25 March, 2023

Walking Track Adventure!

I have recently regained some energy and health after being sick for many years, and I've been desparately wanting to get out of the house. So last week, Ellenya and I went on an adventure - exploring a nearby walking track! This blog post features some pictures from our trek.

A compacted dirt track heading uphill and around the corner toward the right of the image. There is dry grass, a fence and some trees on the left of the track, and bushland to the right of the track. The sky above is very blue.

Making our way to the walking track (and back) was a bit difficult because the footpaths in the area were very steep. I mostly use a powered (Alber E-Fix) wheelchair to get around, though I can walk very short distances with a crutch on good days. In many places, I needed Ellenya to hold onto the back of my wheelchair to stop it from tipping backwards! Many of the road crossings had a step up that my wheelchair couldn't handle without assistance. Getting on and off the walking track was the most difficult part of our journey, because the paths to join the track were so steep it wasn't safe for me to use my wheelchair (I almost landed flat on my back trying! Luckily Ellenya saved me! It was scary!). 

The walking track itself was mostly fine for wheeling - but, there were stock gates along the path that didn't have quite enough room for my wheelchair to go through with me in it. Fortunately, I could step out and use my crutches to get through the gate, while Ellenya removed the wheelchair footplates and squished my chair through for me so I could hop back in on the other side.

The wide compacted dirt walking track heading off into the distance. To the left of the track is short green grass and some trees, and to the right of the track there is longer dry native grass and trees. The sky is blue with some small white clouds dotted along in the distance.

The track, shaded by a gumtree to the left. The track is heading through an area with long native grass, rocks and gumtrees to the right, and short greener grass and gumtrees to the left.

A small flock of sleepy sheep watching us from their spot in the shade of some gumtrees. There is a thin wire fence between them and the denser bushland behind them.

Dense bushland with lots of gumtrees. The ground in front has burnt-orange coloured dirt with long dry native grasses and dry fallen gumleaves.

On the track, we saw lots of different types of grasshoppers, butterflies, and vast cities of ants. We watched the ants busily carrying things back to their nests and working together to squeeze larger items through the entrance. There were also cute sleepy sheep beside the track (employed by the council to eat the grass), and giant dragonflies helicoptering around above us. We saw willy wagtails swooping down and feasting on bugs, and the view of the distant hills was beautiful.

Looking across a green grassy park toward a distant tree-covered hill. The sky above the hill is blue with a few small white clouds. There is a line of trees on the far side of the park, but it's mostly an open grassy area. The walking track can be seen in the left bottom corner of the image, and is elevated - on the high side of the park.

View looking over the treetops and rooftops of our part of town toward the distant blue-tinged hills.

View looking over the treetops and rooftops of our part of town toward the distant blue-tinged hills. The sky is mostly blue, with a few little white clouds dotted here and there. The sky gets lighter blue towards the horizon.

At the end of our walk, we ended up sliding the empty wheelchair down the grass beside the steepest part of the path - with Ellenya skidding behind it, and me slowly and carefully trying to edge down the hill with my crutch. (Luckily it was a short distance and I was able to do it, but it was pretty risky!) It's a shame there's not a more accessible path to and from the track, and wider stock gate areas for wheelchairs, scooters, bike and prams to fit through - because the track itself was quite wheelable, and it was a nice place to visit.

I am so happy that I finally have energy to go out and explore again, and I am so grateful to Ellenya for helping me and making the trip possible! I will need a little time to recover - but I hope we can explore again soon. It was a fun adventure!

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