Day 80 was AWESOME (even though it was still raining)

Bunya Mountains National Park 11km of hiking

I was not such a happy camper this morning, it had rained overnight so the tent was wet.  Getting out of a tiny wet hiking tent without getting yourself and the interior of the tent wet is an acrobatic exercise that even years of yoga has not prepared me for.  So on exiting, and now damp, what joy to discover that we are blanketed in a pea soup of fog, the wind driving the drizzle sideways, so even the undercover picnic area is wet and 100% humidity.  Coffee helps, as does watching the wallabies and brush turkeys graze the campground, untamed. But the mood shifts into the positive as I am surprised to observe a dingo make his way through the camp.  An uncommon sight, as they are few in number here and relatively cautious.

Hopeful that the weather might clear, we leave the tent to maybe dry a bit.  And head out for a hike.  The scenic circuit track sounds promising, we dutifully clean and disinfect our shoes and head off.  You only need to go 20m down the trail before you have to pull the camera out.  The bunya rainforest consumes you. The 4km circuit should take about an hour, it takes us at least two.  We are constantly stopping for the jaw dropping trees, the colourful and unrecognisable fungi, the birds dashing about, the waterfalls, the sheer scale of life and diversity.  It really was awesome.  Walking amongst those trees felt reverent.  I am so grateful for the existence of National Parks, the declaration of this one in 1908 saved it from further logging.

In the style of American National Parks this one also has a restaurant, bar, and general store.  The fog and misty rain persist, and Kerstin treats us to hamburgers in the heated(!) restaurant, great call because as we are sitting there the skies open.  So I order a pot of tea, and we read the newspaper.  Once we are back to just damp and fog, we can't resist returning to the rainforest.  And head out to hike to Paradise Falls.  It's getting a bit late in the day, and with the fog and dense forest the atmosphere is almost spooky.  For all you Lord of the Rings geeks out there, if Australia has Ents then this is where they live!  The trees seem sentient.  We spot an impressive Turkey mound, brush turkeys are the kings of compost.  Building these huge mounds to incubate their eggs in the warmth of the decomposition, how on earth did they figure that out?  But I am most excited to spot this little nest a little off the path.  Whomever can tell me what bird builds this nest gets the next postcard!

Who lives here?

This time the rain doesn't wait for us to get back, and we cautiously make our way back on a now very muddy trail.  There are more treats ahead, it's 5 o'clock when we get back to the campground, right in time for the opening of Australia's highest whiskey bar!  We take our soggy selves inside, the fire is on and the whiskey list is long and impressive.  We soak in the warmth, we sip some excellent whiskies and reflect that despite the climb and the rain, it was worth it.

Writers Tears Irish whiskey was our favourite