After hiking and ski touring in the mountains of the Kosciusko National Park we heard about a walk that headed into Victoria from a track near Thredbo. I was told of sections that had no water and that lots of planning was needed for this adventure. The limited details came with other grim warnings. But these mysterious descriptions were like a taunt and maybe that’s how we discovered the AAWT, a 690 km walk from Walhalla in Victoria to Tharwa in Canberra passing over the highest peaks in Australia.
After much planning, reading, food dehydrating and driving, we arrived in Walhalla, just after Christmas Day 2022 ready to walk this imposing and challenging hike. Oh, how I loved almost every minute of it. It was hard, beautiful, hot, scary, mountainous and stunning. At times we were just a speck with mountains filling the horizon in all directions with no sign of human intervention. Other times we were on relentless fire trails climbing vertically up steep grades with no shade from the unrelenting heat. We wallowed in creeks fully clothed; we passed through rainforests, fire scarred alpine forest, plantation forests and logged forests. We heard birds, saw snakes, feral horses, deer, and bounding roos. We passed our first hikers at the halfway mark but on the whole saw very few people. The walk became a way of life for 28 days, each day similar while the scenery around us changed. The simplicity of just walking each day was a kind of meditation. Everything we needed to sustain us for up to 7 days was on our backs and knowing this was both powerful and liberating for me.
There is so much magnificence on this hike. We began by hiking in the grandeur of old growth forests where the trees girths are broad and they stand tall, proud and strong and where bird song was loud, clear and musical. Camping at night under these giants felt almost magical. Then, on the high plateaus, under the open skies, the magnitude of the stars was breathtaking and spectacular. The pink hue cast over the mountains as the sun rose was glorious and the colours of the sunsets were equally as beautiful.
In the valleys of these mountains were creeks, streams and rivers where the water was the sweetest I’ve ever drunk. The gentle, babbling sounds of the water as it flowed along on its journey, provided a soft lullaby to fall asleep by but the not so gentle thunderclap of a passing storm was a humbling reminder of who’s the boss in the wilderness.
The AAWT is steeped in history. Once it was the pathway of the Indigenous people who walked these paths for food, trade and ceremony. They then lead the early settlers to the high country where they grazed their cattle on the summer grasses. The cattlemen built rudimentary huts, mostly from mountain ash, for shelter. Many of these huts still stand today and were a welcome refuge to warm up by a fire.
While on the AAWT I learnt that as a female in my 60’s I was strong both physically and mentally. I had times when my knees hurt and hiking downhill was painful, but I never thought of giving up. I learnt that things always end up working out, sometimes even better than you’d imagine. I learnt that being in nature creates a complete resonance with me. My hearts is full and content when I am surrounded by giants of trees and mountains, when I bathe in a cold alpine stream, when the birds soar high in the sky, when the stars light up the sky with their brilliance and abundance, when the sun warms your soul, and the breeze cools your face with it’s gentle touch. I learnt that I need these things in my life to feel whole and contented. My heart is happy. I am full of gratitude for the experience, for the ones I love and for the environment I am so fortunate to be living in.
The experience of hiking the AAWT is incredible and astonishingly beautiful. It can also be harsh and both physically and mentally challenging.
My memories of this hike are still so vivid. The colours too are vibrant and alive in my memory. Perhaps it’s the “stillness of the mind” allowing one to be present without distractions or the “quietness” of nature with its subtle sounds or perhaps it’s the beauty and immensity of the mountains, rivers and vistas.
I will be forever grateful for having hiked this part of the Great Dividing Range from Victoria to Canberra with its endless mountains, abundant wildflowers, stunning trees and cool streams. While I am not longer immersed in this environment, the peace and wildness will always be with me.
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