sunday hike

its been a while since my weekend has involved much that doesn't include the majority of it in bed.  Too many weekends have gone by where i have surfaced in daylight only for my 3 hours of volunteer work at Friends of the Earth; my night time hours blindly passed by in my local indie pub. it was time for a change. life was passing me by and i should never be ok with this.

So this weekend, while i did drop in to aforementioned indie bar for a few hours in Friday (although i did manage to leave before the lights went up and i was forced to witness the girls grab the nearest boy and hopelessly drag him towards the door. its pretty depressing times right there!!), i managed to at last make another trip outside of the city.

I do love the city. But i love even more getting out of it.  Victoria is a beautiful state. I'm really lucky to have it surrounding me.  I suppose every Australian state is abit like that though! Today's adventure was to Werribee Gorge State Park.  To be honest, i'd never heard if it - and i often work in Werribee. I'd mentioned it to a work colleague though who said it was stunning and an "easy walk" with only "abit of rock scrambling". (ha i write this with a left hand covered in nettle stings....! and legs that won't move without severe aches....!).

I was picked up by a lady i met on a previous day trip and driven to the exciting suburb of Baccus Marsh. It was actually pretty nice. we got a lovely breakfast at the Jolly Miller Cafe and the sun was shining for the first time all week.  The rest of the group arrived shortly after and then we headed out for the gorge.

the easier bit at the end....!

It was an amazing walk. but certainly challenging! At one point we were hanging from a rope and manouvering around a cliff edge (albeit not very high up! but the river would have been wet if i'd fallen!). 

The gorge was stunning though. And the walk far from boring - despite taking 4 hours to complete the 10kms.  It was varied with some rock scrambling, some paths so narrow you had to cling onto trees...some slippery moss covered mud...wet in place, dry in others, steepish gradients to leisurely strolls and down hill (often on my bum to avoid embarrasing falls). It was probably the most satisfying hike i've done yet. and my hand is indeed still sore from the nettle stings i insisted on sticking my hand in!  amazing day. stunning views. fucking love this country!!!!! :)