You know that smell right after rain in the Australian bush? It’s a combination of eucalyptus oil from crushed gum leaves, earthy soil and fresh rain. I drank in that scent on Friday morning when I took Bas (Bastille) for a walk along the fire trail at the back of Cataract Gorge. Both of us were happy to be deviating from our usual weekday street walk, and we walked into the Gorge with anticipation.
We were met with a heavy mist at the bottom of the fire trail, but as we climbed up further the early morning sun started breaking through the trees and I could see blue sky. By the time Bas and I reached the top of the fire trail and walked out along the track frequented by mountain bike riders at Upper Gorge I could see the beginnings of a beautiful almost-spring day.
If you’re following my#TrekTowardsACurePeru vlogs you’ll know I’ve been recording one every week giving updates on fundraising, training and events. I decided to take a slight detour from the norm this week and recorded a short video of the walk through Upper Gorge on Periscope and then uploaded it to YouTube at this week’s vlog. It was fun having human company from around the world joining me on the walk. If you listen closely you can hear me sloshing through puddles.
The bush smell was even stronger as I walked back down through the Gorge and as we came back to our starting point at the foot of the fire trail Bas and I were greeted with a beautiful winter sun.
I feel renewed every time I do this walk and feel so lucky to have it pretty much at my back door.
