It's not about the destination...

We are coming along in leaps and bounds, literally, in the bushwalking department. We’ve extended the distance we walk, and the difficulty level. Go us! Once upon a time, “moderate” was our thing. Now we give a big “Pfft” to the “difficult” grading and have a go, anyway. We take our time, pack a big lunch, take breaks, and bloody enjoy it!

Today we did the Wineglass Bay to Hazards Beach circuit in the Freycinet Peninsula, a five-hour, eleven-kilometre trip around Mount Mayson. The walk starts with a steep climb up the steps to the Wineglass Bay lookout. It was super busy. Every tourist in Tasmania was here today. At the top, the view was breathtaking. If you had any breath left by the time you got to the top. But the ambience was ruined by the bedlam. The Chinese guys had heaps of breath left and were chattering away like excited parakeets. The Japanese children were ignoring the views and listening to J-Pop music full blast. The Fluro Euros were waiting in line to take a photo... and they’re probably still there waiting. Daph and Ern took a quick selfie, then ditched the pandemonium and continued the walk, in search of some peace and quiet.

Fortunately, the lookout was as far as most people went, deterred by the “difficult” status of the rest of the hike. Not Daph and Ern. We weren’t deterred. Bring it on! So, the remainder of the walk was much quieter. We continued with the thousand steps down to Wineglass Bay. Last week we were puffed by four hundred steps, though they were uphill. A thousand steps down are much easier. Especially when you’re rewarded with a beautiful beach at the end, for a well-deserved picnic.

This walk includes everything you could want on a hike... beautiful views, bush, beach, and mountainous terrain. And the weather was kind to us today. Not too hot, not too cold. Just right. We took our time, mainly because Daph stops every ten minutes to take photos of yet another hidden cove, or mountain view, or strange tree, or moss, or Ern’s delicious calves.

We got overtaken by several groups along the way, heads down, bums up, more concerned with completing the trek in record time than enjoying the surroundings. That’s okay if that’s your thing. But you might as well do eleven kilometres on a treadmill. Even the information board tells you to take your time and smell the roses. Get in touch with nature. Feel the energy. Daph and Ern approach their hikes like they approach their Kombi rides. When you plod along at a leisurely pace, you get to see the things others miss.

It’s not about the destination. It’s about the journey.