This is the 2nd time I'm traveling alone and also the furthest I've gone. Coming from a traditional family and a conservative society, it was hard for my friends and families to imagine that I'll be traveling to Sydney myself and furthermore camping in the wilderness for a few days. Without hesitation I booked a ticket through Scoot and was there a month later. The last time I was in Australia was more than a decade ago and couldn't remember much of the details except for the farm stay in Brisbane and theme parks in Gold Coast.
The journey back to Katoomba gave me time to reflect on this memorable adventure I had embarked alone on the 6 foot track. Few points I've learnt from this track:
First impression of Sydney is that everything seems bigger than in Singapore like the buses, the trains and even the food! Weather was perfect as it had just transit from to spring. Temperature was about 20 degrees odd. I stay at this trendy hostel for 2 nights just opposite Central station, it was the perfect location to stay in the city as it is the interchange for most of the city and suburban lines.
The third morning I was up early and got the first train to Katoomba which is the Blue mountains area. The temperature was significantly cooler there, people were also much warmer than in the city. I stocked up on butane gas and other supplies at the local outdoor store. The very friendly owner who offered to leave my bag at the shop while I head to the police station down the road to register, which I politely declined. Bad mistake. Apparently the police station rented out all their emergency beacons and the only ones left were at Echo point which is 20 minutes walk away. The view from Echo point was beautiful and it didn't take long to realize that this is the most scenic part of the town. The view from Echo point was stunning! Under the blanket of the mid afternoon sun, it highlighted the vast greenery across the canyon floors of the blue mountain range. Couldn't resist a few pre-hike snapshots from around the visitor area before grabbing the emergency beacon from the visitor centre. The staffs were also bewildered that I was doing it alone and they were particularly concerned that I couldn't make it back from the end point alone. The track which I intend to take is a 43 kilometers straight road which will start from Katoomba ending all the way to Jenolan caves and there was only 1 way back which is by the visitor bus which has only 1 trip back everyday at 3pm! Looking at my time, it was already late morning and neither have I had my lunch nor am I remotely near the start point. A harsh lesson learnt not to take things for granted for the 2nd half of my day.
The start point was quite a walk from Katoomba town and it was not a clear path as I had to walk along the expressway at times on the edge of traffic. Figured out later that there was a public bus to the start point. It was already 2pm when I reached the start point, the walk was relatively easy as it was down slope for most of the part, it was a steep and narrow path down the Nellies Glen canyon walls. There wasn't much to see until I came upon the private ranches, some of the paths intersect these private property along Megalong road and I could see cows and kangaroos roaming the pastures. With the afternoon sun setting shining rays across the meadows it was a sight to behold. A small pond by the fence shimmered glitters of light off its surface behind a backdrop of hay basked under the sun.
It was already 5pm when I reached the midpoint of my first day and I still another 7 kilometers to go. As I increased my pace, the sky got darker with every step. Putting on my headlight I could see ahead of me tiny eyes staring back at me from the illumination. Realizes the 4 pairs of eyes staring back were baby spiders and they were littered all over the ground ahead of me, I moved forward careful not to agitate any of them. My water had run dry and I was tired from moving the whole day. Finally reached the Cox River after an hour and by then it was pitch dark. Turning on my headlight, i see 8 eyes peeking back from their reflection. i suddenly realised there were dozens of them strewn all along the track. at the back of my mind I tried not to focus too much on the thought that Australia have the most poisonous spiders in the world! After much of the careful treading through the path, I came past this bridge called the "Bowtells swing bridge"
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| image from wildwalks.com |
Side story, the bridge was built and opened in 1992 by the Royal Australian Engineers. The bridge is named after a fellow soldier of the builders, Corporal Bob Bowtell, who suffocated and died in foul air whilst attempting to clear a tunnel of the VC during the Vietnam war [ref isbn=1865088234 page=37]. Bowtell grew up in Katoomba and is now buried in West Malaysia. After a short walk from the bridge I reached my first accommodation for my first night at the Six Foot Track Lodge. Was dismayed to know from the owner the previous day that I'll be the only person living here tonight as most of her guests come in only during the weekend. Probably it was the wilderness, darkness and loneliness but I was quite spooked by the eeriness of the night. I filled up my water, unpacked my stuffs and went straight to bed. It was 7.30pm, I slept till 8 the next day
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| huge room, double decker beds |
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| cabin in the woods |
The next morning I cooked up a breakfast too big to finish to compensate for yesterday's dinner. They had a stove but I chose to use my own as I didn't know how to operate, embarrassing. Moving towards Cox River campsite, from here the dirt road winds moderately steeply uphill for about 2.1km. The sun was as merciless as the slopes up and I had to take a 10 minutes wink by the slope to get back my energy.
The roads wind up to about a kilometer upslope through vast green pastures. The thing about the 6 foot trek is the freedom to walk through private ranches with the occasional cows grazing under the lazy afternoon sun. Certain parts of the trek however is spare and given that it is early spring, most of the plants and trees are barren. It can be pretty spooky walking alone when the sun is down. The rest of the second day is pretty bland, just lots of uphill walking and panting. Learnt my lesson from my first day and cut down on the photography just to focus on getting to camp early. Along the way I met a couple of hikers and everyone told me they were heading to the next camp but upon reaching. There was not a single soul. I went as far to the end of the camp site just to make sure but there was nobody! Supernatural concerns were the last of my priority, feeding my hunger was more important. Quickly set up camp and cooked dinner before ending my arduous second day.
The last day was the shortest but the most arduous. After a snappy breakfast, I set off on a mostly flat and down slope path. Had a little sharp pain in my right ankle while I was going down and couldn't wait to end the walk. The more I hurried the more painful it was. After a while I just took things in stride and enjoyed the scenery while taking a slow stroll down the hill. After going past a highway, I came upon a cluster of holiday chalets and I knew that I was reaching. Keeping in mind the timing of the ONLY bus from Jenolan caves back to Katoomba, I made sure I reached an hour before. To my surprise I hit Jenolan Caves town 2 hours prior the deadline and managed to do a short tour into one of the limestone caves!
- preparation is half the battle won: if I had not brought enough food, water, fuel things would have gone way south
- over analysis leads to paralysis: although preparation is important, an over preparation and consideration would probably have impeded me from travelling
