Eight Epic Peaks

Infamous Mount Ossa

Monday 7th Oct Well what can I say about Tassies it's beautiful from the moment you set foot on this unique island, I knew this one would be hard but it was much more difficult then expected, I got snow, rain and very high winds, I live in a cold climate normally and use to cold conditions but it's like mother nature want to throw everything at me at once, Tassie unfortunately is having a late winter and conditions on the mountain/summits change so rapidly in alpine areas just like in Namadgi, Kosciuszko and Bogong national park so prepare for the worst, the snow was the main problem, It was waist deep in some parts more then what I'd ever been use to the rest ankle deep, Ossa also has a chute which fills with snow and these areas are just not passable with out high risk, I did as much as I could with what mother nature gave me and be in safe limit with the conditions, please note I did have winter/wet weather gear Bennie, gloves, thermals and safety gear satellite mapping and PLB I recommend never go out hiking with out safety gear like GPS or PLB. I also did some of the beautiful Overland track, it has the most cutest wombats you will ever see Pademelons and the amazing Cradle mountain in lake St clair national park UNESCO world heritage site unfortunately my trek was a rainy one but still an amazing experience the weather did clear to give views of cradle mountain and dove lake, mountains in Tassie are made mostly of dolerite. also did some walks in the amazing Takayna/Tarkine home to the Tasmania devil, swift parrots and maybe even the Tassie tiger (thylacine) an amazing place Gondwana cool temperature rainforest with the largest trees in Australia 16 metres around the trunk Also summiting the Nut at Stanley as well on this adventure. (Weebonenetiner and Big river) https://nre.tas.gov.au/wildlife-management/fauna-of-tasmania/mammals/carnivorous-marsupials-and-bandicoots/tasmanian-devil Share

From one extreme to the other

Saturday 20th Jul From rainforest☀️to snow❄️today's adventure was out in the snow to see how I would go in cold temps in Namadgi national park, today's temp was 1°C and snow was falling at 900m. MRV's flag has almost been in every type of climate in Aus from humid rainforests to icy snow MRV's flag is an essential part of my hiking bag and it's been a real privilege to carry it along the journey so far. The snow is as wet and cold as I remember nothing thermals and good winter gear can't fix but it's still a great experience and practice for cooler climates. (Ngunnawal and Ngambri country) Share

Leeches, Leeches everywhere Mount Bartle Frere

Tuesday 9th Jul Seeing Australia the past week I spend in Far North Queensland in innisfail the home of sugar cane the wettest places in Australia and Qld's tallest mountain Mount Bartle Frere (Chooreechillum) it sits in the foot hill of the town Bartle Frere with the Atherton Tablelands. Mount Bartle Frere is in the Bellenden Ker Range and part of Wooroonooran National Park in the wet tropics UNESCO world heritage area that you hike though, this trip was 2429km journey each way from my home town to QLD with stops in Moree, Emerald and then back down the east coast via Mackay, Ballina,Tamworth, Wellington it was amazing to meet/speak to so many different people along the way. Mount Bartle Frere is no joke extremely difficult and l think grade 5 doesn't do it justice it's the hardest climb I've ever done I had to spend a day to acclimatize my body to the heat and humidity coming from cold temps to hot added to the difficulty the heat humidity and weeks of rain made the paths hard muddy and slippery, inclines are not a thing it's more like rope climbing up a ladder and boulder jumping, Leeches were extremely bad I was covered in them from my face to my legs. Along the way there are several creek crossings, due to the amount of rain the area has received it made navigating a little more of a challenge it's a ever changing climate one minute it's sunny next it's like a tap was turned on and it's raining completely different from alpine mountains I'm used of, Bartle Frere has no real views at the peak only at heli pad or broken nose but it's only visible 5% of the time and only about 17 days a year so you have to be lucky and this year unfortunately it's been raining more then usual clear days are hard to come by, the rain Forest itself was beautiful when you look around and hard cause of spikes in plants and vines, Bartle Frere also has a species of venomous plant the Gympie Gympie you have to watch out for, pants are a must and the crazy amount of water I guess it's call a rainforest for a reason. Bartle Frere has a rainfall of around 8,000 millimetres a year, it was amazing to have seen/been on QLD'S highest mountain in a UNESCO world heritage listed rainforest and all it's beauty but also thankful I don't have to climb in the wet tropics the constant weather changes and humidity I'm not build to climb in, I would also only recommend this for experienced hikers or groups much easier in a group cause honestly the Leeches themselves are a pain and good if you had someone else to help you get them off. Info about Mount Bartle Frere has a number of animals from Cassowary to Bartle Frère cool skink and the dreaded gimpie gimpie plant there's also alot of Australian bush turkeys around. (Noongyanbudda Ngadjon country) https://www.australianreptileguide.com/bartle_frere_cool_skink https://www.bushheritage.org.au/species/cassowary https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/science-environment/2014/02/factsheet-gympie-gympie/ Share

🏔️A flat trail never made a skilled hiker🏔️

Thursday 6th Jun I've been hard at work training & hiking and wait for the dry season up north, during this time I've been hiking but smaller ones of course. As a hiker you have to keep your body under a certain pressure if your doing long/large climbs if you stop you have to rebuild the strength and endurance again 💪 also practising cold camping in my tent for Tassie as it will be colder then the normal time you would trek. Here's some photos 📷 of my training hikes/hills⛰️it never ceases to amazes me how beautiful the natural world is I get to see amazing things everytime I hike and is one of the main reasons I do it to see the outstanding natural beauty of everything around us 🏞️ it also teaches me alot about life and myself like weather ⛈️ even when it's not perfect it's can still be beautiful like in life not everyday will be perfect most the times it's not and we just have to push beyond that and find the positive in the negative, I never focus on the top I focus on the trail the journey that's what builds you that's what makes it worthwhile and how mentally and physically capable I am as a person even on the days I'm not feeling 100% & I believe anyone can achieve their goals no matter the storm your facing. And the best part is l also had the privilege to attend parliament house to support MRV and meet the Ministers to raise awareness about Bone Marrow Failure syndromes. And Thank you to everyone for your support on my journey across Australia 🦘 💜 (Ngunnawal/Nagambri country) Share

Mount Bogong the Staircase mount.

Tuesday 16th Apr This weekend I spend in the picturesque Victorian high country to summit Mount Bogong highest peak in Victoria at 1986m the first look at Bogong it looks huge. To climb Mount Bogong there's multiple ways to summit but I choose to do it from Mount Beauty side from mountain creek campground up staircase spur the shortest but toughest way to climb, the name doesn't give it justice it's a climb the whole way l recommend only to take it on with hiking experience it's a all day hike, but the views are just breathtaking from the summit, its like your really on top of the world so close you are in the clouds at some points truly amazing, along the track you go from a rainforest type feel to a alpine peak with less tress. There's a hut along the way called Bivoauc Hut for over night campers it sits at 1440m. You also see a lot of different animals broad toothed rats, black cookatoos, a beautiful yellow and black grasshopper, baby tiger snake and skinks some I'd seen along the way. The main challenge was coming back down you just have to keep pushing, this one was a real mental and physical challenge but well worth it. (Dhudhuroa Country) Share

The top of Australia Mount Kosciuszko

Monday 11th Mar Today l adventured up to the top of Australia to Mount Kosciuszko the highest peak in Australia and the highest point the Maddie's Vision flag will reach during this journey, it was the highest flag in Aus at one point today. my day stared with a drive to Kosciuszko National park and down to Thredbo for a 13km walk to the summit of Kosciuszko this is a very well maintained track that anyone can achieve to climb and l encourage anyone to do it and give it a go. There are some beautiful streams with little baby trout in them not many tree as you get closer to Kosciuszko as you pass Rawsons pass. it has lots of large rock formations and a large lake called Lake Cootapatamba, it was great climb with very nice views and great being the highest person in Aus even just for a few minutes now on to the next one :) (Walgal/Ngarigo Country) Share

Adventure to Mount Bimberi

Monday 4th Mar

My day started with a 3 hour driving into Kosciuszko National Park NSW to murray’s gap trail this walk in totally is 22 km along a fire trail then a summit climb, bimberi is in a very remote location in the bimberi wilderness reserve and is closer to NSW then the actually city of Canberra its on the border but just couple of meters either way your in NSW then your in ACT where Namadgi and Kosciusko join each other.

The walk along murray's gap was easy on a very well maintained road you pass Oldfields hut, hut is a campground for people doing the AAWT, built in 1925 by John Pheney for the Oldfields family really nice preserved hut and in the view you see mount murray and mount bimberi next to each other.

Bimberi is not for the faint-hearted it's hard and very bushy, GPS navigation is required as you could get lost only signs of the trail are stack stone cranes but due to the 2019 and 2020 bushfires there's lots of burnt trees that have fallen and at time hard to navigate but does have some lovely views along the way of Namadgi and Kosciusko.

Trekking back down I came across the sphagnum moss bogs, the home of the northern corroboree frog, a very special frog for the ACT and NSW that is currently Critically Endangered, there was lots of alpine she-oak skinks that are endangered and tiger snakes along the track as well 

This was a very hard hike/climb mentally and physically even though it was very hard. I did feel like I've achieved something special and learnt a lot along the way now onto the next one. 

Northern Corroboree Frog info.

https://www.environment.act.gov.au/nature-conservation/conservation-and-ecological-communities/threatened-species-factsheets/northern_corroboree_frog#:~:text=The Northern Corroboree Frog is,moss bogs and adjacent woodlands.

(Ngunawal/Walgalu Country)

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