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QUEENSLAND |
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74 Kallista Rd |
email qldbwc@yahoo.com
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Bithongabel
24-25 July 2004
Six of us met up in an otherwise empty O'Reilly's carpark on a cool and cloudy July morning. This walk was billed as a beginner's through-walk, and for two of us, it really was our first attempt at carrying on our backs all of life's essentials for an overnight away.
After checking our gear and adjusting straps, and learning how to get a heavy pack from ground to back unassisted, we set off down the Border Track soon after nine am. Bithongabel was a relatively easy 6.5 km along the track, and we made good time despite the unfamiliarity of a heavy pack.
We set up camp amongst the Antarctic Beech trees, had a cuppa and lunch, and were ready for the next part of the adventure, which involved continuing along the Border Track for about another 3 km or so towards Mt Merino, before heading off track in search of Belson's Falls.
After pushing through quite a bit of scrubby undergrowth, we found the remains of an old track and followed it along the creek to the top of the falls. This could have been a lovely spot to linger a while, but we were conscious of the need to get back to camp well before nightfall. Staying on the old track, we managed to avoid most of the scrubby undergrowth, and re-joined the Border Track a little further on from where we had left it.
We were fairly tired that night so managed to sleep on and off for many hours, and were sufficiently re-juvenated in the morning to decide to take the longer, more scenic route back to O'Reilly's along the Tooloona Track.
As a beginner, my overall impressions were the great beauty of the landscape, particularly the mist around the Antarctic Beeches, the many and varied waterfalls we passed, good company, and the satisfaction of doing something I hadn't done before. There was some learning as well. For us novices who had borrowed camping gear, we agreed that it would be preferable to choose equipment that suited us better. The other first-timer found her tent to be too much like a coffin, while mine was larger and heavier than it needed to be.
Still, I'm looking forward to the next time. Helen McAllister
Six of us met up in an otherwise empty O'Reilly's carpark on a cool and cloudy July morning. This walk was billed as a beginner's through-walk, and for two of us, it really was our first attempt at carrying on our backs all of life's essentials for an overnight away.
After checking our gear and adjusting straps, and learning how to get a heavy pack from ground to back unassisted, we set off down the Border Track soon after nine am. Bithongabel was a relatively easy 6.5 km along the track, and we made good time despite the unfamiliarity of a heavy pack.
We set up camp amongst the Antarctic Beech trees, had a cuppa and lunch, and were ready for the next part of the adventure, which involved continuing along the Border Track for about another 3 km or so towards Mt Merino, before heading off track in search of Belson's Falls.
After pushing through quite a bit of scrubby undergrowth, we found the remains of an old track and followed it along the creek to the top of the falls. This could have been a lovely spot to linger a while, but we were conscious of the need to get back to camp well before nightfall. Staying on the old track, we managed to avoid most of the scrubby undergrowth, and re-joined the Border Track a little further on from where we had left it.
We were fairly tired that night so managed to sleep on and off for many hours, and were sufficiently re-juvenated in the morning to decide to take the longer, more scenic route back to O'Reilly's along the Tooloona Track.
As a beginner, my overall impressions were the great beauty of the landscape, particularly the mist around the Antarctic Beeches, the many and varied waterfalls we passed, good company, and the satisfaction of doing something I hadn't done before. There was some learning as well. For us novices who had borrowed camping gear, we agreed that it would be preferable to choose equipment that suited us better. The other first-timer found her tent to be too much like a coffin, while mine was larger and heavier than it needed to be.
Still, I'm looking forward to the next time. Helen McAllister
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