Day 3 was the beginning of the end in a way, as we were starting the two day hike back to our starting point where our cars (civilisation!) were parked. And it was off to a good start with an early morning visit from Mr Wallaby!
We set off from Honeysuckle at around 10am, and hiked the 5km back to the spot where we camped on our first night, near Booroomba Rocks.
Although we were in this area just two days ago, we never climbed up to the Booroomba Rocks because of timing and our lack of water at the time, so we decided to check out the rocks on our way back.
The hike up to Booroomba was only 2.4kms, but it was easiest the steepest 2.4kms of our entire trip. Thankfully, we made the climb without our packs on, but even so, I was puffing like a steam train by the time I made it to the top of the rocks.
But as I was quickly learning, the tougher the climb, the more rewarding the views.
I made it, ma! I’m on top of the world!
After Booroomba Rocks, we had a lunch of mountain bread and Laughing Cow cheese, before continuing on our merry way through the gum tree forrest we hiked on Day 1, back to Bushfold Flat where we planned to camp for the night.
The track was well-trodden by local mountain runners, but not without a fair amount of obstacles …
Maybe we were getting fitter, maybe we were getting less lazy, but the way back never seemed to last quite as long as the way there. Before long, we found the trees clearing up and the path levelling off, we had made it to the foot of the hills.
Rather pleased with our progress, we found ourselves a large tree, and had some trail mix of champions: almonds, walnuts, sultanas and soy crisps. There may or may not have been gummy lollies involved too.
Gorgeous afternoon sunlight over the Flat.
(Fun fact of the day: before Namadgi became a national park, some early settlers had tried to make a life here. They gave up eventually because of the remotedness of this area pre-Canberra, but you could see pastoral relics everywhere - settlers’ huts, homesteads, and of course, old fences like this one.)
With the setting sun casting a golden haze over Bushfold Flat, we decided to continue on until we found some suitably flat ground to set up camp for the night.
You would think a place called Bushfold flat would be full of - ohidunno - FLAT GROUND, wouldn’t you?
Wouldn’t you?!
Apparently we did, but it was not so.
As soon as we started looking for flat terrain to camp on, there seemed to be inclines everywhere. It took us another hour and a half to pick a camping spot.
By the time we set up tents, we were so exhausted that we didn’t even notice that our camping spot appeared to be in the middle of the Animal Highway of Shit.
Our tents were literally surrounded by poop, on top of poop. Every step we took, every piece of ground we stood on, sat on, pegged our tent into, was covered in pellets of kangaroo shit.
“Well … at least it’s kangaroo shit. I mean … they only eat grass,” my fellow hikers reasoned.
That’s cold comfort. A vegetarian diet hardly makes shit any less shitty.
But we were too poopedourselves to move the tents again. Instead, we heated up some water over our tiny camp stove, made ourselves hot chocolate out of sachets, and watched the sunset over Bushfold Flat.
Somewhere far away, wild dogs were howling.
Funny thing about camping - it turns the things you never even eat in everyday life into rare luxuries. Because sitting there, watching yet another glorious sunset, and nursing my aching feet, I don’t think I’ve ever had a better hot chocolate in my life.
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