Friday 8th February 2019

‎Another day of adventure! We had rain in the night again but woke to a fine morning. The accommodation allowed for a cooked breakfast before we set off in the minibus again.

We headed off in a westerly direction towards the coast where we walked for an hour along the coast path stopping along the way to look at the seal colony.

Ok, so no seal pictures, but they were down on the rocks!

Then it was another picnic lunch and onto the start of today’s real hike, Fox river. Just let me say though, that the trailer that is towed is a bit of a tardis! All the tents stored in there, cold boxes, cutlery and cooking utensils, gas and a double hob gas burner, mugs, bowls, folding tables, stools, washing up liquid and cloths, then food. Stacking plastic boxes for breakfast items, lunch items, snacks, fruit and veg. You stop, one side is pulled down and fixed to give some working space then we all pile in to help to prepare whatever we are told to prepare. It is a military manoeuvre!

On arrival at the start of the walk the bus and trailer were parked and secured in a car park and we set off with our big rucksacks to the ballroom overhang, our wild camping site for the night. It was a challenging walk alongside the river, involving what I think were 8 crossings, going over the river with your boots on, with water over your knees. There comes a time when you wonder why on earth you sign up for these things. Geoff is loving the walk, mountain goat that he is. I am just concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other, and not falling or slipping! I have to say this was a challenge, but a challenge I have survived and in retrospect I am beginning to enjoy. The river went into a gorge, so was quite dramatic, and the further we went the more remote it became.

However the sight of the first river crossing was rather daunting. Probably about 50 yards. Fortunately rivers tend to get narrower the further inland you go! We had our instructions about how to cross safely. That meant walking in pairs, arms around each other, and taking it steady. The water came over our knees and having crossed you then had to walk with water squelching around your toes. Surprisingly you got used to it! We had nearly reached our destination when a tributary joined the main river. Our guides suggested an addition to the route! Walsh Creek. So off we went, pushing through the undergrowth on a very underused path, in a gorge that was green and verdant. Ferns and trees were growing on the sides of the gorge and the whole thing felt like we were back in the time of the dinosaurs. It was beautiful. Calm. Peaceful. Almost unreal. It was a tricky walk, a lot of it in the river, but by this time it really didn’t matter.

On our return it was a short walk to the Ballroom Overhang. A massive cliff side that over the years has been undercut by the river, but now sits higher than the river and giving you a roof. It was probably at least 50 feet high and the same wide. Our home for the night.

I’m not sure the photo really does it justice but hopefully it gives you an idea.

On these overnight hikes we have been amazed at the food that has been carried, along with the stoves, cooking utensils and a cafetière, and tonight wine! We all have to take a share of the group equipment, but I think our 2 guides have very heavy packs! Food always tastes better in the open air, but this is something else!

There is another person camping here tonight. I hope he wasn’t wanting a night on his own. And tonight we are sat around a camp fire (Geoff used his bonfire making skills!), and will be sleeping on a ground sheet under the overhang. In our sleeping bags and with thermarests of course!

So we did settle down and as the light from the camp fire died down and our fellow travellers switched off their head torches, so the glow worms started to shine in the overhang. How amazing to lay there with nature’s shimmering lights above. It was magical!