A wild trek through Lamington National Park
As prepared as we could be: a happy snap before setting out on the hike that went from bad to worse.
It started out all smiles…. I even asked the question at the beginning of our 21 km hike along the Border Track in beautiful Lamington National Park in Queensland.
“How do you think we’ll be feeling at the end?”
I know now. Bad.
Packing, prepping and rookie optimism
What was meant to be a glorious but challenging 3-day hike experiencing the scenic 54km Gold Coast Hinterland Great Walk was, let’s just say: more challenging, less glorious.
To set the scene, a friend of mine cobbled together three other enthusiastic ladies to tackle the hike (at least we started out enthusiastic).
When she asked me, I was determined to give it a go. Three days in nature, animals, birds, stunning views, no kids, getting my steps up (way up) - what more could you ask for?
After months of preparation (carrying a kettle bell in my pack), gathering gear from friends (hiking poles, ‘Will I really need these?’), camping essentials (‘Who’s bringing the coffee?’), food (‘I wonder if this will taste good cold?’), safety gear (first aid kit = check) and even a water filtration bottle for a section without potable water, we set off.
In the weeks before, Autumn in Australia had been turning it on. The Easter weekend prior was warm, dry and glorious. This was going to be great.
Bugs, bites and leech nightmares
The first 10 minutes of hiking was dry so we thought, “Why not?”
A park ranger had pre-warned us of leeches and ticks on the trail. I remember smiling and nodding as my friend Mel told me. They always say that, right?
We had many conversations about ticks, packed tick freeze spray, snake bandages, mozzie spray, first-aid kits.
Did we see any mozzies? Nope. Snakes? Nope. Ticks? Not one.
Leeches? Oh yes.
Somehow leeches didn’t come up in conversation as an issue. (Other than bringing salt in case of a blood-sucking attack).
I remember having a few on me as a kid when bushwalking. No big deal.
When the rain came (and never left)
The weather forecast had been updated – now 20 to 40 mm of rain was predicted for day 1.
Ok, we thought, we can handle that ($2 ponchos at the ready).
The husbands were locked in for kid duty – nothing was going to stop us.
We bunked in a safari tent at O'Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat the night before. We giggled like teenagers as we went to sleep, listening to the rain.
Rain. Darn.
In the morning we would hit the Border Track to Binna Burra, around 21 kms.
We anticipated a 7-hour hike.
After a waaaaay too leisurely breakfast (hindsight is a thing), we donned our heavy packs and ponchos and skipped to the start line.
We bumped into another group of hikers who had changed plans due to the weather: flash flooding and thunderstorms.
We nervously giggled and proceeded on.
They are probably just being too cautious.
We are a fair bit younger than them, we will be fiiiine.
The weather doesn’t look that bad.
Minutes in: booming thunder.
We stopped to check for weather warnings and closures on the National Parks website.
Nothing.
We ventured on, eager to get a move on. It started raining 10 minutes later.
How optimistic we were – 21 km is not that far, right?
Mud, blood and pure stubbornness
Initially we all daintily avoided puddles (quite laughable now).
It wasn’t until our first pit stop that we discovered them: leeches.
Hundreds of them. A wiggling, marching army.
We flicked them off our pants and shoes and plucked them off each other’s faces and necks.
Little drips of blood were coming off of us everywhere.
The walk continued to get harder, the leeches continued to get worse. One of the ladies had a leech in her mouth, and later, one in her eye.
We quickly realised: stop moving, get swarmed.
The blood-suckers somehow dropped, jumped, and swung on vines towards us (let’s call them George and Jane). They landed on our faces or did a wiggly dance and managed to get in all the crevices.
Luckily the views were incredible.
Are you kidding?
There were no views. Rain, fog, grey skies.
No views, no mercy: hiking through water
The trail conditions: this part wasn’t actually too bad. Can you see the leeches? Maybe not but there are there. They are theeeeerrrrrrrrre.
After about 3 hours, our boots were full of water and from then on, we plowed straight through.
Our legs, ankles, knees and glutes were getting sore from dodging a raging river coming down the track.
Not to mention mud, rocks and a creek crossing.
One slip and we’d be toast.
And those hiking poles I thought were wanky? Life savers. They kept me upright more than once.
I am a big fan now. Not of this hike, but definitely the hiking poles.
The final push to Binna Burra
For the last 5 hours we didn’t stop once. Not even to pee (we didn’t want leeches to attach themselves to our butts).
We had literally no views the whole way, just relentless marching.
Mel did point out a waterfall near the end. I was too tired to even turn my head.
Shoutout to my $9 Bunnings gaiters – luckily, I had no leeches sucking at my ankles to get the red stuff, thank you very much!
The last hour was brutal. I could barely walk but somehow we pushed on.
We hardly drank or ate. Just. Kept. Going.
At last a sign for Binna Burra – the best feeling.
Better than chocolate, my wedding day, heck better than meeting my first born child (okay, I’m exaggerating but you get the idea).
We arrived bleeding, shivering, soaked and unable to mutter anything other than, “I need a shower”.
Funnily enough, before setting out on this adventure, I was worried blisters were going to take me out. Blisters, that was my biggest worry. Ha! Didn’t get one. Thank you Merino toe socks for the win.
At this point, we still had enough energy for a smile and a quick snap. We had to remember the moment.
Calling it quits... and the brush turkey eviction
Although the hike itself was brutal, our crew kept each other laughing (mostly).
Even though we had two more days to go: we called it. The conditions, exhaustion, the leeches. No way.
The warm shower was heaven. And seeing those little buggers swirl down the shower drain was so satisfying.
That night, we slept in bunk rooms, listening to the sound of pouring rain while dreaming of black slimy creatures.
So, who got the last laugh?
Nature of course.
The next morning we got kicked out of our cabin by a brush turkey who decided it was his. We didn’t fight it.
Although we did crack up listening to Mel leave a voicemail trying to keep a straight face, letting the lodge know we’d checked out but that a brush turkey had now taken over our room.
What would we do differently next time?
Would you believe it? The next day looked like this! By this stage, we’d already made the call to cancel the next 2 days. View from Binna Burra Lodge, Queensland Australia.
Little did we know that the heavenly hike would turn into an almost 8-hour leech-infested treacherous expedition with heavy rain, walking through rivers of water and mud, carrying an 11 kg pack.
If we’d known that, here’s what we might have done differently.
Allow wriggle room to reschedule for bad weather.
Hike in winter (dry season = no leeches).
Buy better boots (the one’s that stay dry inside!).
Pack lighter (our backs were feeling it).
Start earlier to avoid panicking about daylight hours.
Use DEET repellant – apparently leeches hate that stuff.
While my first attempt at a multi-day hike nearly broke me, it also reminded me that the best stories often come from the most miserable moments.
Although I’m not rushing back anytime soon, we had lots of laughs (mostly once we were clean and dry), and I feel like I accomplished a personal challenge. So, there’s that.
I’m Abby! I’m a freelance writer, copywriter and content writer. I help brands, businesses and organisations find the words to share their story, connect with customers and make an impact.
I have a passion for travel, sustainability and exploring the world with kids.
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