such group still camping in the valley stopped us for a chat and offered us a beer. It went down very well in the midday sun. We continued on about 1km to the other side of the flats for lunch.

Campfire left behind here still smoking and full of red coals. Luckily only 30m from the creek so we collected some water and put it out properly. Good, flat, open camping here, bet it's busy on long weekends.

From there it was another climb up through more open scrub. Sun hot on the back, but better than the chilling winds of days gone by. This particular hill seemed to go by quickly, must have been the bonus calories from the beer. Eventually popping out onto a gravel road, not just a track but a hard underfoot, maintained, gravel road. 

Shoes must be reaching end of life because I felt all the larger stones I stepped on. Luckily new shoes awaiting in Thredbo. We then turned onto a "Difficult - Dry Weather Only!" 4wd track, that I'm pretty sure you could drive Mums Honda Jazz down...

Further along we took a short side trip on Mt Murphy Rd to see the scant remains of a Wolfram (Tungsten ore) mine. Some concrete slabs and a few bits of rusty machinery seemingly all that's left. Then a short hour or so to Buckwong Hut.

The hut looks like little more than a Tin Shed from the outside. As it's locked we couldn't find out if it was any better inside. No more than 100m past the hut is a lush green wide open 4wd camping area. Plenty of fire pits around and could fit quite a few groups here, but we had it all to ourselves. Great spot to camp if you're in the area. 

Day 23

Woke up to frost on the tents, explains why I felt a bit cold last night... Guess we are near the creek. Sun shining on my tent by 720am did warm things up... A little... By the time we were ready to go I was back into T-shirt and shorts. 

Sign on the road saying "No trailers past this point" so maybe it does actually become difficult... We turn off up the creek so I won't find out. Following up the creek through really pleasant meadows. No track to follow except near choke points like around thickets of bush, or fallen trees. Any semblance quickly disappeared over the grass as hikers obviously spread out. Plenty of great camping along here too. 

Eventually it was time to climb again and a non defined route pointed us into thick scrub. A distinct lack of any track markers, or pink flagging tape, had us pushing through scrub. Plenty of Brumby tracks, some even heading vaguely the correct direction, all short lived. I followed the GPS track off and on, crossing over and back. Down a faint goat track, until it was leading the wrong direction, then cutting back through scrub.  

We stopped in an open gully for smoko, where there is 3 track markers within 40m. All pointing up the middle of the clear gully. Those were 3 of 5 markers (total) we saw this entire stretch... The 3rd not pointing to any discernible track leading out of the clearing... Back to bush bashing. 

Luckily when we got to the steeper climb there was a faint track that became more and more defined as we reached higher and the scrub opened back up. Finally reaching Misery Trail (a 4wd track) at the top. Despite previous feelings, I was glad to hit this particular road. 

A few km on and turned off left back onto a single track. Well cleared and maintained with markers every 20 or so meters. There were even 3 instances of a double track arrow, pointing the same direction, on the the same tree. One of which had a 3rd marker on its opposite side (for those hiking the other direction.) If I had the time/energy I'd rip half, or more, of these markers off and nail them to trees from this morning... The trail crew even had time to carve smiley faces into stumps...

More up and down along a creek and then I got to see my first Brumbies of the trip. 2 adults and one much smaller, but not a young fowl. We had been seeing lots of fresh evidence (hoof prints and massive dropping piles) on the track so it was good to finally see some, and not just smell what they left behind. 

It wasn't much longer until we reached Limestone creek. Much smaller camping area than Buckwong, but still nice grass. Still close to the creek though, so I imagine another cool night.

Day 24

Woke up to more frost and the water bottle I had outside the tent had ice starting to form. We were a bit behind a hill today so the sun took longer to reach us. Quite cold breakfast and pack. We also had to get across Limestone Creek, which I managed only barely dipping my left toes in the water.  

Stopped a few hundred meters in to get my gloves back out and put them on. Fingers were freezing gripping onto trekking poles. Following up the bank of Stoney Creek, a much more defined trail than yesterday but still a few short stints we lost the trail. Very overgrown again so more pushing through scrub.

Eventually we left the creek to climb a short steep spur and met Cowombat Flat track. A 4wd track that continues past a locked gate, where it becomes a management trail. There was a few food drops near the locked gate. One bright white bucket basically out in the open. Trusting other hikers and 4wders not to take it. Another I only saw hidden behind a log, covered in a camo net, as it happened to be the log I chose to sit on for lunch.

The well maintained dirt road took us all the way to camp for the night. Only semblance of anything interesting on the way was a nice 30 or so seconds as you pass Bulley Creek. Feet a bit sore after 15km on road. Nice spot to end the day though. Just past the mighty Murray River. Officially in NSW. 

At camp we met Geoff, who had been a day ahead in a few of the log books. Great for a chat. Geoff, Andrew and I took a short arvo stroll to check out Cowombat Flats. There is a few remains from a crashed RAAF Dakota plane, some feral horse traps (looks like they weren't currently set) and several sporadically placed odd looking fenced off areas, who's sign informed us were to keep Feral Horses out so they could monitor vegetation regrowth and compare to the unfenced adjacent areas. A few wispy clouds made for a nice sunset before bed. 

Day 25

Frost everywhere. All over Cowombat flats, all over my tent... but at least no ice forming in the water bottles. A bit slower to get going, waiting for the sun to warm things up. We did have a larger day planned though, so we were motivated to get moving. 

Another alternative day we were taking the Cowombat Trail, rather than the Pilot Trail the AAWT follows. This was because just 2km down the Cowombat trail was an offshoot trail to visit the source of the Murray River and the Black & Allan Cairn. Marking the straight line on the NSW/VIC border. 

After returning to our packs left at the turn off we continued up the trail until another side trip junction. The steep trip up The Pilot, known for 360° views stretching as far back as almost Hotham, and to the north the Snowy Mountains, including Mt Kosciuszko which we will reach in a few days. 

Geoff had taken the main AAWT route but also turned off (about 600m where we were to eventually rejoin) for The Pilot and happened to arrive just as we were finishing lunch and getting ready to head up. Numerous little rock cairns lead the way up to the peak... All slightly differently.... At one point the three of us were spread out across 40m, all with a rock cairn marking that we were on the 'correct' route up. It didn't really matter, as long as you were heading up...  

Brilliant views from the top as promised and another trig point. We spent a bit of time just enjoying the warmth of the sun and endless surrounding mountains before heading down... via yet another route. Keep heading down until you hit Cowombat Trail was our calculated nav route...  

From there more of the same 4wd management trail walking. Passing by a really nice creek and meadow, and pushing a few more km into Tin Mine huts. 2 huts (one much smaller than the other) and Jenny a friendly hiker out for a few days that already had the fire going. 

I quickly set up the tent (as it was still wet from the mornings frost) and then joined her at the fire. With the fire going I lasted until almost 745 before the call of a warm sleeping bag was too loud to ignore. 

Day 26

Set the tent in the sun yesterday arvo to dry off a bit as I packed it away wet. With the distraction of the fire I couldn't be bothered moving it under trees. So out in the open it got very frosty by morning...

Luckily a short 16km day so we were in no rush and let the sun do its thing and melt the frost away. Entirely fire trail and only an extra 10k to Dead Horse Gap, then 4k on the Thredbo River trail.. So I did consider making it to town a day early... By the time the tent dried it was already past 9am so those thoughts wavered.

No interesting side trips today and along the fire trail we were doing a little over 5kph. Few creeks that would look nice if brumby's hadn't destroyed their banks. Strolled into Cascade Hut around 1230. Nice little wooden hut and good grass camping nearby. 

Jenny was here, after a very early departure this morning, for lunch before she continued back out to Thredbo. Thoughts of pushing on resurfaced... but were put to rest after I took my shoes off to let the feet breath and realised I really didn't want to put them back on today. 

Inspired by the fire Jenny welcomed us with yesterday, and with plenty of afternoon to spare, I set out and collected a bit of wood. This would mark the 4th fire for the hike and only the second I have had a hand in making. A motor assisted Mountain Biker stopped by for a quick visit before speeding off. 

A while later Scott, a SOBO hiker, joined Andrew, Geoff and myself at camp. Few days since we've seen a SOBO so it was good to swap information about upcoming trail again. Warmer than last night (bit higher away from a meadow) and one of my latest nights on trail, 830 before bed. Must have been the good fire ;)

Day 27

Another short day planned, only 10km into Thredbo. Pretty long sustained climb up Bobs Ridge still though. Amazing views of the Rams Head range and of the Pilot behind us. Down the other side of Bobs Lookout it started to get busy with a few hikers heading out for a few days and lots of Mountain Bikes. 

Anzac day long weekend and apparently the last weekend that the chairlifts are used for downhill biking. Down into the valley along a nice river to round out the day.

When we reached the road we collected Andrews stashed resupply and his lovely family had driven down from Canberra to stay the night, so were able to pick us up and take us the 4km into Thredbo. 

Nat had booked a nice 3 bed apartment for us all to fit in, brought some amazing fresh fruit and even cooked us burgers! Spent the Arvo doing some chores, shower, sorting food, doing laundry etc and then relaxed before dinner. 

Nice night out and a great Whisky Flamed Wagu Beef to satisfy town food cravings. Still on hiker time so it was early to bed... Short hike out tomorrow, but a bit of climb involved... and a full load of food...