For the traditional annual family weekend away this year we chose the Blue Mountains and a comfortable 3 bedroom cabin with a loft!! Talk about soft! But we were glad we did because we had a day of mist and drizzle sandwiched between two clear sunny half days, and it was very cosy in the cabin on the foggy miserable day!

The first afternoon we hiked from Echo Point down the Giant’s Staircase beneath the Three Sisters (895 steps) along to the Furber Steps and back up beside Katoomba Falls. Lovely to hike below the sheer sandstone cliffs and tumbling waterfalls and amongst the trees and ferns. A beautiful walk back along the cliff top to Echo Point, with great views to the Three Sisters again in late afternoon light.

Sunday was drizzly and very foggy, so we drove down to Hartley where it was clear and looked at the few remaining historic buildings there, then headed to a garden centre and bought two bird baths. After lunch, the garden-lovers among us visited “Everglades” which we last saw in about 1987 when it was just starting to be restored. An interesting house and beautifully tended garden, it must look stunning in spring! Other members of the party entertained themselves with various pursuits, some less energetic than others! We rounded off the day with a lovely roast dinner, a selection of Mike and Meg’s wonderful photos of Tassie and an entertaining game of Pictionary.

On Monday the weather was fine again, and we chose the walk from Govett’s Leap along the cliff top to Pulpit Rock, a spectacular walk with great views over the Grose Valley and back towards Blackheath. The bush was fresh and sparkling after the rain. Lunch at Govett’s Leap and then a long drive home (way too much traffic on the M7!)

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We joined brother Peter in volunteering to do some work for a couple of days at Dr Forbes’ Hut in the Snowy Mountains.  It was built in the late 1940s as a fishing retreat for a certain Dr Forbes (surprise!), and was almost completely destroyed in the bushfires of 2003. We camped near Keeble’s Hut on Swampy Plain River, at a lovely spot near a deep swimming hole (not a swamp in sight!) It was a short four-wheel drive into the work site. Gary and Geoff, the builders, were working on constructing the new roof and the first day we helped tidy the site and remove fallen timber. We then did some pointing (filling in between the river stones in the walls) and the two Petes started constructing a set of steps up from the river. The weather was glorious – quite hot, really! – and it was just so refreshing to swim in the river and cool down. Nights were cold but clear with a full moon. A lovely break from the everyday world. We look forward to visiting the completed hut soon.

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A group of eight family and friends – ourselves plus Ange, her boyfriend Rohan, and four friends around our age (Fred, Andrew, Sue and Tina for those that might know them) had signed up for this adventure. After almost twelve months of planning, reading, organising, worrying (some of us!), accumulating gear and training, we left on 7 November for Kathmandu and started the trek on 11 November after a couple of days sightseeing and making final arrangements in Kathmandu (where there was also the saga of the wrongly dated visa for one of our party to be sorted out!)

We had chosen a remote and challenging area to visit – the Manaslu Circuit to the west of Kathmandu. The trek involved 16 days of walking, starting at Arughat, 500 metres above sea level and ascending to the Larke La (pass) at 5130 metres before returning to around 800 metres again – with barely a piece of level ground anywhere along the way! It is without a doubt the most adventurous and unforgettable thing we have ever done. There are so few places to provision along the way that our crew consisted of 26 porters, five cooks and five sherpas.

Everyone completed the circuit without major difficulty or the intervention of helicopters and survived the cold and lack of oxygen at the high altitudes. Along the way we followed steep river gorges, saw terraced fields, scores of waterfalls, beautiful forests, 8 000 metre mountains, glaciers, monkeys, donkeys, yaks, more dung than you could think possible, primitive Buddhist villages, adorable (but snotty) children and barely twenty other Westerners (until we joined the very popular Annapurna Circuit, near the end).

Finally we had a few days R & R in Pokhara, which included several hot showers,a day of golf (memorable), some gift shopping, wining and dining and, for some, sunrise over the magnificent Annapurna Range, before returning by bus to Kathmandu.

We will always have a special admiration for the hardy, friendly, gentle Nepali people in our crew who dedicated themselves to ensuring our safety and enjoyment throughout the trek. All in all an unforgettable journey.

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5th October, 2009. Another rainy spring day. This time we gathered quite a party to climb Mt Tennent with us, including Peter, Fred, Glenda, Terryn, Mike and Meg. The weather fluctuated from t-shirt weather to gloves, wet weather jackets and beanies on top, where it rained as we had lunch. Brrr. Great company and an invigorating hike!

27th September, 2009. On a wintry spring morning Pete and I decided we had better keep our training up, so off we headed to Mt Tennent, and climbed the 4.5 km to the ridge where it meets the Australian Alps Walking Track. Surprisingly it was quite calm and protected while the wind was howling and sleet was falling elsewhere. Lots of beautiful spring wildflowers, and the creek was flowing – a rare treat!

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Our need to get fitter and accustomed to walking up steeper and steeper hills inspired us to schedule a weekend at Kanangra-Boyd National Park with Ange and Rohan, Fred and Andrew. An excellent choice. Most of us hadn’t been there before – fortunately Andrew had, as the area is not for the navigationally challenged! We camped at Boyd River crossing and had the luxury of the campground shelter more or less to ourselves, complete with roaring fire.

Saturday’s hike involved following the ridge walk along the plateau, down a rocky gulch, along underneath steep rock walls on sometimes very loose ground, up and down steep ridges to a restful lunch spot at Gabe’s Gap. The weather was unseasonally warm and the views were amazing, wilderness in all directions. We turned around and were well and truly tired by the time we got back. But a barbecue dinner, a drink or two and Tina’s magnificent carrot cake revived us.

On Sunday after packing up we walked to the base of Kalang Falls, scrambled a bit down towards the main falls, then hiked past the Dance Floor cave and on up to the Plateau walk, heading south this time, but with insufficient time to descend to the Kowmung River – some other time perhaps! Another warm day with a very strong wind, which made us avoid cliff edges. Lunch at the car park before we parted ways and headed home. A fun weekend. Thanks to Andrew for organising it and leading us along the right paths, and to all participants for their good cheer and good company!

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For our annual escape from the rigours of a Canberra winter we headed north to Queensland, checking out some places in NSW we hadn’t been to before  (Orange, Hill End, Mudgee, Coolah, Lightning Ridge, Angledool, Goodooga). After a rather cold start in NSW, and cold nights but lovely days in inland Queensland, the weather became warm and sunny, beautiful one day, perfect the next. Among the highlights of the trip were Carnarvon Gorge, where we hiked overnight to Big Bend and thus had much more time to appreciate the beauty of the gorge; Hinchinbrook Island, where we did a day trip by boat, including a 5.6km hike along beaches and through bush; lovely rainforest in various parks; the Central Queensland Gem Show at Monto (for Kath) and Australia Zoo (for Pete) which despite all the “Crikey” moments is beautifully presented and deservedly popular.

Our plans to do lots of hiking were somewhat shattered when while walking at Jourama Falls, Kath twisted her foot, which took two weeks plus to return to normal. So there was a bit of reading on beaches, looking at parks and gardens and the sights of Townsville (very nice, we decided!) and generally not straining oneself, which is what a holiday should be about anyway! We finished with visits to a friend, David, who generously showed us around his permaculture farm near the Bellinger River and the surrounding area, and cousin Shirlie and husband Ian, who once again regaled us with good food and fine wine.

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A trip to Melbourne (to watch a very disappointing football match, but also do some sightseeing), a convivial stroll through the Australian National Botanic Gardens on a brilliant sunny Canberra winter day, and lastly some frequent visitors at our bird feeder on the deck.

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On the first weekend in July we met for a serious training session in the Blue Mountains. Not so serious that we stayed in tents, mind you – it was way too cold for that! But the hikes were serious and gave everyone a chance to test some new piece of gear, be it a new pack (Osprey being the brand of choice, it seems!), new boots, thermals or neckwarmers. It was very cold and windy and we wisely headed to the sheltered side of the mountains, doing the Neates Glen / Grand Canyon walk twice (both mornings) and a hike down from Govett’s Leap towards Junction Rock and back on Saturday afternoon (seriously steep!). The weekend was made even more memorable by the wonderful food, sparkling conversation and supportive companionship.

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On various weekends we have walked up Mt Taylor (several times), Mt Rob Roy in the Tuggeranong Valley, along Molonglo gorge, up Mt Majura and up Mt Tennent again. There’ll have to be a bit of repetition over the next few months- there just aren’t enough steep hills about! The kids have accompanied us on some occasions – makes it more fun and less like training!

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2009 is going to be the year of the hike, as we try to get our legs and bodies in a condition to trek in Nepal for 3 weeks. So far we have done some lovely hikes – to Camelback Ridge in Tidbinbilla reserve, up (and down) Mt Taylor (many times already), to Mt Ainslie, up and down Mt Tennent, and to Gibraltar Rocks in Tidbinbilla, with most of our friends from the trekking party.

There’ll be many more of these outings, and lots more photos taken – it’s a good excuse to stop for a breather occasionally, I’ve found!

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