Green Gully Track - Day 2 - Bird's Nest Hut to Green Gully Hut

We've got a cruisey 15km on the agenda today. Just kidding. Today is said to be the hardest all of 4 days on the hike, mainly due to the very steep descent. Jeff and his ankle are not looking forward to this.

We start off with our usual brekky and coffee and sit outside at the picnic table. We're dining with the local currawong. We realise that this must be his or her regular patch as we watch it pull out and down three cicadas from the trunk it's perched itself on. We're mesmerised.

We tidy up and then throw our packs back on. A bit of moaning and groaning as they settle onto the sore spots from yesterday. We hit the track around 9:30am and it's already pretty warm. The first part of today is a steady ascent to the top to Birds Nest Trig (highest point on the track). And also the first off-track, although we're able to make our way up pretty easily. We try and admire the view, many mountains surrounding but also a bit obscured by many trees. We have a quick morning snack and rest then we're off again. This mountain won't descend itself.

We get a few previews of what's to come and these early descents have us shaking in our boots, although John is flying down. We've got two look outs before we start the gnalry descent and they are both wow. Just so many massive mountains and trees and peaceful. We stop for a spot of lunch at the second lookout, which apparently is our last reprieve before we start for hell on Earth.

And the guides don't lie. We hit the decent almost straight away and it is steep. Courts is quickly reminded of her fear of heights and her fall off the mountain in NZ last year and is taking things very cautiously. Jeff is trying to keep his ankle in its socket and John is loving life. The downhill stuff works for him. Lucky guy. There's 3 sets of steep as shit descent sections with a plateau of sorts in between. And did we mention were walking along a ridge? Not for the faint hearted and Courts is sliding down on her butt at one point, holding back tears or vomit. Or both. On the only plus side, John thinks he's peeped an elusive bushy tail rock wallaby, which we've been told we might see later on today. If we survive.

We finally make it down the 3rd descent and we're back on the flat, glorious management trail. Our legs are cactus and we're felling a bit stunned and stumbly.

It's only a couple of flat kms to the hut. About 500 metres before we arrive, the scenery radically changes to rock face and rainforest, called Brumbys Pass. We feel like we're being watched and are delighted to see the welcoming party that is the bushy tail rock wallabies. As promised, there tails are bushy and long. They are wary but they sit still and let us look and photograph them. So cool and an awesome reward for the trauma we've just been through.

We make it to camp, Green Gully Hut. Very similar to last night's hut, but a touch bigger. And with an outdoor hot shower. Bliss.

We get our water boiling and cooling to carry on the track tomorrow and get stuck into our dinner of rehydrated spag-bol and apricot crumble. We end up taking dessert inside because the possums start to come out. They're fighting each other for non-existent human food (leave no trace), the poor buggers.

John is feeling adventurous (as always) and decides to head back to Brumby's Pass to see if any animals are there. He spots a huge number of frogs, as well as one wallaby having a drink.

We hit the hay, positively knackered.