Ever since returning from holidays I’ve been terribly slack in getting back into walking. In fairness: the change from European summer weather to freezing temperatures back here has been a little tough. The other day it was -6C when I cycled to work!

So on Saturday the weather was looking good and I figured it was time to get the hiking boots out again. I was joined by a colleague, who was keen to get out in the Aussie bush as well. Given she is visiting here I gave C. the option to choose where we should walk and when I explained that from Booroomba Rocks there is a lovely view over Canberra, that was what she decided on. As my car has rather low clearance, we opted to go to the Honeysuckle Campground and walk to Booroomba from there. It adds about 50 minutes walking time to the 20 minutes it take to get to the top of the rocks, so it turns the whole thing into a good walk. On the way we spotted the snowy top of Bimberi Peak, which caused as much excitement as the first glimpse of the ocean when you go to the beach.

It was decidedly nippy when we got out of the car at the campground, so ears got covered and gloves came on and C. set a fast pace to warm up. The bush was beautifully frozen in places, which also made it slippery at times. Other bits were fairly muddy requiring some innovative detours through the bush. We made good time, although I did wonder where my fitness had gone from my walks in Italy. Surely that doesn’t evaporate in one month…

The view was wonderful, as always, and we shared some hot Lady Grey tea, homemade oat bars and a banana as we gazed out at Canberra. The descent was much easier, but with the ground so frosty it still required some concentration not to slip. All our talking made me forgot the innovative detour to avoid the very muddy part and I duly sank up to my ankle in squelching mud, before backtracking to some drier ground. When we got back to the car it felt even colder than it had when we started, due to the wind having picked up, turning the temperature in a mere 0C.

Now that I’ve braved it once, I should be ready to get back into winter walking.