Woke up earlyish and had a warm coffee.  Surprisingly, after quite a bit of rain the night before the weather was good, especially for this part of the country.  The sun was shining, a total unexpected bonus, as the forecast had been for two days of rain.  With everyone up by 08:30 it was time for our eggs, Ben’s full monty, and Carter’s weetabix breakfast. 

Fish n dips

We had a hike planned for later.  Meanwhile after breakfast was cleared up it was time for Ben to try and catch lunch.  Coach Carter went down to the river with Ben to learn about fishing.  They chatted all the way there and the wee lad was so excited.  He idolises Ben and listened intensely to everything that was said, especially about the dangers by the river.  They climbed down the riverbank and found a safe spot on the rocks in the water.  As Ben coached Carter, he practiced with the reel.  Ben cast off and when reeling the line back in it hit a snag.  The treble hook was caught under one of the loose stones that covered the river bed.  With no other choice, the boots and socks were off and the trousers rolled up past the knees,  Ben was in. He needed a deeper spot so off they went along the riverbank to find one.  Carter had a few turns and was so excited when he reeled in what he thought was a fish.  You don’t break a kids heart at three years old, so he was applauded for reeling in the hook first time, a feat his mentor hadn’t managed.

Off to see Rapunzel

With the fish not biting, if there were any there at all as it was very shallow in the river, Carter wanted a new adventure.  So with some help along the way it was off to find mum and take a trip to the fairytale castle up the road.

As they approached the ‘tower’, Carter got a feeling that he wouldn’t like it there.  It’s funny how kids have a sixth sense for things. This building was definitely out of place amongst the landscape.  None of the rest of us were going to explore it, so it was back to camp and get ready for the big hike.

The only way is up

Ben returned empty-handed, but determined to catch something brought the rod along for the hike, as there promised to be better locations up stream.

Off we set on a riverside adventure,  ‘The Fellowship of the Stream’, with Carter about the size of a hobbit.

After walking for nearly a kilometre along the side of the river we came across our first challenge. There in front of us was a swing bridge.  This wasn’t just any old bridge,  as we had already crossed many of these on our previous adventures.  This was a rickety old steel wibbly wobbly bridge that came with its own set of warnings.  Other adventurers were having difficulties going across. Their halflings seemed to be wavering in the middle section.  As it was only one at a time, two with a very small ‘hobbit’ the parents were shouting encouragement from both ends.  Finally across and on their merry way it was our parties turn. 

At exactly the half way mark we had reached a crossroads.  Left would take us to the mountain summit with a further eight hour hike, and straight on would take us to the secret crossing and over to an adventure playground.  At the crossroads four other advanced scouts from two tribes discussed what to do.  There had been a natural disaster all along the route we had meticulously planned.  These dangers included fallen trees and landslides.  Over the top or back to the wibbly wobbly bridge were the choices we were left with.  It also wasn’t just the bridge that was a bit wibbly wobbly after such a hike.

Super C smashes it

First up was Kaitlin and Carter.  Taking a slow steady pace they made their way across undeterred by the bridge swaying in the wind or the old meshed netting creaking all around them.  In no time at all they had done it.  Ben ran across the Bridge to congratulate them and give moral support for the journey ahead.  The elder folk cautiously followed behind one at a time and with walking aids held high as not to catch them on the often broken wiring.  All the members of the quest were safely across.  The halflings who had gone before had seen enough of the dangers ahead.  They were waiting at the other end of the bridge to return to their own green-grass shire that they had set off from.  For us the adventure was only just beginning.

Oranges and no lemons say the bells of…

We began our four kilometre hike through thick undergrowth towards the other swingbridge.  The path looked like it hadn’t been trodden for some time as fallen trees, branches and brambles covered our route.  We were lucky as at near-ground height we had our own little Frodo Carter.  Only three and already proving to be a reliable tracker.  Maybe he came from a long line of explorers, for without his eagle eyes we may have easily ventured off the track.  Every so often he would stop,  smell the air,  look to the trees and point us in the right direction.  He explained it was like seeing an orange reflective arrow pinned to the trees (genius).  Just like Hansel and Gretel, he had a method of leaving a trail of breadcrumbs.  His wasn’t edible due to the nature of the deep forest dwelling birds that can attack from above.

This was to  keep count of the reflective triangles we passed.  His method was genius.  When he saw a larger one he would add 105 to the total and when we saw a red square, of which there were two, he would add 873 and 30 respectively.  This was genius as no one else following would have broken his code.  There were some other examples of his tracking techniques that we learnt along the way.  Like the Native Americans who put their ears to the ground to feel the vibrations of the buffalo herd miles in the distance, Carter put his feet in the stream we crossed to hear the swing of the next bridge over the water.  Trying to learn this ingenious method, Sarah promptly followed him by straddling the natural tree pontoon, slipping and also dipping her feet in the stream.  She didn’t share with us what she was listening for just in case it spooked us. This would later leave a bruise on her thigh so she could remember the experience.  Some of the expedition party were starting to feel the pace and needed some fuel to continue. We stopped momentarily to take on refreshments before continuing our quest for the lost bridge.

Unparalleled dangers ahead

10 out of 10

We all remembered the story of the bear that went over the mountain, and with the lower pass unpassable there were no guarantees the higher track would be.  As we were already on our own bear hunt, we retraced the track Carter had shown us using the orange triangle system. 

Carter made an explorers pact, a deal that can’t be broken.  He would track for ten minutes at ground level then take a higher view using the piggyback method great hunters have used in the past.  Ben, like all good hunter gatherers, brought his fishing rod.  Unfortunately the only thing he caught on this trip were some overhanging branches.

Sarah and I were sent ahead to Scout for an ideal lunch spot where we could survey the area from a high vantage point with a 360⁰ viewing platform.   We remembered that Carter had pointed out one such area before.  Instead of triangles he used orange and white poles to mark the territory.  We soon came across this area, making sure it was just our three other companions following our tracks.  With no one, and nothing else, in the immediate vicinity we sent signal to be joined.  A hearty banquet lunch feast was had by all. 

Would the fire rage

After lunch it was time to make tracks. This last part of the journey was needed so we could survive the night and hopefully keep the night creatures away, especially the legendary blood-sucking sandflies.  Although they don’t feed on as much blood as the Australian leeches, these are not solitary predators.  They hunt in numbers like a pack of hungry wolves taking turns to nip you.  Often they ambush a particular area sending in the leader of their well-armed squadron to mark a target for the rest to aim for.  Ankles, wrists and between any of a person’s twenty digits are favoured areas.  Although our full anti-aircraft precautions were in place and used on a regular bases, mainly Bushman repellent (not on commission for using a brand but everyone swears by this stuff).  Though if there is the tiniest of gaps to exploit, these expert marksmen will find it.

For tonight we are going to resort to one of man’s oldest and most effective defences against all kinds of the most dangerous land predators known – FIRE

No fire burns without fuel, so we spent the final kilometre collecting as much wood as was humanly possible.  

Woodstock vibes

We arrived back at the infamous wibbly wobbly bridge then formulated a plan to get safely across without tipping the balance and going into the drink way below.  Kaitlin and Carter led the advance party to ensure the route was free and hold back any other impatient halflings needing to find ingredients for making their evening brew.   Next up was Hunter Ben followed by Sarah.  As the last member to cross, I was left with the lion’s share.  With both hands completely full, one with the heavy wood sack and the other with some of our wood stockpile as well as the walking aids,  it was time to cross.  The bridge seemed more jelly-like as it swayed left and right.  With no hands to hold onto the sides as well as the extra weight it was much more challenging.  Every now and again the wood or the sack would get caught in the railings giving even more of a pendulum swing  This only added to the excitement.  To climb the unstable ladder down all the wood had to be carefully thrown into a neat pile before the descent.  Yes,  we had all made it safely back to The Shire.

20 is plenty

Along the side of the track back to base camp is a 20km road sign.   Carter ensures that we do not exceed this.  After returning and dropping off our wood we scout the immediate area for more.  Other adventurers had kindly left stockpiles for us to pilferage.  They had obviously abandoned their bases days prior, possibly due to adverse weather conditions.  Happy with our loot, it was now time for recreation.  Carter did ten trips of 400m to the 20kmh sign dribbling his football.  It was then time for an afternoon nap.  I also took advantage of this precious time.  My precious (nap) of forty minutes found that Carter had not rested but remained totally active. 

Fish fingers

Whilst I was in the land of nod,  catching up on some well needed sleep.  Ben and the gang had gone to find another fishing spot.  On casting out,  the line got caught in an overhanging tree.  Ben climbed this and to hold him steady Kaitlin held his leg.  Depending on which side of the fence you sit on,  there are two versions to what happened next.   Ben was going for a dip and Kaitlin wisely wasn’t following him.  Splash and in went Ben nearly catching a fish with his fingers.   This abruptly put an end to trying to catch one of these slippery meals.

Dear oh Dear

Following on from our delightful venison stir fry that I cooked yesterday and no fish to fillet, with  Ben’s venison and beef mince Sarah was going to cook up a great treat for us all.

After adding all the ingredients Sarah proceeded to cook dinner.  Ben got the nachos and cheese ready and dished up with a nice dollop of sour cream while Kaitlin and I entertained Carter, or got entertained by Carter.

Ben had a roaring fire going that even his brother Rhys would be proud of.  The fire went on for hours so we sat reminiscing about days gone by, funny stories and listening to Carter.

Sleeping under the stars

The day had been exhausting for everyone but none more so than wee Carter who fell asleep in Kaitlin’s arms just before the stars came out to fully play.  He went to bed and we marveled at the night sky above us.  We watched as the dark clouds rolled in slowly extinguising the illumination we were watching.  For once these were welcome, as the clouds brought with it some rain.  This meant that the ground around the fire stayed damp.  We fully spread the fire out while Ben went down to the river to fish out some water for the bigger logs.  Satisfied the fire was safely out, we said our goodnights and headed to our own dwellings.