Where did it all begin?!

I feel like every great adventurer or outdoor enthusiast always has a beginning, the hike or adventure that started it all! The hunger for more, the bewilderment that something like this exists out there, the feeling of wow I have never felt this type of joy before. The wonder of what else is out there?!

For me, many may think my love for the outdoors all began during my childhood living on our 248 acres in rural NSW. Alas, I will admit, that surely was a contributing factor to why I feel so comfortable and at home in the outdoors, but the real beginning was on a family trip to Tasmania in 2016.

The best thing about this beginning is how humbling it was! There was no fancy hiking gear, no fancy camera or maps to follow or ‘hidden gems’. It was just me, as a 22 year old wearing a playsuit, TIGHTS, and some sneakers. Sitting on top of a log on the top of Hogath Falls.

Oh how far she has come.

I don’t believe I even packed hiking clothes on this trip to Tasmania, which in itself is WILD. I can only honor the mastermind behind this trips itinerary to my wonderful mother.

Ignoring the TERRIBLE attire, Hogath falls in within the quaint town of Strahan in Tassie is a real beauty.

It was very much the waterfalls of this trip that captured my fascination, as soon as we arrived home I went straight into researching what waterfalls were nearby my home city of Canberra at the time, but that’s a story for another blog post.

Of course we also visited the beautiful Russell Falls in Mount Field National Park and climbed to the top of Cradle Mountain. Little did I know at the time how dangerous climbing Cradle Mountain was, and that people had died on this mountain. We were dreadfully ill prepared but lucky we got a perfect weather day, we had no issues and even my non-hiker 60 year old father followed us up to the top. We left mum down at the hut at the base as hiking or climbing mountains was not her thing (go figure) and little did we know we were going to be 2 hours. Did someone say ill prepared?!

The cringey attire and the terrible photo edits all contribute to the wonderful memory of this trip, one I will not forget, the one where it all began!