Bacon and eggs with mum and dad
Final pack and gear check
Drive to bus station in Hobart and hug Ma and Pa goodbye
Bus to Launceston
Met Mark who sat next to me on the bus and chat til we reach the town of Penguin and my starting point.
Off the bus I'm so nervous and excited, it's here, it's real and my impulse tells me to re-check the gear once more and boom off I go, thus the adventure begins.
Walking through the town of Penguin that eventually leads to the Penguin to Cradle Trail.
Not sure where the start of it is as the signs are terrible but ran into a guy Troy who's heading out that way and into the nearby Montgomery Forest.
We hike together for about half hour before saying our goodbye's. I'm pretty happy to have his help as the signs at the start are poor and also in the wrong direction.
Then I'm alone, I head along the path, already feeling a bit tired at this point as my legs are burning and lungs bursting.
The trail is filled with fallen trees and an hour later I find myself holding onto trees and swinging out over a 20ft drop into the Leven River, scrambling up and over the fallen trees and on all fours ducking under them.
The ferns and trees are lush green and beautiful to walk amongst.
After 4 hours I call it a day and make camp in a nice open spot, right alongside the river just before the path diverts off.
The evening so calm and beautiful. Birds chirping, Kookaburras calling and the sound of the ever-flowing river.
After I’ve made camp and had dinner, my mind snaps back into expedition mode as I feel any complacency slip away as my shoulders and legs burn as you’d expect after the first day.
This is going to be tough, especially to go from North to South in 21 days.
I lay my head down for the evening and listen to the animals rustle outside my tent.
Cheers TaZmania