I have never in my life claimed to be an adventurer or outdoors lover – until I started hiking in the mountains. With the lovely, lush green forests and foothills, the tantalizing teal lakes hidden away like a secret prize waiting to be found, and those stunning sky-high jagged peaks, it was love at first sight. But more than that, hiking in the mountains became an immediate passion because of the way it made me feel. I was able to just be the real me and connect with the version of myself that felt the most authentic and true...

This morning we woke with the birds! There were magpies caroling and willie wagtails calling very close by, with kookaburras and cockatoos (or maybe corellas) in the background. Fortunately the magpies flew off somewhere else after they sang for a bit and we managed to doze off for another hour. For Christmas our friend Saphal received the lonely planet book Best Day Walks Australia. We were all quite enthusiastic about the entry outlining the hike to the summit of Mount Remarkable so included a couple of nights in Melrose in our itinerary. With the day forecast to be very hot, we decided to scale back our plans a bit and this morning we ventured into Alligator Gorge rather than attempting the summit...