Canoeing in the Royal National Park

Only about 8km of hiking today we reassured our visitors...as we gathered at Kings cross station again, about nine thirty in the morning. Failing to elaborate that this distance is not like a stroll through the city, it's a very steep, rocky descent into a valley, with of course a very grueling ascent to return. Not to mention that the temperatures rose to about 38C (100F) that day, luckily Amy and John have been living in Texas for several years, so the heat didn't concern them too much, in fact they and Aaron all denied that it was that hot! Also (from having just walked up those steps yesterday) I can testify that the path from their hotel to the station probably warants being called a hike in itself!

Having said that, it was the most amazing day out! We saw some incredible wildlife and were less than an hours train ride from the largest city in Australia. Sometimes this country really does astound me!

Echidna

After only just entering the park we saw an echidna scuttle across the path ahead of us and hide under some nearby foliage. These animals are rare to see in the wild, it's the first Aaron and I  have seen (and we've spent a lot of time in the parks over the last year!) and one of my friends who's lived in Australia all her life has only see one once (and she grew up on the border of a park). http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/animals/echidnas.htm

Audley boat-shed

Once we hiked down into the valley we reached the Hacking river and Audley boat-shed. I think there is something rather charming about this boat-shed with it's vast array of water vehicles including canoes, row boats, kayaks and aqua bikes. Some of the stacks of boats looked somewhat rustic and well worn in.

We set out onto the tranquil water, it was a Monday and we were the only people on the river. As we glided gently along, we could hear the occasional splosh of our paddles and in-between the only sounds that surrounded us was a cacophony of noises from the birds and insects. If you take a look at the video clip Amy posted on facebook you'll get an idea of how it sounded. John's planning to put together a compilation of sounds from their trip to Australia, which I think is a great idea. I've only taken photos when I travel, but yet sounds really tell you a lot about a place too. There's something very distinctive about the bird sounds in Australia. When Aaron and I arrived back from our only trip abroad we opened the windows of our apartment and from the view I knew we were in a city, but from the sound of the birds I knew we were back in Australia.

Canoeing down Kangaroo creek

Back in October Aaron and I checked out this river in advance, another trip which turned into an epic adventure! That time we had at least been fresh (i.e. no hiking and cycling the two days before)...well actually only some indoor climbing the evening before! After hiking in from Loftus (~4km) we canoed as far as we could down both forks of the river (Kangaroo creek and the Hacking river) to make the most of our all day voucher. We then hiked the more rugged route out to Engadine station (~6km). There had been track work on the rail and the bus replacment schedule was not very reliable. After about an hour wait and several buses hurtling past one finally picked us up and took us on a very slow journey home. I can tell you I slept well that night too!

Thanks Amy for again supplying some great photos, these lizard photos in particular are amazing!

John on our lunch rock

 When Amy, John Aaron and I reached the end of Kangaroo creek we saw an enormous lizard slowly crawling across the rocks. I'm not sure if it's called a water monitor or water dragon or lizard. It was probably over a meter (about 4ft) long. We watched in awe as the hefty looking creature slowly walked away, it's movements reminiscent of an ancient dinosaur. We were probably the first people that day to have disturbed it's peace. We searched around for a shady place for our picnic and in quintessential Aaron style he picked the highest most difficult to reach platform! From our commanding view we saw another lizard creep causally by, just below us.

Aaron taking a refreshing dip

After canoeing back to the boat-shed we hiked up the incredibly steep path, back out of the valley. We then joined the disused railway and followed that back to Loftus station. It's amazing how quickly you can escape the city and be immersed in the wilderness.

By the time we got back to the city, about six in the evening, we were exhausted. Without the energy to get dressed up for dinner we bid goodbye to each other at the station. We had already shared many wonderful experiences together. I only hoped that after their early morning flight to Melbourne Amy and John would have some more relaxing activities planned! I can tell you that when I returned to work the following day it felt like a holiday!! However I'm really looking forward to the next hike we all go on together, be it in Texas, Australia or wherever (only I might not let Aaron plan the route).