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Woke up at 4am with a searing pain in my lower abdomen - today was going to be fun! On my way to the shower I heard a bird making a lovely sound that I originally thought was someone whistling. Had some granola and nurofen for breakfast and we set off towards Weano Gorge to commence our epic day of hiking (at 6am!). Hike was a class 4 - a sign mapping out the gorges and different classes showed us that a 4 meant the hiker should be of reasonable fitness and relatively experienced at bushwalking.
The hike took us just over an hour and it was absolutely breathtaking. Got to the end of the gorge and took some snaps and then hiked back up the cliff face. We then decided to get on with the Hancock Gorge hike which was a class 5 and only for experienced bushwalkers (we we soon realised anyone with relative fitness and good stability could actually do a class 5 and the signs were being a bit overly dramatic). This hike had rave reviews in the guide books and many people claimed it was the best hike in the national park. Keen to make up our own minds off we went, down an almost vertical path full of jagged, razor sharp, loose stones and rocks. We managed it to the bottom without incident and had to navigate our way through the gorge, wade through a thigh-deep pool with our shoes above our head, and embrace our inner superhero to complete the 'spider walk'. The latter was a narrow gap in the rocks where, in the wet season, a river would run probably quite violently underneath you as you traversed the wall. There was still a stream flowing so we climbed up the wall and with our left hand and foot on one side and right hand and foot on the other we shuffled very slowly and carefully to the end where the walls opened out onto a pool.
Kermit's Pool was such a sight to behold and sadly the end of the hike. Ropes with a sign saying STOP indicated that it was too perilous for visitors to continue, no matter what your climbing expertise. So breathing it all in, and of course taking some scenic photos, we ambled our way back to the top. We suddenly realised that in Weano Gorge was supposed to be Handrail Pool, believe it or not a pool that has a handrail to climb in and out of, and neither of us had noticed it. So off we went back down Weano Gorge until we got to the place we had stopped before. Realising that we had actually gone on the wrong side of the small cavern-like place instead of climbing down to continue along the pathway, we continued down the gorge and finally there was the pool and the handrail!
The walls of the cliff went up so high and this pool was almost completely round. It was so quiet and peaceful. We sat for a few minutes deciding what to do when we both thought what the heck, you can't climb all this way and not swim. So, luckily we had our swimmers on underneath, we took off our shorts and tees and me being the more courageous of the two got in the water first. It was ever so slightly cold, and difficult to get in as the stones surrounding the pools were covered in slime and very slippery. Not so delicately launching myself into the water and swimming across the pool I realised that it continued along a way. We swam up the narrower part and then had to navigate in our swimmers and bare feet a way up the wall so as not to get covered in dead insects. We managed it and got to the end which opened up onto another pool, but with quite a steep drop down. This was where the STOP sign was - obviously to deter people from jumping into the lower pool which had sharp rocks in the depths. I imagined that in the wet season when the river was flowing this would probably have been a stunning waterfall.
After our refreshing swim back up we went and Joffre Gorge was next, which paled in comparison to the ones we had already completed. Of course, it was still an unbelievably magnificent gorge and hike. There was a lady reading her book and having a picnic at the bottom of the gorge, and I was asked to take some photos for a girl posing at the edge. There was also meant to be a waterfall but as we were just coming out of the dry season it was less than impressive. Climbing back out of the gorge I had to stop and catch my breath as I was in so much pain by this point!
Next up was Know Gorge which I think was my favourite. It was just so different to the others. It was a VERY steep and long climb down and we walked through what I think was usually the river bed. There were lost of bushes and plants in the middle and we had to keep swapping sides so as to take the best route. We past a couple of pools on the way and then on the way back we decided to have another swim. It was even better than the last pool we'd been in! Couldn't quite believe what was happening, swimming in these wonderful places with the backdrop that surrounded us, it was very surreal.
After Knox we headed for Mt Bruce where the flies were relentless. Managed to spill salmon sauce all down my front and on my shorts which made them go absolutely maniacal. Anyway, climbing up the mountain we could hear thunder and the clouds were approaching fast. Halfway up it started to rain, something which I was more than happy to encounter as it was still really humid. Sadly it was only spitting where we were but the views we had of the rain across the plains was an amazing sight. I decided sensibly that it would not do to be on top of a mountain if the lightning decided to come our way, but my thoughts were not reflected. So I plodded down solo trying to avoid the kamikaze grasshoppers launching themselves across the path. Had to wait for about 20 minutes for Charlotte to finally bother coming back down the mountain, but as soon as she did we headed for the visitor centre.
We filled up our water bottles with the drinking tap water and sadly realised we were too late to use the shower there. We cleaned up a little bit and then went and sat in a car park once again waiting for Charlotte to decide whether the reception would be closed at the camp site. After about an hour or so we headed to Dale's Camp and chose a spot. There we were just lying in the back of the car with the boot open and I was writing in my journal when a dingo just casually strolls past. Another one off the bucket list - see a dingo in the wild!
Sadly at this camp site there were only bush toilets, so no running water = no showers, and from the amount of hiking and swimming we did today, it did not feel good going to bed that dirty!
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