Falls, cuts, bruises, dehydration, ...

.... headaches, vomiting, oedema, aches, pains, and exhaustion...and we had a truly wonderful day with the possible exception of Lola.

5 of us set out on the walk to Fitzroy, Lola stayed in the hostel because she had a knee sprain. We told her we would be back in 3 hours. Famous last words....

That would have been more or less true if we had only gone 4km to the 1st lake. But when we got there, we felt in good shape, so we decided to carry on to the next stage, another 4km one way. When we got there, Flo and Lennox went on to do the final steep and rugged 2km, and I walked back with Nora and Oscar.

There is no mobile phone signal on the walk, so Lola knew nothing of the changes. Worse, the forecast was wrong, and instead, if being cloudly, there was full sun. We had left her with some money for food or drink, but she stayed in her room and fasted, and continued to do so even as her room got hotter and hotter. By the time I got back with the little ones, Lola had been in there for 7.5 hours, poor thing. So I went out with her to get something to eat and drink. We even had an ice cream. So far, so good it seemed, but when we got back to the hostel, she had a terrible headache, and pills only provoked her to vomit.

On my way down, Oscar fell a few times, once badly, as did Nora, but they carried on despite the scrapes.

Meanwhile, Flo and Lennox discovered just how tough the last section was, especially having planned no food and far too little drink. Lennox was a bit at his limit when he came back, but quickly recovered with 2 empanadas and a sprite.

The oedema was me, nothing serious.

So why did we put ourselves in for all of this? Simple, it may be a bit tough , though if we had planned better it would have been less so, and the walk is truly one of the best in the world, no ifs, no buts. See the photos.

Take note: This is not one of Nora's favourites because " it looks too much like a picture" 😀

18 years ago, Flo and I had walked here alone. Now we were joined by 60 cars of walkers and those that came by other means. Times Change, clocks don't go back, but it's good more people can access this wonderful natural area.Read more