Here I am at the start of my weighted walks. Cape Byron's most easterly point and my dearest friend and training buddy Thi-Anh here with me.
Follow a few of these walks, which include a horrendous amount of stairs - which are mandatory training for any hiker I went to Wild Earth on the Gold Coast and was professionally fitted for a hiking pack.
I ended up with an Osprey 65 litre pack, which cost me $396! ouch. It weighs about 2kg, but fits my back perfectly and I no longer have a sore lower back.
Highly recommend being professionally fitted for a pack and completing regular weighted pack walks.
One tip: Remember that you have weight on your back. You can't go as quickly as you normally would, so just remember that!
We visited Tenterfield for our twentieth wedding anniversary in October 2022. We stayed at the White Rose Cottage in Tenterfield for two nights, which was comfortable and warm.Given that it was early October, it was still cool on the Tableland. On our second day, we headed out to Giraween National Park, about twenty minutes north of Tenterfield.
An old shop in Rouse street, Tenterfield
Giraween National Park
Girraween is an Aboriginal word meaning “Place of Flowers” aptly named after the stunning array of spring wildflowers that bloom each year. The national park covers over 11.000 hectares of national park along the Queensland/ New South Wales border.
I had researched the park before we arrived and found this awesome site called Beyond Wild Places, which is highly recommend viewing if you’re keen to hike this area. https://beyondwildplaces.com/best-girraween-national-park-walks/
Our plan was to follow the writers advice and walk counter clockwise. Our first destination was to walk to ‘The Pyramid’,
We crossed over the concrete bridge and made our way along the trail. We managed to meet a few of the locals as we made our way to the stairs. We certainly felt our hearts thumping in our ears as we ascended these rough, warm wedges of stone. I was trying out my walking poles, which were brilliant. Certainly made the walk all that more enjoyable.
We made it to the base of the Pyramid and then it was a scramble up the rock. I only got so far as the rock for me was quite slippery and I couldn’t get a decent grip on my hiking boots. We followed the white markings and from here, I said farewell to my husband, who made the final leg up the steep incline. It certainly was blimin scary and even he later reflected that it was nerve wracking. Nevertheless we attempted it!
The view from midway up ‘The Pyramid’A rock wallaby hanging out near the stream
We then made our way back down the stairs, aided by my hiking poles and walked back towards the granite arch. Walking along the well-maintained gravel path, you are surrounded by outcrops of granite. It’s quite a remarkable landscape. We were also surrounded by the vast array of spring flowers.
We made our way to the junction, which was where Bald Rock Creek meets Ramsay Creek. It was an easy 5.2km walk. We were going to try to cross the creek to complete the circuit back to the car however the creek was flowing that fast we just couldn’t get across, so we had to back track. We packed snacks, however in hindsight a substantial lunch, would have helped out energy levels and perked us back up after this walk.
Bald Rock Creek
All up we walked over ten km’s and took us about four hours. On our way out we said how lovely it would be to go for a swim in the rock pools.
The camping area has recently been upgraded by Queensland National Parks. We decided that we would come back and complete the southern circuit of Giraween National Park at another time.
