Backpack in Blue Mountains by Zander

I wasn’t really looking forward to backpacking, and all the uphill in it.  This would be a chance to see all the Australian wildlife while they are not in a zoo.  I was not looking forward to sleeping in a tent for 2 nights. I went on a 29 km backpack (which is about a marathon) in one day. I saw kangaroos, wallabies, , scorpions, bugs, birds, and rabbits. Seeing all these animals and backpacking a marathon made me feel really good about myself.

                On the first day, we had to stop short; because we weren’t going to make it to the camp site that we were support to go to. So, we were going to have to hike for a really long time the next day. We were going to hike 29 kilometres and gain 800 metres in one day.  We had a really hard day ahead of us. I really didn’t want to do it, because I had to carry a really heavy pack. There was also a real shortage of water in the place that we were hiking through until we got to the next camp. 

               

                 On the hike, we saw a lot of amazing animals. There were heaps of kangaroos and wallabies eating grass around the trail. We got lots of good pictures of them. There were a few iguanas and rabbits that were scatter around the place. The most disgusting thing was all the bugs and scorpions that were everywhere; we caught a scorpion at our camp and cut it up with a knife. There were also echidna (porcupine like animals) that would curl up and be still when we walked by. There were some amazing animals, but my favourites were the kangaroos because they stared at me and wiggled their ears.

                When we finally got to the camp site, I barely could walk. My whole bottom half of my body was sore. When we finally sat down and waited for water to boil, I took of my shoes and socks to find 2 blisters. For the rest of the night, barely anybody got up. We ate dinner, and went to bed really early. I knew that it was good that we finished all the hiking that day. So the last day would be an easy walk.

                My favourite part of this backpack was sitting down by the fire, eating soup at night while listing to the birds. My least favourite part was hiking up the really steep incline with no water and feeling my feet hurt with every step. Persevering through this backpack and seeing all the amazing animals made me feel really good about myself. I learned that I could walk for a really long time with no water and a heavy pack if I needed to.

Zander