This was not the best walk of our lives!

When I get out of here and back to civilisation i.e. anywhere I can get internet access, I must Google the symptoms of heat exhaustion. If they include sweating, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, exhaustion, headache, lack of concentration, confusion and giving up the will to live, I think I can safely say that Sandra and I between us are suffering badly from heat exhaustion. And yet it all started out so well …...

Leaving the Longreach Waterhole we drove north up the Stuart Highway passing the Daly Waters Pub, stopping briefly at Mataranka Hot Springs and finally setting up camp at Edith Falls which we had previously visited four years earlier. The campsite is all lush grass and shady trees as there is no shortage of water with the Edith River close by and with the Falls just a couple of minutes walk from our tent. The Falls and the waterhole are quite spectacular and we had no sooner pitched camp than we had our cozzies on and were in the water – cool and refreshing. Sandra was able reassure a young German girl that there was no chance of being eaten by a crocodile – without adding that was because they only came out to eat at night. They were only freshwater crocs anyway!

The beautiful lower pool at Edith Falls where we swam

The following day we decided to re-visit Sweetwater Pool – a short stroll through the bush of about 5k. Although relatively short there was a fair climb to cope with and much of the track was very rocky and it somehow seemed a lot further than it did four years ago – anno domini creeping up on us I fear! The pools were beautiful and very inviting after the long walk so we spent the next few hours swimming and generally lounging around although it wasn't easy to find a soft rock upon which to lounge. We put off our return journey until the worst of the mid-day heat was past – or so we thought. When we had set out in the morning the mercury was already over 30C and when we started on our return journey at 3pm it was probably about 35C or 36C – not overly hot but not the best for a walk over rough ground. Despite losing the trail on a couple of occasions after almost two hours we arrived at a junction in the track – and this is where we made our big mistake.

Cooling off in Sweetwater Pool before starting the walk back to camp

I have an aversion to re-tracing my steps and, wherever possible, like to return by a different route. Knowing this Sandra suggested we take a different track back by turning left rather than right at the junction. She had noticed an “easy” loop walk which would take us back to camp – so off we went. After a short distance we started to descend – and my alarm bells started ringing with “What goes down, probably goes up again”. “Rubbish” said Sandra “We will get down to the bottom and it will be a short, flat walk back to the tent.”

Already very tired, when we eventually got to the bottom of the climb we received a real shock to the system when we discovered there was no easy way out, it was either back up the way we had just climbed down – which in retrospect would probably have been the better option – or to press on. We had now reached the Upper Pool which was apparently very beautiful but at this stage we couldn't give a stuff as we had now seen what we had to climb.

The Upper Pool - apparently very beautiful

Due to various medical problems I have difficulty walking over rough, stony ground and also going up steep hills. What we now faced was very rocky and steep enough to make mountain goats and rock wallabies think twice (OK maybe a slight exaggeration) Sandra has always been a better walker than me and I am forever having to get her to slow down but on the climb she was not in fine fettle at all and was insisting that she had to sit and rest every few minutes. My problem was if I sat and rested my legs would seize up and I'd never get started again. She said I should just go on and she would catch up but I was reluctant as her concentration was starting to go and I didn't want her slipping over the edge.


Starting to get hot and bothered

By this time I was already carrying all the bags plus the umbrella we used as a sunshade. Considering briefly (in fact very briefly and quickly discarding) the piggy back option, there was only one thing for it, she had to be kept moving so I was forced to use the umbrella as a sort of cattle prod. It was one of those situations in life where you had to be cruel to be kind! Reaching the top, but unfortunately not the end, we staggered on. I had saved some of our precious water and tried to get her to drink some but by this time she had started vomiting and was unable to keep anything down. This was not one of the best walks we had ever been on.

Unable to walk and spewing - but still with a sense of humour

Eventually, after almost three hours in the burning sun, the track started to go down and we got back to the lower pool and the welcome sight of our tent. Strangely enough, about an hour earlier, I had been fantasising about what I would do to a cold beer when we got back but found I couldn't face one. Bed early that night with no dinner but lots of (non alcoholic) liquid.

An exhausted "selfie" - and I think the beard should go