AAWT Summation

According to Champman's book the AAWT is 660 km of which we completed the 235 km section from Walhalla Mt. Hotham this year so in 2007 we did 425 km from Tharwa to Mt Hotham. In actual fact we caught a ride for the last 9 km into Mt. Hotham but more than made up for that with side trips for water, etc.

My general impressions:

This is a very tough walk. The south part is quite a bit harder than the north. Those days which had greater than a kilometer of climb and big descents were real killers. The days where we waded through thick scrub were killers. Chapman's web site says that most of the stuff that was thick scrub for us in 2007 on the north part has now been cleared, so that at least will be better for current walkers. Another factor that makes the south part harder is the uncertainty about water. Water was much easier to find in the northern section.

I'm very proud of Lee for finishing this walk in spite of her heal pain and the toughness of the walk. She inspired me to stop bitching and get walking!

My favorite sections of this walk are the Baw Baw mountains, one day either side of Macalister Springs (from Chesters Yard to Camp Creek) and from Cowombat Flats to Tharwa. It is extremely unlikely that I will ever do any but these parts again! These parts however were very enjoyable walks with good water, good camp sites and great scenery.

We met some great people on this walk, Gary and Karren on the north part and Kirsty and the bunch of 40 year olds we met at Macalister Springs. The people at Macalister springs were extremely good to us giving us food and much needed anti-inflammatories. Without these pills we could not have completed the walk. We also met Rob and Khalin at Chester's Yard and again at Macalister Springs, who are doing the complete track this year. The were also good people and we wish them luck on their walk.