Chris L
Alright, so the title of today might be a little self-indulgent, but sometimes I can't help myself. Still, today has been more than a little eventful.
A surprisingly warm night, given the alpine location. I awoke to the sound of sniffing and digging just outside my tent. Of course, my first reaction was "what the @#$* is that?". I got up and stumbled out to have a look, making two mistakes - the first of which being to leave the tent open when I walked out. A fat possum found his way into my tent and into the bread I had left (luckily I'd eaten most of it already). He was chewing away at the wrapping before I used my Digital Camera to flush (flash) him out. I hadn't expected to use it for that!
Of course, actually chasing the possum away proved slightly more difficult - given the determination of these creatures. My second mistake was to walk out of the tent without wearing any shoes - I now have some bite marks on my big toe to show for it. I picked up another wound on my left elbow which I discovered this morning - evidentally it had been bleeding for hours, but it was so small that I didn't even feel it when it happened!
Eventually I managed to hide the bread well enough from the possum's sense of smell and get some sleep. I awoke to find the elbow wound and clean it up, before setting off for the national park in order to get some walking in.
This is a beatiful area with great views over a large amount of North West Tasmania, across mountains and blue alpine lakes. A few km (and a few photos) into the walk, I heard a sound, which I soon realised was someone calling for help. The great thing about an alpine area can also be a curse, for while their voice was carrying a long way, it was difficult to detect exactly where it was coming from when one is listening from a long way.
Eventually I found the source of the voice. A young woman walking alone had lost the track and was a little panicked about being lost. I cut cross-country and located her, before leading her back to the track. Turns out she and her partner had decided to do different walks, and she'd had a little difficulty - given that this was actually her first major walk in such an area. Still, she managed to find her way back to the carpark through the remainder of the walk, so all was well.
It takes all kinds. About 2km from the finish of the walk, I see another guy, walking with his daughter who couldn't have been more than three years old. She fell over on a rock and started crying. I don't think this guy even had a first-aid kit! I tried to drop the subtle hint by offering the use of mine - but I don't think he got it. As I said, it takes all kinds.
I finished the walk, and rode back to my campsite (stopping to do another short walk near Pencil Pine falls). I grabbed some lunch along the way, and ran into a couple of cycle-tourists whom I'd first met in Triabunna. They were touring Tasmania in the opposite direction to me, and knew a lot about free campsites. This was good news - it means more money I can spend on food!
P.S. A curse on all dial-up Internet connections!
A surprisingly warm night, given the alpine location. I awoke to the sound of sniffing and digging just outside my tent. Of course, my first reaction was "what the @#$* is that?". I got up and stumbled out to have a look, making two mistakes - the first of which being to leave the tent open when I walked out. A fat possum found his way into my tent and into the bread I had left (luckily I'd eaten most of it already). He was chewing away at the wrapping before I used my Digital Camera to flush (flash) him out. I hadn't expected to use it for that!
Of course, actually chasing the possum away proved slightly more difficult - given the determination of these creatures. My second mistake was to walk out of the tent without wearing any shoes - I now have some bite marks on my big toe to show for it. I picked up another wound on my left elbow which I discovered this morning - evidentally it had been bleeding for hours, but it was so small that I didn't even feel it when it happened!
Eventually I managed to hide the bread well enough from the possum's sense of smell and get some sleep. I awoke to find the elbow wound and clean it up, before setting off for the national park in order to get some walking in.
This is a beatiful area with great views over a large amount of North West Tasmania, across mountains and blue alpine lakes. A few km (and a few photos) into the walk, I heard a sound, which I soon realised was someone calling for help. The great thing about an alpine area can also be a curse, for while their voice was carrying a long way, it was difficult to detect exactly where it was coming from when one is listening from a long way.
Eventually I found the source of the voice. A young woman walking alone had lost the track and was a little panicked about being lost. I cut cross-country and located her, before leading her back to the track. Turns out she and her partner had decided to do different walks, and she'd had a little difficulty - given that this was actually her first major walk in such an area. Still, she managed to find her way back to the carpark through the remainder of the walk, so all was well.
It takes all kinds. About 2km from the finish of the walk, I see another guy, walking with his daughter who couldn't have been more than three years old. She fell over on a rock and started crying. I don't think this guy even had a first-aid kit! I tried to drop the subtle hint by offering the use of mine - but I don't think he got it. As I said, it takes all kinds.
I finished the walk, and rode back to my campsite (stopping to do another short walk near Pencil Pine falls). I grabbed some lunch along the way, and ran into a couple of cycle-tourists whom I'd first met in Triabunna. They were touring Tasmania in the opposite direction to me, and knew a lot about free campsites. This was good news - it means more money I can spend on food!
P.S. A curse on all dial-up Internet connections!