Stories Along the Way

I really made an effort to avoid waterfall hikes before my A-race, the Sydney Marathon, to minimise the chance of getting injured — or even just pulling or twisting something badly enough to miss training.

I was being sensible.

Then this hike to Hunter Falls came up.

And apparently all that common sense disappeared. 

I just couldn’t give it a miss, especially with the bonus of visiting a few other waterfalls along the way.

In hindsight, the trip involved a 740+ kilometre drive, 34 kilometres of bush-bashing, our car nearly driving off the road, the possibility of a QPWS fine for unauthorised camping, and a personal health scare in the middle of nowhere.

And yet…

I’d still say it was worth it.

The place was magical.

So was the crew — particularly the three exceptionally tolerant people who shared the car with me. They not only survived the drive; they also survived my singing for most of it. 

They made what could have been a very demanding trip feel surprisingly easy.

Thank you, Andy Gallagher, for bringing this crazy bunch together and taking us to places like this.

Sometimes you look at everything that went into reaching somewhere and think:

That was ridiculous.

Then you look at the waterfall…

…and start planning the next one.