Sunday Blog 248 – 30th August 2026
“It’ll seem much quicker on the way back,” darling husband reassured me.
Here I was again, hoisted on my own petard of faulty memory, thinking that this time I could add in a new activity for us to do together. Having regular beach walks, going to the movies, having dinner, or more likely, breakfast is about as far as our list extends. He’s extremely fit, and I am moderately fit; and only from the beginning of this year, when I bucked a lifetime of disliking exercise by starting, then enjoying, a weekly functional weights regime. With my new-found strength and stamina, could we add hiking onto our list of mutual pastimes?
Did I not remember our Bali honeymoon trip when instead of lounging by the pool reading, I ended up parasailing? I hung in the sky, and far below me puttered a banged-up dinghy, and I wondered if this would be my last hurrah.
Had I forgotten our bike riding trip to Cambodia, where halfway into the muggy ride I was overtaken with a migraine, and had to hail a tuk-tuk, get the driver to strap the bike to its flimsy front and ferry me on the ostentatious ride of shame back to the hotel?
No, dear reader, I did not remember any of these salutary lessons. Or instead, I believed in my new-found strength due to above-mentioned regular weights training. Hiking Kitty’s Gorge together would be a breeze. Level 4? Pshaw. No sweat.
As today’s quote highlights; “Experience keeps a dear school, but a fool will learn in no other.”
So accordingly, around three hours into the walk, we had made it to the destination where there was a carpark, toilet and tables. It’s a spot that would have been discoverable by an Uber. That was my tuk-tuk escape moment, but I let this rescue rope slip from my grasp without even reaching for it. After a short rest, we turned back to make the trek to the starting point.
It may not surprise you to know that it was not quicker on the way back. If anything, it was more taxing than the walk there, because I was already tired. By the end, I had dubbed the Kitty’s Gorge walk “Always Another Hill” because the path followed the river at times, then scaled the magnificent hills in an undulating pattern which is lovely to look at but challenging to walk. There was always another hill. Like a woman in labour, I reached the transition phase where I believed I could never make and it would never end. And then, one last hill and we were delivered to the car park.
Did I mention that Kitty’s Gorge was absolutely beautiful? (see pic) That the trees, flowers, waterways were almost enough to obliterate the sensation of blistering feet and tired legs? That despite everything, my teeth became dry from all the smiling I was doing in the forest bathing extravaganza?
I’m taking it as a good sign that even darling husband feels we overdid it by starting with a 19km level four trek. He’s suggesting that our next excursion will be a flat rather than hilly level 2, with a more manageable seven or eight kilometres length. Maybe I can slot it onto our short list of mutual entertainment.