Setting the goals large and the trails long…

Holy cow, you’re kidding us right Meeg’s?

Of cause not kidding Stuart… I want to take the kids on this epic hike and take a few nights to do it.

The epic hike I wanted to take them on was a 45km round hike that would mean at least 3-4days camping out under the stars for seasoned hiking adults.

This hike meant planning and checking the weather and also the realisation that it may need to be done on a few different days with a 6-year-old in tow.

All that said I was planning hard to make sure that our hiking trip went off without a hitch.

The Gibraltar ranges national park has so many different hikes and we are attempting to do them all by the end of this year.

This one is the world heritage hiking trail that will take us deep into the bush looking for the legendary Waratah plants that are said to hang out on this trail.

Getting the kids to grab their backpacks we load them up with water, snack, and some sangas for the trail.

The realisation that a 6 and 8-year-old children may have a little trouble making the distance is dawning on me, and doing the whole 45 km in the 3-4 days is a little unrealistic and needs to be re-thought (thanks Stuart for the practical side).

Now the backpacks are ready and the trail has been divided into sections that we know the kids can handle, know more than 10km at a time and two nights camping rough.

We are doing it in a little mismatch type with stage one incorporating the Lyrebird and Duffers Falls trails this is adding up to 9km return walks leaving us able to camp at the Boundary Falls campground and 2 nights camping.

The second stage is the Dandhara Craigs 7.1km return and The Little Dandhara walks 13km return and the needles walking trail 6km return….Totaling 26.1km and 4 nights camping.

These have added up to a 6 night trip over two different trips.

This means we are doing extra walks and extra sections of trails so that the kids can continue to enjoy hiking without being overwhelmed and exhausted.

Heading out on the first night we have set up camp in the Boundary Falls camping area which has BBQ and toilet facilities, and finally, we have a few days of sunshine to enjoy the muddy, yet beautiful warmth of the last days of Autumn.

We head down the 2.2 km Lyrebird falls hike with the kids running wild, as most people who have been cooped up in the home whilst it rained for weeks would.

The ground is muddy, actually really muddy, and would be better suited to gumboots but if you have ever hiked in gumboots you would know it isn’t a brilliant day out and it gets very exhausting very quickly.

The Australian bush walk with its steep-sided gullies where boundary falls cut through it has tree ferns, wattles, and grassy areas making it a visual delight for hikers.

With a name like Lyrebird, you would maybe assume that these birds inhabit the area, and if you watch carefully you do get to see them along with the bellbird’s songs and the occasional wedge-tailed eagle soaring overhead.

At the end of the trail is the scenic lookout where you get the views of the beautiful smaller waterfalls that I assume lead from boundary falls.

This beautiful part of our Stage one trek is completed and it is time to head back to the camp for tomorrows second part of stage ones hiking adventure with kids.

On this note, I will leave you all here and catch up with you next week as I let you know about the 7km hike to Duffers Falls….