INDIAN HEAD - DAY TWO

It had been a tough day, I’d just returned and it was time to go to the toilet, of which there are three, mens and ladies plus a unisex.  As I walk past the ladies a middle-aged man is talking to someone inside. Transpires it’s his very young daughter and she’s crying; apparently she can’t get out as the lock is malfunctioning.  Unable to assist and it looked like the matter was in hand, I moved to the gents and sat down.

The father was reiterating that he would get help or some tools.  His daughter cried on.  Then he said he’d contact the manager, whose name was Gary.  He contacted him sooner than he thought; Gary was in the middle toilet taking the situation in and his clear voice indicated that he would soon organize assistance, just give him a minute.  Sitting down it all sounded like a script from a backyard comedy.

Gary was a character; he stays on site for free as he looks after any problem or notifies N.P.W.S. if it’s something he can’t handle.  The park has no fixed sites, no power, just toilets and cold showers.  Earlier in the day he’d enlightened me about the trail I was contemplating, the track to Diamond Head.  He was a veritable font of knowledge and two things he kept reiterating were that it was very steep and, it was wonderfully scenic. 

He looked a tad doubtful when I said I wanted to use the mountain bike, concerned about the steepness and the deteriorating state of the track.  Not to worry, I’ll give it a go.

The first part was easy, about half a kilometre up a moderate hill till there’s an open space.  This is where the hang gliders take off when the wind is from the right direction.  It’s also an unrestricted view south, down the seemingly endless beach all the way to unseen Crowdy Head beyond the horizon, a seascape so vast as to beggar the imagination.

I move on, past the sign that explains Kylie Tennant’s presence here in the naming of some things, such as the lookout.  She was an author of the earlier 20^th century and loved the place, “League after league the headlands curve up the coast of the continent.  The white fingers of the sea play on them, each bluff giving out its unique note, making its own music.”

Now the track becomes problematic; either side has dried firm mud but there’s an eroded watercourse in the middle which makes cycling virtually impossible.  I dismount and start to walk.  There’s a sense of anticipation now as I move closer to the heights and the cliffs on the other side that confront the ocean.

Finally, I crest the bluff and it all looks promising as I swing left and savour the onshore wind, admiring the tiny native wildflowers that exist, if only barely, on the slopes and wondering what insects pollinate them, because the bees and other winged creatures have long ago been blown away by the persistent sea breezes.

I look down and there it is, the arch I’d noted yesterday during research.  Gary’s words come back to haunt me.  “It’s very steep”.  Indeed, it is, it’s no place for a bike there so I scramble on down on a trail where I would have loved my walking poles but, of course, they’re not to hand, literally.

It’s step by slow step; this is grade 4/5 stuff, not for the unfit or faint of heart.  The further down the more dramatic it becomes.  It’s one of the great seascapes of Australia.  A huge colourful cliff, a narrow bay awash with strange iridescent yellow/green rocks and then the arch on the left hand side being constantly tormented by the angry seas, at times so big they actually go over the top of the arch.  It’s mesmerizing.  You don’t know where to look, it takes over your brain, tormenting it with so many attractions in one spot.  This is the “scenic” of which Gary spoke.

I also realise I’ve been here before.  Before I was into photography, before I became a keen bushwalker, before I became a cyclist, about six decades had passed since I was last here.

Up or down, either is tough here and you won’t be making it without stopping regularly.  I spend about 20 minutes at the base, mesmerised by the grandeur of it all and so pleased I got to record it with favourable weather and seas, in one of their grander moods. High cirrus and big seas make a lovely combination, one suggesting calm and the other, mayhem.

Eventually I looked up and realised it was time to climb the rough narrow unmade track to the top, and it takes time, pausing to breathe in more oxygen than I was capable of while moving.  All the time the roar is taunting you from behind, trying to capture your attention still.

At the summit a couple have come along and I get them to take a picture of me, so few do I have.  They’re just about to head down so I pass on a few pointers before heading off….slowly.  There are bits of track here and there that are rideable, and just as many not.  Way below another group of rocks is defying the watery onslaught, foam splashing all over as the wash rears up and over.  It’s a timeless scene, yet time is the key.

I pull up at a bench seat where Gary sits to shoot the whales with his new camera.  He told me he takes a large umbrella and tripod up here these days so he doesn’t have to move much.  Judging by his profile, I can understand why.  The occasional beer is not unknown to him.

The next feature is a massive, semi-eroded pillar, only half detached, its deep brown colour contrasting with the blues and greens all around it.  It evokes power and mystery; it’s so unlike anything else here.  What geological event caused the situation?

Way down below, the lines of swells seem more organized than before and there’s an attempt by some hardy grasses to grow, buffeted by the natural elements as they are.  They’ve won over half the rock but other areas are denied to them.  The stalemate continues.

I clamber down the slope on a trail even less distinct that the previous one and it’s just as steep, just a few degrees off needing a rope.  One slip could really ruin your day!

Beneath the grass covered rocky outcrop there’s another arch in the making.  The salt water has made its way through a crevice and explodes every so often right through before thrashing around on the land side.  There’s a sort of disjointed harmony to it all.

Gary told me about the man he bought the camera off.  He goes down and lays on the grass for hours waiting for that timeless shot of a seabird coming back with prey attached to its claws.  He’s got everything from Brahminy kites to sea eagles.  Years of patience will do that for you.

I’m back on the “main” trail and climbing.  This is the bit where I really don’t want my bike.  It’s narrow, badly rutted, hard to get a foothold and you’re trying to manoeuvre a bike as well and it’s all uphill.  Easy going it’s not!  I can’t even see the top of the ascent because the trail rolls over near the summit.  The couple who took my photo have long since passed me and are well into the descent somewhere on the far side.

There’s more cliffs and Diamond Head just visible on the horizon but the route has moved away and now the vastness of the hinterland becomes the main feature.  Still, there’s more slope to get up until, finally, I’ve made it.

I spoke with an American couple just before the summit and they come from Washington State and we briefly exchanged notes as I said I’d been to Multnomah Falls.  He said the trail was good on the other side, the descent to Diamond Head.  I hoped he was right.

Transpires that he was and I’m ever so grateful because now, at last, there’s some justification for the mountain bike.  I get comfortable and swoop down the trail to Diamond Head, quickly passing the old couple and, in no time at all, I reach Diamond Head Caravan Park and I know it’s all road from here.

The only catch is I get more and more desperate to have a comfort stop.  Wind is pushing my belly in all directions and now it’s painful just sitting on the seat.  I’m forced to pull up and empty my stomach and feel fortunate there’s soft leaves at hand.  The relief is palpable and I now make my way to the real toilet, which is where the story came in.

Call Me Mr. Lucky

MOUNT MURCHISON – CALL ME MR. LUCKY (AGAIN)

It rises before you, this brooding outcrop of rock, towering upwards, often beyond the clouds, acting like a temptress from Greek mythology, luring you to come within its grasp.  Every time I laid my gaze upon it the temptation grew, every time the drifting clouds taunted me, offering only glimpses of the prize.  Where there’s a mountain, there’s a way up it, though not all come back alive, as I recently had reaffirmed when I read a book by Australia’s premier mountain climber, the first to ascend all peaks over 8,000 metres.  Though Mount Murchison could hardly begin to be classified among the greats but, all mountains, no matter what their size, carry risks when man seeks to overcome them and, when I did specific research on Murchison, many were the warnings.

However, also in that research were clusters of photographs with much appeal.  It’s a mountain of many facets and I particularly liked the tarns stuck in the middle of a caldera shape.  Indeed, some photographer had gone the extra yard and trekked down to them and came back with a couple of stunners.  This time I determined, one way or the other, I was going up that hill.

Last time through we’d been in the motorhome and found a delightful spot beside Lake Rosebery; only spoiled by a couple of young mums and their screaming kids who had car stereo going full blast, totally destroying the peace and tranquility you’d normally expect in such a place.  Still, when they left we had the place all to ourselves and even had a dip in the refreshing waters while Murchison loomed in the background.  It was one of those “into nature” places that drift across the mind whenever it might seek calm and delightful memories though, when I went back and had a look at the photos, the one that made me laugh was Lorraine walking around in my clearly oversize dressing down the following morning beside the remnants of a barbecue fire surrounded by a ring of rocks.  There in the almost pristine wilderness it seemed, somehow, somewhat incongruous.

This time we’d researched the weather and, with Lorraine wanting to head off to Stanley in favourable conditions, Murchison was postponed for another day.

Lorraine woke me in the morning which was just as well because I’d had trouble sleeping and had no idea what time it was.  Suffice it to say, with some help in food prep from Lorraine, I was under way at 7 a.m., endorphins racing madly around my body.  Somehow I couldn’t settle driving and the perfect weather spurred me onwards.  Perhaps, at times, the speed limit was exceeded, but I was on a mission, a mission that became frustrating as I was held up at three successive roadworks.  They obviously didn’t have their traffic lights in synch and I was stopped for a few minutes at each.

Eventually freed from the diggings I was pushing onwards when I came to MacIntosh Bridge over Lake Rosebery.  Here, crepuscular rays were bursting through the rising fog off the lake.  My photographer’s instinct leapt to the fore and I screeched (okay, slowed down quickly) on the southern side of the bridge and started clicking.  In my excitement I really didn’t take a lot of time working out the angles and I’d only been there for a couple of minutes when a car pulled up on the northern side of the bridge.

Working my way across the arch I turned around and saw perfect reflections on the opposite side of the span emanating from a gorge I wished I’d had time to explore.  Across the other side I walked down to the man who had a contraption in his hands.  All the way there I’d heard this strange noise and could only guess that it was the fizzing off the power lines laden with dew.  In fact, it was a drone and we were both photographing the same thing, but from entirely different angles.

After a brief discussion we exchanged emails and I made way back to the car; the mountain awaited.

The instructions I had were concise and in another 10 minutes I was out of the car and packing for the hike, the excitement fuelled by uncertainty of whether I would actually make it or not.  It was about here that I realized I’d left my drink bottles behind in the fridge.  Bad mistake.

A book for signing is just ten metres into the myrtle forest and I had no idea of the date as I filled in my details and had to return to the road to get the registration figures.  The forest continues for about the first 20% of the walk.  You begin to wonder if there’s any end to it as you gain height continually.  Still, there’s plenty of shade though no breeze and my body starts to warm up as I twist around the roots.

It’s pretty, but I’m glad when I finally break free and can get some idea of how I’m going and it’s obvious that I’ve still got a long way to go.  Upwards, ever upwards, until around 1 hour into the hike I call a halt and bring out my thermos.  I’m so grateful to have a cuppa and some biscuits, putting some energy back in.

I take time to look around and, even this early in, the place is impressive.  Across from a tarn way below the strata is captivating.  It’s wavy immediately above the water but then, far to the right, it rises sheer to the summit of another peak, forced in ancient geological times by thrust of unimaginable power.  Around here the trail diverts to the right but the climb is relentless, a word I repeat often on the ascent.  At times I’m breathless and a mite dizzy and even shocked when some small mammal scoots from a hole and races between my legs….at least, I think it was, then again, it might have been a bird, but the hole was certainly real.

The mountain giveth, the mountain taketh away.  This thought runs through my head as I gaze upwards at the tantalizing heights yet also reflect on my suffering body.  Then, something happens to boost my spirits.  Concerned at the lack of fluids I had been conserving them until I reached the summit.  I’d discovered a lost flask from a previous expedition with some left in it but I didn’t want to drink that if it could be avoided but, now, right in front of me, the unmistakeable gurgle of flowing water.  My eyes lit up and the tiny watercourse flickered in the shadow of some ground hugging vegetation.  There was one spot where I could easily fill a bottle and so I did, downing one filling then packing the next as a reserve.

With renewed energy I attacked the ascent and then came to a rope.  I had no idea how far up it went but summoned up the courage to attempt it and hauled my weight towards the next level.  Luckily, it was only about 15 metres before you could walk relatively safely again.  Here you could see how you might attain the summit and you were approaching the last quarter.

Here and there a wind would buffet you, depending on the lay of the mountain.  I had removed my shirt some time before as it became saturated with sweat and I was grateful for any movement of air.

Somewhere after the 2 hour mark I crested the apex of a ridge and it is here, without doubt, that Murchison captures your soul, having taking the exertions of your body.  I’m in awe of the majesty of the place.  Were this in Greece 2,500 years ago it would surely have been the place of the gods.  Indeed, on one horizon lays the great mountain range of Tasmania, with peaks like the Acropolis, Mount Geryon (a fearsome giant) and Lake Elysia (struck by lightning).  Others have been similarly inspired apparently.

Murchison is a place of many peaks though.  Which one is the highest I know not as the trail leads me on a frighteningly narrow path with a precipitous drop to a tarn far below.  The goal is near however, and there’s no turning back from this point.  It’s only a short section thankfully, maybe 15 metres or so, but I’m so glad to be on the other side.  100 metres further on and the views are spectacular; your eyes struggling to know where to look first, the sun bouncing off the ripples in the tarns below deflects your vision to the horizon.  I’ve never seen the Du Cane Range like this, all lumps and bumps across the southern sky.

Then there’s the trig station, no chance of me ever going there.  It sits astride a razorback ridge where foliage declines to exist, except maybe for a hardy plant or two stuck in a crevice.  You could spend a whole day here just peak bagging but I’m sated in the knowledge I’ve reached some point up here and will leave the ragged bits to the serious climbers.

It’s a “wow” moment and I stop, unpack and take my time to savour it for at least a few minutes, actually, close to 20 because I can’t stop soaking up the magnificence and the day is made to order.  The only thing I’d change is the wind ruffling the tarns and occasionally ripping across the ridge, though I’ve set up base just on the lee side.

It’s almost reluctantly that I start back, snapping here and there and shooting some small grasshoppers which seem to favour the heights.  Somehow I miss the scary bit on the return and drop off the ledge into descent mode.  I know it will be easier and the light has actually improved; the thin haze on the horizon has cleared and it’s an even more perfect day. 

Upon reaching the little streamlet I refill my bottle yet again and continue on, taking little rests here and there and continually eyeing off the myrtle forest because I know that, once there, I can escape the sun and it won’t be far to Kia.  Somehow though, it seems to take forever, though it’s probably around an hour since the bottle refill when the vegetation rises above my head and adrenalin starts to course around my body, even more so when I hear a vehicle seemingly not that far away.

I up the pace but then my thighs start letting me know that it’s not a good idea but I can’t slow down as the sound of a truck rolling by below tempts me onward.  When I eventually get to the log book I’m more than happy and fill in the details of my walk, noting the 4 cups of tea, 3 bottles of water, 1 wrap and 2 biscuits that I consumed and the time, I roughly guess, of 5 ¾ hours during which I snapped off 300 photos.

I sit down on the final step, looking at the car across the road, but not wishing to go there as I’m hot and it’s fully exposed to the sun.  Thus I watch the cars go by for a quarter of an hour and wave gently at them while I cool down.  When I finally stand up again I find it hard to believe I have no pain, no aches, just a feeling of having done something worthwhile and I start the car with a feeling of contentment running through my veins and head off to Tullah, a town where once many were employed but, these days, just a couple of hundred souls live here and you can’t help but feel that tourism is going to be its main future.

I rock on down to the caravan park café for some afternoon tea.  The spacious restaurant is deserted apart from staff and a couple sitting outside.  I move out to the table beside them and it’s so eerie.  They’re not speaking, at all.  The silence is weird; it’s like they’re props in a movie and have been told to sit and say nothing.  I’m fairly keen for some conversation but it just doesn’t happen so I’m left eyeing the delightful Lake Rosebery yet again though from a different point this time.  The couple leave and I reminisce on the day’s events, thinking how lucky I was to arrive at Lake Rosebery when the fog was lifting, have made-to-order weather on the mountain, discover running water just when I needed it and being able to use someone else’s car to get here – cheers!