explore the unknown

The Weekend Walkabout Challenge has kicked off!

Week 1 was all about exploring the unknown. Having chosen a park I'd never been to before, in a region I'd never visited before, I'd say the unknown was certainly explored.

Despite my desktop research about the various walks in the You Yangs Regional Park, on the day I decided to 'wing it'. By which I mean, I parked at a random location and chose a spontaneous route from there on.

Please note I would not use this approach in a park without clear walking tracks and signage.

With one hydration backpack (filled with icy water), one phone, a few dog treats and one dog, I set off.

From the Big Rock picnic area we headed towards The Saddle along Rockwell Rd. Now at this point I have to admit, I didn't chose the best walk. At least 2-3 km of our walk was along a dirt road and walking along a dirt road isn't particularly interesting. Ah well, it was nice being spontaneous.

Once we reached The Saddle, things got a little bit more interesting. There were a number a smaller, more interesting paths to choose from. There was the East walk, West walk and Saddleback track.

Intrigued by the Bunjil geoglyph, we took the Saddleback track, which was predominantly a dirt track heading straight down.

I dislike walking downhill at the best of times. Add an impatient young canine and it was bordering on painful. Luckily we managed to reach the bottom without too much skidding and sliding, and it was a pleasant walk from there to the geoglyph.

The geoglyph was somewhat interesting, but does not need to be seen up close. If you want to see it in its entirety, I recommend walking to the lookout on the Flinders Peak track. (Of course, I didn't know this til later.)

Now it was time to head back up the hill. At this point I was planning to head straight back to our starting point, but... when we reached Turntable picnic area and I saw groups of people heading up to Flinders Peak I thought "challenge accepted".

At this point we'd been walking for 1.5 hours, but I was there, in the moment, with energy to burn. So 450 steps and steep gradients seemed a logical thing to do. Besides, you can't go somewhere and not reach the top, right?

So Maple and I bounded up the Flinders Peak track at a cracking speed. I was feeling fit and energised. Despite all the extra weight I was carrying (being overweight and all), I felt like my old-self again. The sporty, adventurous lass that I used to be. It was great.

The view at the top was pretty good, but the feeling of accomplishment, of having pushed myself and risen to the occasion, was even better.

But that wasn't enough for Miss Maple. She stepped it up a notch on the way back down from the peak and I ended up running the rest of the way. (Who would have thought it?!)

Eventually, 2.5 hours after we'd started, we were back at Big Rock picnic area. Tired, a little sore, but grinning stupidly.

Using the app, MapMyHike, I was able to track where I walked, how fast I walked and the elevation throughout my walk. Pretty nifty.

So there you have it, 11.37 km hiked over two and a half hours (during which I burned over 1500 calories). A fantastic adventure, so much better than spending the day pottering around the house.

I strongly recommend any of the walks at the You Yangs. There is enough variety to suit most fitness levels. And if you are very fit, you can always run instead.

Now I am thrilled about next weekend. What better way to challenge myself than the 1000 steps Kokoda Walk!

- Dani