Day 1
Ronny Creek to Waterfall Valley
A pleasant looking guide with a beard arrived with an old dirty white van at our hotel lobby at 7am.
His name was Paul.
At the front passenger seat was seated a future company of ours during the whole journey of the hike
with bags and packs.
We learned she was M from Spain.
We took seats at the back of the car where two long uncomfortable looking makeshift seats poorly fitted
at both car window sides across from each other leaving some space in the middle for luggage.
We drove a short distance to the office to find all the gears neatly spread and stacked on the floor.
First Paul gave us a briefing about the Overland Track and then explained and checked all the gears they lent us.
Then we had to cram all the gears along with our too many clothes into our individual backpacks.
We soon realized we had too many items and couldn't put them all in the packs neatly.
Eddie tried to put things as many as possible in his backpack which was not easy.
I tried to leave some cooking utensils behind I considered less necessary.
Anyway we finally managed to put everything in the packs and overwhelmed with the heaviness
and the bulkiness of our packs.
Paul showed us how to effectively carry heavy packs by making central point of weights into our hips
rather than on our shoulders.
If not it would cause severe headache and too much pressure on shoulders according to him.
Later repetitive tightening around the same spots left deep red marks on skins around our hip bones
which was getting much more sore as days passed.
In the meantime we realized Eddie left his camera at the hotel lobby.
Paul wanted to help us but M objected it without any hesitation or consideration before he even finished
his words.
I thought it was not nice of her because it was not far from there to the hotel.
Suze went to pick it up at the hotel by taxi while we were struggling with packing
and she came back in no time.
It seemed like a long drive from Launceston to Cradle Mountain sitting on the hard and uncomfortable chair
without any proper backrest.
I was dozing on and off arbitrarily listening to M and Paul chatting away in front.
At the end of the drive, car was on curvy narrow mountain roads and I felt severe car sick.
Paul explained we were passing spots near our hike route etc. which made me dread how I was going
to survive 6 day's hike.
We had coffees and hot yummy lunch on the way while M and Paul were smoking.
The weather was freezing cold and overcast.
We wore thermals under our hiking shirts and pants with gloves, beanies and our water resistant jackets.
We arrived at the National Park office at Cradle Mountain around midday.
We registered according to the booking and got the tags with names and numbers on them.
A day's entry numbers allowed were 34 independent walkers and we were the last except one hiker.
Paul dropped us at the start of the walk and we wrote our names with the scheduled return date in the book.
We were going to do 5 nights and 6 days for 65km's distance.
On the 6th day one of Paul's company people would pick us up at the end of the track.
Paul looked at us worriedly especially Eddie's bigger pack.
He must have sensed our newbie like demeanour for multi-day hike.
He suggested Eddie that he give out items from his pack to us.
Probably in his mind he was suspicious about our capability to finish the walk.
Finally we shook hands with Paul and he was gone.
It was 1 pm.
We started walking first day's instalment of 65 km's walk.
The distance was 10.7 kilometres and the estimated time was 4 to 6 hours.
The heaviness of my tall pack was pressing my shoulder instantly.
After passing the grandeur sign button grass plain welcomed us and we walked on the duck board.
The out of world beauty spread in front of me made my heart splutter with excitement
but at the same time I was not able to absorb it fully due to my physical predicament.
Many day walkers passed by us from the opposite direction and compared to them our packs
monstrously huge and my heart was heavy with nerves.
Around half an hour's walking gradually I started feeling I was getting used to this heavy pack.
My confidence was starting to come back to me.
Eddie looked a little relieved and loosened up as we were doing all right.
Soon we were climbing up to Marion's lookout when we saw M on the slope.
She suddenly asked us if we were on the right way.
But there was no junction nor ambiguous crossways before that point.
In fact the Overland Track was clearly marked and well maintained all the way till end.
We were halted by her doubt and Eddie told us to wait there.
He went back the way we came to check and a little later he came back.
We decided the route we took was right and M reluctantly followed us.
We wasted our precious 30 minutes for nothing.
As it snowed heavily the day before Marion's lookout was covered by unmelted white thick snow.
We were standing there breathing in the freezing cold air appreciating views down on the lake
and surrounds.
After Marion's lookout the track became steep and soon it started raining lightly.
Suze wisely put on rain jacket and pants(supplied hard shell clothes) on top of her clothes but we didn't do that.
I thought it would stop soon.
But as time passed the rain became heavy snow and later blizzard until the next morning.
One hour later we arrived at Kitchen Hut.
It was a very small old shelter where we had caught our breath.
Until that point the walk seemed quite easier with our regained confidence than I expected so
I forgot about all the anxieties and nerves and we thought it would be not too far till first hut from there
but later we realized how wrong we were.
M was cooking her lunch there along with the last independent walker called I from Saudi Arabia.
We left the hut while they were still eating their lunch.
It was extremely hard to climb up high stacked snow mounds with blizzard hitting on us heavily.
Our feet stepped deep in the wet snow which gradually made our walking boots and socks
wet totally and completely.
Soon there was no track visible due to endlessly falling snow on top of already accumulated mounds.
We only guessed where the track was by the top parts of poles standing along the hidden track there.
Our visibility got reduced and it was surreal realizing we were stuck in the middle of blizzard.
It was so much dramatic a change that it made me realize we were in the legendary area once again.
The sign didn't justify the distance and time correctly.
Or it was blizzard or our heavy packs....whatever it was we were very much struggling
managing walking hours.
Before we normally exceeded exaggerated estimated time but this day we were doubly slower.
From certain point Eddie put his camera deep in his pack understandably due to the circumstances.
Finally Eddie and I decided to wear extra jackets and pants and it gave us instant warm and protective
feeling.
Suze was walking faster in front of us all the way probably to conquer the battle in that way.
We met a junction with a sign to the hut and Barn Bluff.
Suddenly Eddie turned to the right towards Barn Bluff.
I yelled at him not to go that way but the wind silenced my voice and I looked at him walk that way
helplessly.
Suze heard me yelling at him and she started shouting at him too.
But he kept on walking without realizing what he was doing.
I got really upset about his irresponsible behaviour at that short moment.
What brought him to his sense no body knows he turned around to come back to us
a few minute later.
He is sometimes acting like that about which I honestly don't know what to think.
There are too many examples of his unexplainable behaviours totally contradictive to his thoughtful
,logical and calm normal behaviours.
I have been trying to give them some logics and reasons to understand him.
Given that I make a lot of mistakes and I am far from being perfect myself.
In his way of unhinging to de-stress as a defence mechanism unconsciously maybe....
We kept on walking and finally we felt we were close to the destination when we were extremely exhausted
and at the same time hugely relieved.
It was almost 6pm at the time of dusk just before a total darkness wrapped us completely.
I had a silly illusion walking down towards the valley.
I knew there was no human being residing there but I had this familiar imagination popped up as if we were approaching
a village with illuminating lights from houses and wood burning smokes from chimneys where we had a warm and comfortable
shelter for ourselves.
Suddenly I heard Suze calling us from ahead just around the corner Dad and Mum....
It made suddenly tears well in my eyes.
There was nothing but a small lonely hut standing overlooking the entire huge valley there.
Breaking up my sweet and stupid illusion completely.
The snow was sheeting constantly and continuously when we arrived at our first hut.
It was overcrowded with people and wet clothes and gears scattered on the floor or hanging on the walls and
outside near the door were millions of wet shoes and gears stacked.
I was overwhelmed with this situation first and didn't know what to do.
Eddie was stupidly trying to set up tents in the middle of blizzard outside in the darkness.
I started cooking without knowing what else to do after putting our packs near the doorway.
Finally Eddie came back and we sat at the table and tried to eat our first dinner.
It was so salty and tasteless we couldn't enjoy it much.
An hour later M and I arrived and they looked extremely relaxed about having no spot in the bunks.
Nor uncertain and dicey situation(?) did dampen their high spirits.
In my mind I admired both of them regardless of anything instantly.
Inside the small hut everybody else occupied bunks already and 5 of us decided spread our sleeping bags under the
kitchen tables.
Due to extreme dire situation outside Eddie was unwillingly cooperating to sleep inside to my huge relief.
It was extremely gusty with heavy snow outside which discouraged Eddie to want to sleep in the tents thank god.
Finally everybody were in bed and so were we.
A total quiet and dark fell on all of us.
There was a warm heater on all night and everybody was amazingly quietly sleeping that night.
I heard winds howling outside in my sleeping bag all night.
I felt warm and comfortable sleeping inside the hut even though it was on the kitchen floor.
It was the most unforgettable day and experience in my whole life.
At Marion Lookout
Waterfall hut taken on the second morning