First Hike of our 12 Week Hiking Group

Our first hike on Saturday, 1pm, and everyone looked the part! Some very serious hikers for a casual jaunt around Manly Dam! We hit the 1.5km Nature Trail first, and admired the view from the top, then headed back to where we started to hike the first section of the main trail. Patty and Debs took the reigns, and led the pack (noisily, i might add), while everyone else followed behind, catching up on their gossip! I had to keep reminding them to admire their surroundings! Manly Dam is a spectacular walk, with swamps, through hanging branches, and rocks and boulders. The waterfall was a bit of a downer, a trickle, but it didn’t dampen our spirits!

The main aim was to get to where the mountain bike trail intersects the walking trail, in under an hour. We got there, with a little prodding from our fearless guide! Our hikers were enjoying themselves and wanted to push forwards, but it was time to hike back, and hike back we did!

We reversed our order on the way back, with Patty and Debs tittering like naughty schoolgirls from the rear! They disappeared after deciding to dip their feet in the lake, concerning our leader, when they weren’t with the rest of the group. Jade, (with food poisoning, i might add) had to run back to check that they were okay… obviously they were….!

Patty and Debs weren’t the only ones to separate, the group divided into three packs on the return hike home. Jade’s sister had her 7kg pack on, and decided to run to catch up with the first group, and stacked it like a footballer scoring a goal on a rainy day… not happy Jan. Unfortunately for Jenna, all she had to show was a little tiny hole in her black pants.

We made it back to the cars with time to stretch. Next week we will hike the whole circumference of the Dam, stay posted!