Hawdon Hut

Hawdon Hut

Day One

I must say that one of my favorite parts of this trip, had to be the driving.

Me and Haylley had a sing-along session to Dolly Parton, which she was amazing in and I on the other hand was filed under tone deaf. I gave Holly P a few frights, by pulling somewhat creepy faces at her, to which she responded to by laughing; loudly. Then there's the sudden dance party outside the van, which was me getting Haylley to dance with me. The ride also, may or may not have involved a beat boxing (like a sheep) contest that I was surprisingly experienced in.

Add in some impromptu dance moves, an intriguing discussion on Maths and Emma getting a name change. I was definitely in my element, and this was just on the way there. I was pumped for the tramp, I'd somehow used up all that nervous energy; I wonder how?

Already having exerted most of my energy keeping myself occupied during the ride, a few doubts crept into my train of thought. What if I fell over? What if I broke my pack (which did happen) They were soon washed away though. Quite literally actually. My attention was turned to the cold, refreshing water of the first river. I remember stepping in and my socks stopped the water. In those few moments I had nice, dry and warm feet.

It didn’t last long though.

My shoes were soon soaked but I had to now focus on crossing with the rest of my group. Mainly the staying upright part. Luckily, I didn’t fall over, though I had a few close calls. Then we were back on our way, tramping over rocky terrain. The next hour or so was me just keeping up with my friends as I got used to the pace. Soon, though I had enough momentum to keep up and maintain a somewhat entertaining conversation.

At some point though everyone slowly began to realize, we hadn’t seen a river for a while. Then we noticed that our water bottles were almost depleted. There were the few lucky ones, I was one, who still had a decent amount. People were getting dehydrated. We even imagined we heard the sound of running water at some stage.

The running water was a lie.

Then when we were all on the verge of insanity, Benj tipped out all his water onto the ground. Just because it was warm. After a short scream attack from our water deprived selves we continued on our torturous journey. Eventually though we saw a river; we were no longer trusting our hearing. Running towards it we soon arrived at our glorious destination (Looking back, running might have not been the smartest idea).

After filling our bottles to the very brim, we dived under the refreshing water. It was cold but I didn’t really care. After swimming a bit more and making a few jokes we started to settle down. I sat myself on a warm rock near the river to dry. We all then put our packs back on, and continued up the river bed. We climbed up between two rocks, which I was about as graceful as a fish out of water doing.

Soon we arrived at the hut and got settled. Next we were at the river and Lachlan and I were seeing who could go the longest without getting wet. I am proud to say I won. Though this lead to me being behind Benj as we walked back.

Everyone else was back at camp and I assumed Benj saw which way they went. So when I stepped next to a massive rock that I didn’t remember seeing I got slightly suspicious. Shrugging it off I remained calm until Benj started to panic.

First it was a continuos “We might be lost” “Did we pass that on the way here?” then Benj thought he saw a large black animal. Finally, by far the biggest red flag was a massive river cutting off the path in front of us. Which we most definitely hadn’t crossed.

Benj’s Plan Of Attack:

Put on my other shoe

re-tie the laces

panic

My Plan Of Attack:

Figure out which way we had come from

prevent Benj from getting us even more lost (So, leave him)

find the way out

I think mine was pretty effective as ten minutes later I came stomping out of the woods, Benj walking slowly behind me. Turns out no one had noticed we were even gone.

Next was the boulder hopping. Now some would argue I fell over loads and was inexperienced. I would say my shirt toppled with me in it and that I was great at calculating angles on which to jump. Since mine uses better words, to me it's clear that I won that argument. I spent the rest of the night talking with the other year 8’s. And laughing of course!

Photos

The First River Crossing (Goodbye Dry Feet)

Cooling Down &  Slowly Regaining My Sanity

Taking a break Photo Opportunity

That Water Was My New Life Source

Day Two

After a horrendous night of sleep which included: tossing and turning, strong winds, the wind opening our door, a person opening our door, someone leaving a window open and extreme thirst; I finally heard someone's alarm go off. As I’d already been awake due to the lack of comfort I waited a while before the others woke.

Once they all did, I slipped down the ladder, more literally than I prefer. I eyed my mess of a pack that I had hurled things at the previous day before bed. A sigh escaped my lips as I repacked it all at snail pace. After what seemed to be eternity Brooklyn and Anna called me to taste their masterpiece.

Which I might have drowned in sugar.

Then I drowsily started up a conversation which turned into the best part of my morning, seeing as it improved my irritable mood. Slightly happier, I wandered outside and made my way to the edge that overlooked the river. I stayed there, talking until we were about to set off. On yet another loooooong day.

Placing the pack back on, I could feel the weight considerably weighing me down. I also came to realize I’d completely lost all concept of time. However the sugar was in effect and I found enough energy to sluggishly move forward. I stayed in this tired and slow daze until the first rays of sunlight hit me on my face. Which was around 12 or 11 since the mountains annoyingly blocked it out.

My pace remained slow but I happily walked along, behind the group today. I distracted myself from the straining on my legs by running writing scenarios through my head. Soon enough we hit the river bed, the sun heating up rapidly.

Up ahead I spotted a big river and a smile stretched across my face.

Cool, refreshing water. So when the opportunity presented myself I started to walk downstream in the water.

Sadly, I soon reached the other side (after falling down) and I spotted the rest stop. Pleased I’d survived this far I picked up my pace until I rejoined Holly M and Piper. After another quick river crossing we caught a glimpse of the main road in the distance. The cars travelling across it miniature from our point of view.

This was great incentive to keep up though and I soon found myself walking up the final hill! Only stopping once; which was to look at a butterfly before that. I finally came to where we’d stop to eat lunch, which was music to my ears. I ate speedily, finally feeling full I took my well deserved rest.

Then we were off to our next adventure….

Cave Stream

and I couldn’t wait!

Cave stream

After the quick drive to the cave we all hopped out, tired from the walk but adrenaline pumping. The atmosphere was filled with excitement as we grouped up. Walking along in the heat in thermals felt as though it was the challenge, but soon we stared into the what we could only assume was a cold abyss, as the water refused to give away it’s depth. Three groups at a time. That’s how we would start, huddled in our group within a group.

As we began, the loud yells and high pitch screams (Benj) answered the unspoken question on it’s temperature. Others looked warly at the water as I stepped towards it once more. Following after the person in front of me I sucked in a breath and submerged my foot. Unlike my peers, who were shouting and nervously laughing, I kept a straight face.

I would call it a poker face, but I’m terrible at card games.

After everyone shouted about how cold it was, and I found a sturdy place to stand we were quickly briefed on what to do. Then we set off, deeper and deeper. My eyes scanned around, taking in the rugged look of the rocks. The running water prevented you from gathering how deep it was when you took a step, which resulted in a few stumbles. We continued up stream, my mind wandering as we walked further.

Eventually we came to a point where we all had to turn off our headlights. As the last one faded off we were consumed into darkness. It was as if an ebony blanket had smothered all the details, leaving nothing but pitch black. After a few seconds of silence and darkness, the lights slowly flickered on.

Once we’d finished our little moment in the dark we continued. With surprising ease I completed the walk, reaching the end area with just enough time to take in the view. The metal rungs looked slick with water but I could tell they’d be easy enough to grip.

I spotted a small little waterfall in the corner, someone deciding to stand under it. It reminded me of when EB and Holy had gone under. I slipped off my helmet and my torch and gave them To Holly M standing beside me. I took in a breath before submerging my head under the refreshing water.

After crawling along the small ledge, slightly concerned of its width as I did so, I joined the others in a small pool. I clung to a rock, it being warm, the polar opposite of me. Soon we had to leave and I must say I was a little disappointed. I never thought I’d have so much fun on a two day tramp, and a walk through cave stream.

Did you have fun?

Of Course, It was great I enjoyed it to it’s fullest.

Would you do it again?

...

It’s in the process of being considered.