Karloo Pools and Bottle Forest Trail

Christmas came and went, and the New Year was approaching, I hit up my friend Tristan to come to the movies to see the new Avatar film 'The Way of Water'. While catching up after the film we got to talking about another walk and Tristan threw out the idea of Karloo Pools on the 2nd day of the New Year, the day before I returned to work. I said that it sounded good to me, who had spent most of the Christmas break laying around inside eating really heavy meals.

So, the day before I quickly messaged another friend Biris to see if he would be joining us, unfortunately he was busy with a barbeque. Tristan offered to pick me up and decided to bring his girlfriend who was mentioned in my 'Kiama Coastal blog post'. My first time actually meeting her.

He arrived outside my house, and we set off towards Waterfall. Chatting along the way. As we arrived at Waterfall train station Tristan decided he needed to poo, with me jokingly telling him he should just go in the bush. As we began walking to the station looking for a toilet, he realised that the walk began at Heathcote train station, so we got back into his car and he stopped at a service station along the way to use the loo.

As we arrived his girlfriend Amy and I both felt we needed the toilet and went at the station. We then followed Tristan's lead over the track to the other side looking for where the walk began seeing a few people heading that way. We followed them and found the entrance to the walk.

As we inspected the map, I mentioned we could have walked there from the Uloola Falls walk at Waterfall station (a walk I have done a few times and have meant to return and do again as a blog). He commented that we could have, but this way was shorter. My eyes bounced around looking at all the different walking trails wanting to do them all. We then began the walk in the sweltering heat wondering how I would go after my diet of rich Christmas food.

I could tell instantly that the walk was a popular one, there were people heading towards the entrance as we began the walk and various groups ahead of us.

As we followed the path along the back of the houses Tristan's girlfriend Amy mentioned that it would probably be nice to live on one of these houses, however I said I wouldn't like to as there is not enough privacy for my liking, especially with the amount of people traversing the trail.

To our right we came upon this structured sign, and I thought above the generic 'New Years Resolutions' but couldn't be bothered coming up with any because I never live up to them.

The path soon forked, with us following the trail right into the bush, towards Karloo (while the trail to the left was an APZ trail).

Tristan pointed out particular plants along the way, using his bush regeneration knowledge. He also pointed out an Eagle, which to stir him up I kept insisting was a bird it wasn't (such as a pelican).

Along the thin trail we weren't walking particularly slow, overtaking some people whilst also stepping aside to let groups of other people march on ahead of us.

We stopped along a rocky slope looking at the scenery. The discussion soon turned to travel with Amy mentioning swimming in the Nile while on a trip to Egypt, and I mentioned my upcoming trip to Iceland, she asked me about the Midnight Sun, and I said I thought that it occurred there, but wouldn't at the time of the year that I would be there.

The walk began to slightly incline, and we continued along the uneven surface (though it was not treacherous and was a very easy walk still).

After reaching the top just over the incline in the picture above the walk began on the same uneven surface but on a much sharper incline downwards that at some spots on the walk involved a little bit of scrambling just to avoid the people who were working their way back up (many of whom were stopping due to exhaustion and the heat as they worked their way uphill). It felt like we spent longer heading down then we had on the rest of the walk and wondered if we would look like these poor souls on our way back.

We soon arrived at Karloo Pools, which I could hear before I saw it. As the pools came into my sights, I realised why I had heard them, it was like going to a public swimming pool with the amount of people. We looked from side to side along the watering hole and opted to go to our left and climb up on a big rock away from people overlooking the water. I debated whether or not to get a photo as so many people where in there but opted to quickly take one while looking at my phone so it was 'inconspicuous'.

As I sat up on the rock observing the people around me, not far from my right a group of young teenagers lounged about, blasting their crappy music for everyone to hear. "This isn't a fucking water park" I thought angrily. "Nobody wants to hear your fucking shit."

Just down beneath me two young teenage boys threw stones into the water heading down stream and were told of by a lady who said he and her friend were trying to go in and swim there. The boys completely ignored them and continued just throwing rocks and while the woman looked at them with an incredulous look, unable to believe their sheer rudeness. 

"Are you coming in?" Tristan asked me. I told him I wouldn't as I didn't bring any swimmers and I didn't fancy walking in wet cloths, and that there were far too many people for my liking. Him and Amy went in for a swim and I sat trying to tune out the music and image the area without people.

While the two of them were swimming I noticed a particular couple come down, they came around to the side I was one before turning around and going to the opposite side to read a signpost before continuing along the walk. They didn't look like they were here for a swim and I figured they were continuing along the walk to either Uloola or Audley. Once Tristan and Amy returned and got changed, I asked if they wanted to continue the walk. They said they were ready and we walked around to the signpost I had seen the couple read. The sign seemed to imply that if the followed it inward to the right it would take you to Uloola, but if you continued straight ahead it would take you on a loop track up Bottle Forest Trail and back to the entry. They agreed that they wanted to do the loop and we headed down that trail seeing a few Water Dragons and at one point a Goanna.

As we continued along Tristan continued to cast doubt that we were even following a trail. I insisted we were saying I was 90% positive. Each time we got to a section that was slightly overgrown or the trail seemed a bit harder to find, Tristan would turn to Amy and asked if she trusted following my lead. I would then again insist I was positive but lowering the percentage to maybe 60% before again finding an obvious point in the trail and raising my percentage level of assuredness. 

Tristan continued to remain skeptical that the path looped, bit I said it had been on the map of the signpost that I had forgotten to photograph (having felt like some of my previous blog were too photo heavy I actively tried to not take as many photos during the walk and instead just enjoy myself).

At one point Tristan even stopped to try and GPS were we were, insisting the trail wasn't a loop but was a retention basin on the map, and when his GPS loaded up it did indeed not show any looping trail (it did show the Bottle Forest Trail, but not connecting to the track we were on).

Obligatory selfie

As we continued down some of the water spots were very clear and looked wild and like much better spots to swim in (with a distinct lack of crowds), however both Amy and myself commented at different times that the reads made it look (for some reason to us) like the water would contain Crocodiles (though we both knew they didn't).

I was happy we had come down this way, given how beautiful the views were (much more than any parts on the previous sections of the walk), but Tristan had me beginning to doubt myself and I was soon convinced that, as he said this walk simply continued through to Audley. I told them both we would get to a certain bend in the river (that I could see we had not yet reached when looking at Google Maps) and said if we did not come across a turn off to our left by that point, we would simply turn back the way we came (as I remembered from the signpost map whereabouts the loop trail was meant to be.).

As we continued further down the trail the silence was broken by voices in the distance and I suggested that we would ask the people about the 'Bottle Brush Trail' and Tristan, and I kept misremembering the name (even commenting on the lack of Bottle Brush Trees along the walk).

As we rounded a bend there was a group using a rope swim and some people swimming in the river. I called out and asked if they knew where the 'Bottle Brush Trail' was. The lady in the water replied that she found that funny as there were no bottle brush along the walk (she must have misread it too, that or the signpost I didn't photograph was incorrectly labelled).

She said something about it being 'Olympic Pools' though I could find no reference to that name on Google Maps looking along Kangaroo Creek (the creek we were following) and the only reference to that name I could find was doing a Google Search where it came up on the app: AllTrails.

As we walked, Tristan and I referenced several previous walks and he joked that soon all my blogs would simply be talking about old blogs. I told him that I had already found some of the previous ones too referential and that I would be looking to try and remove that so much from future posts. Amy commented that she was surprised we remembered enough to write about everything. I thought about that in my head afterwards, noticing how much I had struggled with my conversational recall while writing previous posts ever since having my chemotherapy, and even while trying to start this post messaging Tristan to see what he remembered, which wasn't much, which at least made me feel like it wasn't so much the chemo-brain, but the amount of conversations and distance in time between doing a walk and writing about it.

Tristan suggested the idea of bush-bashing through if we didn't find the trail and suggesting if we headed the right way, we might link up with the Bottle Forest Trail. I threw that idea out, saying I'm fine with bush bashing but the bushland was far too thick and heading uphill, I said I was happy enough to walk down a bit further and if we didn't find it, we could simply head back and walk up the way we had come.

As Tristan continued ahead along the trail while I stopped to take photos, I heard Amy call out that there was an arrow and as I caught up to her, I also noticed the cairn at the base. Tristan had to come back as he had walked ahead without noticing it and Amy seemed pretty happy to have found the path on the walk, with me sharing a gloating smile at Tristan.

As soon as we began up the stairs Tristan began complaining about me making them have to walk uphill. 

"It would have been uphill on the way back anyway." I told him, "At least we got to get to explore a different path." He continued to whinge but because it's Tristan I assume he was whinging for the sake of it and was not literal with his complaints.

The walk up was pretty steep, but more evenly footed than I felt the way returning from Karloo Pools would have been. We stopped once along the way for the two of them to catch their breath and I commented to Tristan he seemed out of shape compared to when we had done the Kiama Coastal walk together.

"Are you calling me fat!?" He jokingly said angrily to me.
"No, I just mean your fitness. It's reminding me of when we did Mount Jellore and you got cranky at me for wanting to let you stop once we got to the top."

We reached the top of this section and we stopped again for a breath and some water, behind us the couple I had seen wandering around at Karloo Pools appeared (they had been that the spot the lady had said were the Olympic Pools, but we had not spoken to them there).

Tristan said high to them and started asking them a bunch of stuff and the woman needed him to speak slower and I realised that they were foreign and didn't speak English super well (the accent sounded slightly German but I couldn't say for sure). She mentioned they had seen a monitor lizard along the way (the Goanna we saw), and they continued on.

The walk continued up and Tristan continued to complain, however I was surprised by my own fitness but then realised the Christmas break hadn't really been that long, so my fitness wouldn't drop off too much no matter how much Christmas ham I ate.

Soon we heard another group catching up behind us and we stopped to let them pass while Tristan laid down for a rest.

 As the group walked by one of the men looked at Tristan and back at me, nodding towards Tristan he said "Living the life."

Soon they passed and I told Tristan I was going to nickname him 'Old Man Banksia' as he had commented that there had been a lot of them along the walk and not 'bottlebrush trees' as we had thought. I also commented to Amy that there's probably more pictures of Tristan on my blog then there are of me.

We soon reached a dirt road opening with a signpost I thought would say from the opposite direction where the walk was heading, however it didn't (I can't actually remember what it said, which is why while walking I usually take way more photos then ever get uploaded just to help me remember things sometimes).

As we continued on Amy mentioned she wanted to get a 'Storm' (a type of Sundae) from Hungry Jacks after we finished, I agreed to the idea of Hungry Jacks, having recounted to them my story of learning to like pickles from my trip to Finland while we had all been talking about travel along the walk.

"An Orchid!" Tristan said, pointing it out and saying it's scientific name only for me to instantly forget it.

"I've got a bone to pick with you." Tristan said to me as we continued.
I looked at him.
"You're the most negative guy in positive situations and the most positive guy in negative situations."
I thought about that for a second.
"Thanks" I said to him, taking it as a compliment, further frustrating him.

The walk soon came out along the APZ trail we had seen from when we initially began the walk with a signpost on each side, left pointing to Heathcote and right pointing towards Audley.

"So that's how you get to Audley." I said, wondering if Amy had not seen the turn off and we had continued the way Tristan was heading where the path would have led.

We were soon behind people homes again as we followed the APZ.

As we reached the end of the walk, I thought about my return to work the following day and looked forward to taking some time off once the holiday period had ended for some more walks.

If you have enjoyed this post, or my blog in general, please follow it, or like my page on facebook or follow me on Instagram. 

Thanks for reading! - Steven

Bens Walk

 Having been super busy with work and doing a lot of overtime and weekend shifts (not a complaint, money in the bank for a holiday to Iceland next year!) I had been getting really antsy about not getting out in nature for a walk. Although I had quite a few things occur between now and my last post, I will leave that for the end of this post for anyone who cares to read and get straight on to Bens Walk.

I had been meaning to do the walk for almost a year after learning it was Dog friendly, as I love being able to take my little girl Orla with me. So I finally said to my Wife that we were going to go on the weekend, I locked it in, knowing the weather was too be nice and sunny (or monstrously hot according to my Wife).

"Where are we even going?" She asked in the morning as I packed my backpack with water enough for the three of us.
"I dunno, I looked it up and it just said it starts at Nowra Showground so just GPS to there." I told her as I tied the laces on my brand new hiking boots I had bought for my recent 31st birthday.

We jumped in the car and I set up the bluetooth, asking her what she wanted to listen to.
"Just not jazz." She responded as I had been blasting Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker and Dizzie Gillespie all week around the house. I chucked on some John Butler Trio, and we set off with Orla super excited for her adventure.

I always find the drive down the coast particular pleasant, maybe some part of me is always reminded of going down there multiple times a year when I was younger with my Dad and my brothers, as we frequently went camping at Coolendel Campground along the Shoalhaven when I was younger, and it's some of the best memories I have.

We arrived at the Nowra Showground, pulling up in the street just before the entry and putting on sunscreen. We hopped out of the car into the hot sun and walked into the showground.

We were surprised by the sign allowing Dogs off leash, but kept Orla on a lead as we didn't trust her to not run in front of cars.  

We soon noticed the area was a campground and wasn't too busy, but imaged it would get much busier in the lead up to Christmas.

"Is there a toilet around?" I asked looking around while we also looked for the start of the walk.
My Wife rolled her eyes at my frequent need of the toilet, (due to bladder damage during my Stem Cell Transplant).
Right in front of us was a block with the toilets, I handed the lead with Orla to my Wife and quickly ducked into the large room, with showers that I figured was the campers. I looked around before finding the toilet with a sticker warning of asbestos that gave me pause, before quickly ducking in and looking around for openings in the wall and slightly holding my breath.

As I left I noticed someone had drawn a picture on the back of the door warning of Snakes, reminding me to keep more of an eye out than usual as I had to worry about my Dog, not myself (who I worry little about).

*tread

After leaving my Wife walked to the opposite side to find the female door locked, before trying to enter the men's and finding it locked.
"It must just be for campers." I said, pointing at a point next to the door that looked like a card swipe.
My Wife was annoyed, and I said that surely there would be a public toilet in the showgrounds, before walking up a short way and finding them right next to a sign pointing us in the direction of Bens Walk.

I quickly gave Orla a big drink from a tap here as to not waste any of the water I had packed and we followed the direction of the signpost down to Hanging Rock Lookout, overlooking the Shoalhaven River.

We turned right and began following the stairs down towards the river.

After reaching the bottom of the stairs we passed through the split rock that didn't allow abseiling and turned left to continue on that path down below the Hanging Rock Lookout.

As we continued along I there were more moments of stairs and I noticed that all the plants down by the water were looking much greener compared to up at the showground.

I noticed the walk was now turning in away from the Shoalhaven, but still along a little river. I questioned out loud what an offshoot of a main river was called.

"Is it an Estuary?" I asked before shaking my hand, unable to think of what it might be. But I was right as we were no longer following along the Shoalhaven but Nowra Creek.

We followed the trail on a short distance before the trail split in 3 different directions. Left, looking like it headed back uphill, right over a bridge and straight ahead. 

Of course I was excited to cross the bridge, having not a few days early been messaging my brother Scott about how good the 'Rope Bridge Trope' was.

As I began crossing with Orla admiring the water way, a loud boat passed by blasting loud music, but was quickly gone.

"Does it move?" My Wife asked me.

"No it's pretty steady." I said as I continued admiring the creek.
My Wife began to cross shortly after me.

"It moves!" She said, and quickly ran across as if she was afraid it would collapse on her.

I finally met up with her on the opposite side, which opened to a meadow filled with long grass. My Wife began talking like she wanted to go back, fearful of Snakes in the long grass after I had told her of the image drawn on the back of the door.

I stood for a bit trying to convince my Wife to follow the path and that it would be fine until I eventually began walking with her following me. The path through eventually widened, and you could see the trail was clearly much lower than the surrounding grass, giving ample time to spot any sneaky serpents.

It was a beautiful spot to walk through, by my Wife soon began to complain about the heat and lack of shade (she did get sunburned in Scotland in Autumn). As we continued across the field I noticed on the opposite side acorss the long grass seemed to be someone's property. The path turned left away from the property and began along a dirt track in between casuarina trees (She-Oaks).

I told her that at least now she had some shade, as I smiled and continued walking, looking all over at all of my surroundings taking in all the scenery. You could almost see the creek through the thick layering of the casuarinas, and another boat when past with someone saying something obnoxiously loud with a thick bogan accent. She mentioned something about someone being stabbed on Bens Walk a few years ago (I think hinting at being afraid of whoever was in the boat), I just replied to her that she didn't have to worry and it was going to be like in Deliverance (a movie she hasn't seen).

As we cleared the casuarinas and the area on our right opened up to a puddly grass area I instantly thought of and area in the video game Red Dead Redemption 2 called 'Big Valley near 'Little Creek River', if you've played it, you might know what I mean.

Though looking at it here reminds me of 'Heartland Overflow' near 'Emerald Ranch'

There were openings in on our left along the way giving clear views of the creek and we soon came to an area with a sign designating the spot 'Depot Farm Picnic Area'.

Where there obviously used to be some kind of jetty

I expected to come across a picnic table, or something that made this area a 'picnic area', however there was nothing else around, so I assumed the old remains of the jetty might have been the designated picnic area. I queried to my Wife whether or not this creek would be in the book we had purchased her Father for Christmas, (a book of NSW kayaking locations).

Across the creek from us I saw a Mother and her young son doing the walk, heading the opposite direction to us. We heard her calling to him to 'come down' and to 'not climb up there'. I said that I hoped the kid didn't fall and have an accident, thinking back on the incident where my own Father fell off a cliff.

We came to the section where we were to cross the creek, I expected a simple path at the end of the creek but where instead met with some rocks to cross over. They were simple enough, however there were gaps between the rocks and my Wife suddenly got cross and refused to try and cross with Orla.

I told my Wife that it would be fine that Orla is good at agility. She adamantly refused, saying she was 'putting her foot down'. I stood out on the end with Orla, looking at the small gap across the first rock, stating that I could carry her while I stepped over, as the rest wasn't too bad for her to cross.
She adamantly refused saying that Orla seemed scared, and so she took Orla and began walking back.

I was annoyed and frustrated, because now we would need to walk back to the bridge and take the alternate route down to the other side instead of simply crossing over and continuing the walk back along the opposite side of the river.

I let my frustrations go, telling myself it just means I get to do extra of the walk, even if my Wife had been negative about it so far (not being very outdoorsy).

I tried to tell her to hand Orla back, as she can sometimes pull, and we were walking along an uneven surface. She wouldn't listen (still annoyed with me for trying to let Orla cross the creek). Not shortly after of course, walking along the uneven surface Orla jumped up, pulling my Wife and hurting her back.

I did a sort of 'I told you so' before taking the lead and continuing ahead with Olra while my Wife proceeded to slowly walk behind. Soon a couple who were doing the walk passed us by, and the guy asked my Wife if she was OK as it looked like she was limping. "Yeah, not that he gives a shit", she said angrily referring to me, causing my blood to boil.

As the passed we proceeded to get into an argument and walk almost back to the field of grass barely speaking to each other, before quickly reconciling (and I assume the pain of her awkward fall lessening). We crossed the wooden bridge back over the creek and I asked if she wanted to simply wait on a little wooden seat while I just ran down the end of the opposite side, to save her having to walk injured down. She said she should be fine, but we sat on the little bench to have some water an allow another couple who were beginning the walk with their Dog to cross the bridge.

"Is that a Shiba-Inu?" I asked My Wife, who is a self-proclaimed Dog expert, about the couple's Dog.
"That or maybe an Akita." She replied.

As we sat mosquitos began to swarm us, and I could see them landing all over Orla too, who was having a rest laying down in all the thick and vibrant green trad. We quickly got up and began to walk down the opposite side of the creek, back towards the creek crossing.

Compared to the open grasslands or woodland hallway of the opposite side of the creek, this side felt more like walking through a rainforest.

As it progressed further, I began to get bayou vibes, though that is an American term I couldn't think in my head of an Australian natural equivalent to that (the closest I could think of were mangroves which is completely different as it referred to specific flora).

My own limitations of descriptive language began to irk me, as I gazed through the melaleuca trees at the creek. I began to think about my writing style of this blog, and conversations with my brother Scott who had criticised it's "this happen and then this happen" aspect of my blog. I thought about how busy I was in everyday life. So much overtime at work, trying to maintain the house, spend time with my family, take care of Orla, and the fact I struggle to find time to even get out on adventures and walk let alone write about them, and when I did write I felt time pressured with the limitations of my memory, to recollect to walk so I would rush to churn out something lest I forget, then I would be disappointed with my writing, unhappy with lack of descriptive or poetry language, that I wasn't writing like how I wanted to write. I thought about how I was constantly entering the lotto, desperate to ease some pressure from my life as interest rates rose, fuel prices inflated, and food was costing an arm and a leg. The everyman struggle that I didn't want. How I envied those who had the freedom of leisure and travel. "Maybe this week I will win." I thought. (I didn't.)

I stopped to video the creek.

"Is that a tick?" I heard my Wife ask, as soon as I had stopped filming. 
I looked and saw it on Orla's back. I quickly flicked it away and have her a quick brush over to make sure she had none that had latched on. Luckily she was free of them, and we began moving to make sure no more in the area landed on her.

We soon came to a split in the path, one heading along the creek, leading to the creek crossing, and one leading uphill to a scout hall.

We continued on the path heading towards the creek crossing.

As we passed the rocky outcrop on our left, I pondered out loud if there was maybe Aboriginal art in there, as if I was going to camp in a location a good spot with shelter under the stable looking rocky ledges would be where I would pick.
"Why would they?" My Wife asked me. "They built shelters?"
"Yeah, but going under an established shelter where you can have an open fire, and save the hassle of doing that, I dunno. That's what I would do." I replied.

We arrived at the crossing while my Wife and Dog stopped for some water I quickly crossed over the crossing as I had not crossed from the other side and then snapped a few quick photos as the couple with the Shiba-Inu like Dog arrived on the opposite side.

They saw the same gap we had seen and had a moment of hesitation because of their Dog.

"Yeah." I said to them while I was still standing in the middle of the crossing. "That's why we turned back and walk the other way around." I pointed to my Wife and Dog sitting on the opposite side in the shade.

I walked back to my Wife and Dog to have some water and sat to watch to see if this couple and their Dog would cross. 

They seemed like they wanted to, but every time they got near the first gap in the rocks their Dog retreated. After about 5 minutes they decided that they wouldn't be able to cross with their Dog and turned around.

"Not a very Dog friendly walk then, is it?" My Wife remarked.

We began to head back, arriving at the scout hall sign I told her I would quickly jog up to have a look up at the scout hall while she waited for me. So, Orla and I began a fast-paced walk up the zigzagging tarred track to the top. Arriving off the path opened up to and area along the back of houses linking up to fire-trails and power pole trails. There was a bunch of different tracks I could walk down and I didn't have all day, and most probably led no-where and were not part of the walk, I simply turned around and returned to my Wife who was being devoured by mosquitos.

We began the walk back as I stopped to take a photo to our right, away from the creek.

"You take a lot of photos." My Wife stated. 
"So people can get an idea of the walk and the scenery. Doesn't that just remind you if Lemoyne from Red Dead 2?" I asked, again comparing the natural scenery towards that of a video game. We passed a couple who were pulled up in a Kayak alongside the creek with Orla hanging her head over the bank looking down on them. "Leave it Orla" I said as we said a polite 'hello' to the couple and continued on.

"A Goanna!" I whispered with excitement, pointing ahead down the trail. I stayed back with Orla as it ran across the path and began climbing one of the She-Oaks. My Wife tried to quietly walk forward and take a few photos and videos of it, but ultimately, I am using the one I took after I had walked back up to her and looked up at it casually hanging in the tree.

"It's not a Goanna, it's a Monitor Lizard." My Wife informed me, as we began walking.
"What's the difference?" I asked.
"Monitor Lizards are smaller I think." She replied before she began looking it up on her phone.
"Oh no," She said still reading, "They're the same. Goannas are just monitor lizards and there was just confusion with it back in the day."
"So, all Goannas are monitor lizards, but not all monitor Lizards are Goannas." I replied, nodding.

We soon reached the split in the path where the wooden suspension bridge over the creek was, with straight leading us back the way we had came, I suggested turning right heading up the stairs saying it would probably take us back to the showground at just another point you could begin the walk from (as the couple with the other Dog had come down this way)

A very short way up, my suspicions were confirmed with signage

It wasn't too much of an incline uphill before we once again reached the showgrounds at a different spot to begin the walk right near a bush regeneration site with a sign detailing who 'Ben' was that the walk was named after as well as confirming my suspicion about aboriginal rock art. 

We made our way back to the toilets, and returned to the car both commenting that we probably just have packed some lunch as our stomachs grumbled. We loaded Orla into the car and cranked the aircon for her as she was panting pretty vigorously from the heat and I began to drive us home.

If you have enjoyed this post, or my blog in general, please follow it, or like my page on facebook or follow me on Instagram. 

Thanks for reading! - Steven

Extra tidbits! - Prior to the walk I had been asked to take part in a scientific study as I was a survivor of a Stem Cell Transplant. The study was apparently the first of its kind, basically testing whether or not after a Stem Cell Transplant if the donor cells could form in the testes thus if you were not made infertile from the chemotherapy, would any children sired be genetically those of the donor? A very important question, so I was happy and fascinated to take part in the study. This took place up at Concord Hosptial in Sydney. Obviously, sperm collection was required so you can use your imagination there. The Doctor informed the study was happening after someone undergoing the treatment was adamant that a child he had sired was not his. I was also told I had the option (if I was not sterile) to learn if this was the case with the donor cells or to remain ignorant (which some people had chosen). I said I would like to know and wondered why this wasn't already known. I was told that they actually struggled to get permission to even conduct the study due to the ethics board being against it.

"We I think it's something we should really know, not just people getting it but donors out there who have people walking around with their stem cells." I said.

Afterwards I had a wait for my results so went looking for lunch, on my way finding a Kokoda Track Memorial Walk so ended up killing some time exploring along there (giving me inspiration to one day do the actual Kokoda Trail myself).

There were signs along the paved walk, marking different sections of the Kokoda Trail and offering up information about the war and the trail all along the path, I stopped to read them along the way as Bush Turkeys scuttled past.

I follow the stairs down to a bay with some remnants of a ship.

I accidentally came across a guy peeing off of the path into the bush and he quickly zipped up and walked away, I continued following the trail snapping a photo of the cool looking table that was next door to an Italian restaurant.

I crossed the busy road over to a mall for lunch before following the trail back the opposite way so I could fully walk it, arriving at the beginning of it right next to the hospital carpark (not in the random suburban streets nearby where I had stumbled upon it).

The path continued left, away from the hospital, and I checked the time figuring I would have time still to walk down and I began following this new trail which turned out to be the 'Foreshore Trail'.

I continued along ultimately running out of time and having to run back to the hospital to not miss my appointment. Returning back, I had a blood test and was told my sperm count was incredibly low, that I wasn't 'sterile' but 'sub-fertile' and would not be able to conceive with the low number. I was told that I would have to retest in another year as it was still too soon from my treatment to be sure whether or not they would recover. (Though I secretly hoped they wouldn't, you can probably image why, plus my sperm was saved already before my first round of chemo in case we ever wanted children).

This occurred early November. Mid November, for my birthday I bought tickets in Sydney to see my favourite stand-up comedian Louis C.K.

So my Wife and I travelled to Sydney for the day (in order to try and find me some good hiking boots as we could get none in and around Wollongong), we stopped in at the Lillipad Cafe in Glebe, an Indigenous Cafe as I had read about it on an SBS Food post and had really wanted to go. I got a wattleseed coffee and the Gangurru Burger, a saltbush spiced Kangaroo burger flavoured with wattleseed, pepperleaf, fingerlime mayo, and bush tomato chutney that was absolutely delicious.

Noticing in their fridge non-alcoholic Bush tucker flavoured beers I bought all 3 and as we walked around Sydney during the day looking for my boots I slowly made my way through all three of them.

I finally found a good pair of boots in a Kathmandu and had to carry them around for the rest of the day with me while we waited to see Louie.

Finally we saw him (though we did endure to not particularly funny opening acts), and he was hilarious, I laughed the most I had in a long while (so much so I struggled to breathe). Four days later my actual birthday happened, hitting 31 years of age, getting on in my years. One of the gifts I got was a Kombucha making kit. And thus concluded the very very end of this blog post, with hopefully some more walks in the future, and a trip to Iceland in September next year to look forward to.