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Published: January 13th 2009
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In the Jungle
Whilst we were still fresh Wednesday was very hot and we went looking for a good place to snorkel. We stopped for a while at one beach, then drove around and into town for some shopping. Terry, who considers himself a world expert on putting sunscreen on had forgotten his lips and the bottom of his nose. The result was that he had blisters all over and he had trouble eating and drinking.
Next morning the weather was cloudy so we decided to walk the Cross Island Track. It said in Lonely Planet that it was 'hard but possible' without a guide. It takes over 4 hours and ends at a waterfall 1 km from the sea.
We set off from the north side with lots of water, cereal bars, mosquito repellent and, of course, paracetamol (for Terry's knees). After about 10 mins we met up with an Aussie couple, Ann & Kristo, who were contemplating the walk. They had tried to hire a guide as apparently the Tourist Office had told them that since the cyclone 3 years ago it was no longer possible at all to do the walk without one! However, inspired b our ignorant confidence, they tagged along.
Just
Triumphant at the Top
Little did we know what was to come as the 'path' was becoming more of a 'try and find where the previous people had walked' and we were wondering whether we were already lost, we were pleased to see a grou of Americans coming towards us, obviously now at the end of their crossing from the south. No, they had set off 3 hours earlier from our start point, were tired, covered in mud and giving up after being lost several time.
Nevertheless, we went on, Terry in the lead on account of the fact that when he was a lad he had read a comic about an Indian Scout called Kit Carson and therefore he was good at following tracks.
AFter 1 & 1/2 hours we were tired of the heat and climbing, so we stopped for a rest and a drink. We soon heard voices of 2 local teenage girls and their mother from behind. They were on their way to the top to see the view as they had several times before. "No, we are not doing the whole walk as the girls are not fit enough and the jungle becomes thicker on the other side"! They looked fitter than us and we
Michelle, Kristo and Ann
Despondent but having a drink at the side of the stream. This was our darkest hour. could only just get through the jungle as it was!
We continued climbing up the ridge, which was like a staircase as we were using tree roots as steps. We finally reached the top where we could see the sea from 2 sides and we took several photos of each other.
Going down should be easy, 'Kit Carson' lead the way. The path followed some white conduit, we were making good progress, pushing bushes aside and climbing over and ducking under falling trees, but eventually we started to climb back up until we could climb no further as it became too dangerous.
We all sadly started to walk back but after 10 mins decided to go down to the stream in the valley below and follow it, as it must go to the sea. About this time it started to rain heavily, which was welcome relief as we were soaked with sweat, but we soon found the down side as we were soon on our backsides and Michelle fell and scraped her arm. Ann had brought her guide book and noticed whilst looking for some directions that they told you not to attempt the crossing if it
Wigmore Waterfall
It is over! Washing off mud and sweat. looked like rain.
We found the stream, but no path. However, by continually crossing via stepping stones (and occasionally falling in) we managed to keep going downhill for almost one hour. We were a bit down by this time, but had to continue forward as we no longer knew the way back. It was also good that there were 4 of us as this kept our spirits up. Then we saw a path, again into the jungle, which we followed for 20 mins until the jungle steadily cleared and finally we heard people talking. We had reached the waterfall.
After 4 hours 15 mins of walking, climbing, crossing streams, being bitten and soaking wet Michelle and Kristo jumped in the pool for a refresing swim. We were something of celebrities at the waterfall with people coming up asking how difficult it was and how long it had taken us.
Next morning Terry could hardly walk and his lips were swollen, he appeared now to also have a small black eye. He asked Michelle to look at it. Michelle, ever wanting to make him feel better said, "Well, you are certainly not one of the prettiest people in the world".
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