The tone for trek was set on the second day with a dawn start and setting off a frankly blistering pace. The morning consisted of climbing solidly up boulders and muddy cliffs until we reached the ridge top and made into the fabled ‘Boulder Pass’ – a ravine of huge mossy slippery boulders which threatened ankle and knee injury with every step.
The goat-like gang made our way through unscathed however and were immediately rewarded with some incredible primary rainforest.
Keen to maintain the pace (and avoid any more of Rian’s baffling riddles during the breaks), the fit and fast group ploughed onwards through the incredible jungle into arm-raking fern forests out on to flooded river plains and finally to the logging roads.
Here we saw first-hand the effects of deforestation as the impressive jungle was replaced by ugly rocky roads and sadly felled and rotting trees. Perhaps for the first time, we realised just how valuable and urgent our conservation is saving this unique environment.
We decided save time on upping and downing basha’s and fire lighting by spending the night in a rickety logging cabin by the side of the road. A happy evening was spent drying (and in some cases totally destroying) our clothes over the fire, and despite frequent visits by wood ducks, all were sound asleep by 9pm.
