Almost three weeks after my accident I decided it was time to get back on the trail. I wasn't going to be able to do the Mackay Highlands Great Walk as planned but I wanted to experience what I could of Eungella National Park. I had abandoned the crutches and I thought I could manage a short walk in the moon boot using my hiking poles.
I started with a 2.8 kms out and back to Araluen Cascades in the Finch Hatton section of the park. The road to the trailhead was more rugged than the trail, with water over the road at several low creek crossings. I took the trail really slowly and just one walking couple questioned whether this constituted resting up. I could imagine them reporting back to my Mackay doctor, who had been annoyed with me for my brief stroll on the beach at Cape Hillsborough.
I saw a big goanna near the start and a smaller one later plus the obligatory bush turkey. It was lovely rainforest with palms and figs. The main problem I had was the large number of steps, mostly just one at a time but I found them tricky. Otherwise the path was a gentle grade and smooth.
The waterfall was a short flow over granite into a pool. By the time I got back to the car I was exhausted from the stress of watching every foot placement.
That afternoon at 5.30 I went to Broken River in the other section of the park near Eungella to see if there were any platypus. It was 500 metre return walk to the lookout, and I was very excited to see a succession of about six of them. They didn't surface for long and they are smaller than I thought.
The next day I went to another viewing area on the river and saw a few more platypus plus lots of turtles.
Then I did a 2.5 km loop walk by the river and this one felt more comfortable although the ground was rougher. Again it was palm and fig rainforest with hanging vines and all sizes and varieties of palms. There was a causeway across the river where I turned back and I sat for a while as it was a lovely spot with low rock platforms in the wide river and little rapids. It felt so good to be in the bush.
In the afternoon I drove to another place by the river nearer Crediton Hall and walked a 2.3 km loop. The terrain here was rougher with constant tree roots so I had to be very careful. The palm fronds shone in the sunlight. The river appeared green but it flowed nicely with occasional rapids and pools. This walk wasn't as close to the river as the earlier one but I could always hear it trickling along. This was also a part of the Great Walk so I have at least been able to do a few kilometres and quite likely the best ones.
Two days later I went for a 7 km walk at Sarina Beach, still in the moon boot but no hiking poles. Sarina Beach and adjoining Campwin Beach are bookended by headlands. I walked from my motel to the southern end of the beach and up to a lookout on the headland where I could see beaches along the coast; then I walked out to a boat ramp right beneath the headland with a rocky cove on one side and mangroves the other side. There was a sign warning of crocodiles.
From here I walked the full length of Sarina Beach and continued on Campwin Beach to Coral Point lookout on the northern headland. I could see a line of ships on the horizon queuing at Hay Point. It was low tide and the beach was huge and there were long exposed reefs near to shore. It was not a pleasant day, very windy and at the lookout it started raining lightly. I returned along the beach to the motel. My foot in the moon boot was tired and my back was sore but overall the walk was successful.
The next day I didn't do much walking but I did a lot of sitting at Cape Palmerston National Park on a long sweep of beach.
The following day I wanted to walk the length of Carmila Beach but it was very low tide and the water's edge was so distant I could barely see it. The sand was too soft for me to be able to walk comfortably with the moon boot. When I got to Clairview Beach the tide had come in considerably but the firm ground was too rough for me to walk and the soft sand was on a slope. The beach was alternately sandy and rocky and there were lots of islands just off shore. The water was a lovely aquamarine.
Two days on and at Emu Park I was ready to try walking without the moon boot, just in trainers, and with hiking poles. I was unsteady at first but it became easier. I started out with walking along a sealed path above the beach with great views of the Keppel group of islands. It was really windy but warm and sunny. Then I went onto the beach and walked the length of it to a headland on nice firm sand. The water was wild.
By this time I wanted to get out of the wind so I followed an inland bike path back to the town. I finished with a stop at the bakery. All up 7 kms.
I did a couple of beachside walks at Bargara, now four weeks post fall, wearing trainers and using hiking poles. For the first one I walked south along the paved path to Kelly's Beach and then walked the full length of the beach. Then I walked back. It was a lovely morning, fairly still and blue sky and the water was a deep aquamarine. The coastline along here is broken up by large patches of black boulders, at headlands and also in the middle of the beaches. On the return leg I stopped at the golf club for a cup of coffee and sat on the verandah overlooking the ocean. 5.5 kms today.
The next day was overcast and humid. I walked north along the paved path passing masses of pandanus and several small beaches separated by boulders to Neilsen Park. From there I found a grassy path that went into scrubby bush towards Mon Repos Beach, famous for its turtles, and then down onto the beach via a creek crossing I had to paddle. This was a longer beach, about 2 km. I walked in the water until the beach became too stony for comfort. Several patches of dune were roped off for the turtles but this isn't the time of year to see them. I managed a loop in the bush on the way back and was able to use stepping stones to return across the creek. I had done 9.5 kms when I got back to Bargara and my foot was really tired.
Now I felt I could return to the bush, this time in hiking boots. I did a 4 kms walk at Coalston Lakes National Park, walking through dry rainforest over a couple of hills to two completely dry crater lakes with unnecessary (at this time) bird hides; this really was walking for the sake of training and I wasn't surprised there was nobody around.
The same day I did a short walk at Auburn River National Park, descending into the gorge where there were huge red boulders in a puddle of water. The next day I walked along the rim of the gorge passing lots of bottle trees.
Then I did a 6 kms hike at Sundown National Park, walking high up above the Severn River to a water hole where I uncharacteristically went for a swim. There was a loop trail around the edge of the park through forest and grassland.
I continued to Giraween National Park for two hikes. Giraween is boulders on steroids; they are huge and everywhere, stacked up, balancing, randomly lying around. I did a 9 kms hike past several interesting boulder formations called the Castle, the Sphinx and the Turtle (which only looked like a turtle when I saw it from a big distance the next day). The following day I tried to climb the Pyramid but I had to give up before the top because my foot wouldn't co-operate on the sloping granite.
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