Day 156 Guy Fawkes River National Park

The tracks disappear

NSW Day 14 (156) 17.5km

3084.4 / 2014.5km

Today I head into the wilderness of the Guy Fawkes River National Park. The trail follows the river for the next couple of days. 

Pig rootings
After my broken sleep I head off feeling a little tired and within a half hour lose a supposed management trail that should follow the river initially. I was following a two wheel track that just disappeared in amongst a Brumby pad and pig diggings. It happens on some rarely used trails and I assumed I was going to see signs of it again later. For now I'll follow brumby pads and keep the river in sight. How hard can it be?

The culprits
I would soon learn. The river itself is very beautiful, of course I'm coming through when it's nice and low. There is this nice patch of water, which meanders its way through a bed of mainly stones on the inside of the banks on every meander there is a Sheoak forest that is decimated each flood and catches all the debris and the outside is a vertical cliff of rock rising in some cases 100s of metres vertical. So of course you have to navigate up my crossing the river onto the inside portions many times. 
Need a fishing rod

Now just outside of the debris filled forest of sheoak is flat piece of land but initially there is a lot of Lantana, BlackBerry, and all other prickly concoction. This pushes you up to 100 metres away from the river proper. I make a few mistakes by staying too long on one side and going up some rises only to end up at the top of a cliff.

Can't get enough of these views
Within a couple of hours I come to trust the Brumby. There are a lot of pads criss crossing the area but I generally find the most used one and follow. It gives me a path through some of the prickle outbreaks but it also gives me a clue when it heads down to the river when it's time to cross. 

The trail
The trail at one stage stops following the river and goes up a creek and then you spend the next hour pushing through Lantana and blackberry or stumbling on the rocks of the creek bed. It's called the long gully and it could be a short cut or it misses a really messy part of the river. At the top of the gully you then have to go down the other side. It is much steeper and in the end I zagged instead of zigging and ended up 100 metres above the river. Made a good photo but then I had to go back up and get it right. Even then the trip back down the creek was only made safe by a Brumby pad zig zagging its way down a near vertical slope. Don't get rid of the Brumbys.
Sorry more river

Brumbys
It's very hot down in the valley and I enjoy the river when I can. I soon get into the rhythm of crossing the river and following the brumby track then doing the river again. I missed the Little Plains Campsite but continued on into the afternoon knowing I had a river to cool down in at the end of the day. Eventually I found a little island that I thought would be out of the way of any nocturnal animal movement. Trouble was I set the tent up and missed I was right near a stinging nettle. It was only a small plant but as soon as I took my boots off I brushed against it and I had my foot and ankle in some discomfort. 

A trap or a way across. 
Today was tough. On some climbs down I realised I'm a long way from help if I fall. Tomorrow I'm going to trust the Brumby and hopefully not have too many mistakes. One lesson learned today was if I make a mistake, climbing down cliff faces is not the remedy. Backtrack and get it right.