Blue Mountains walkabout

Viv and I went on the Blue Mountains Walkabout yesterday. This is described as an eight hour 'at times strenuous' bushwalk. It was led by Evan, who runs the company. He is of Aboriginal descent. There were 4 of us on the walk, plus Evan. Evan is a mine of information on Aboriginal culture and stories. We learned about bush tucker (no, we didn't eat witchetty grubs, though we did suck sasparilla leaves and eat the berries, and suck nectar from flowers. It was very strenuous! I just about kept up and was relieved that the only man on the trip (John, from South Africa) was far less fit than me. We clambered and scrambled up and down paths and over rocks and across creeks (one time crossing by a fallen tree trunk - this was a test of my balance which has been pretty poor since my slipped disc). At lunchtime we stopped by a billabonng. We were shown traditional meeting places, including the place where the Tribal Council would have been held and the place of the Corroboree (music and dancing). It was great experience and I recommend it, but next time I'd make sure I was fitter and had a decent backpack with less stuff in it! We were told to take 2 litres of water and we needed it. Both Viv and I had dehydration headaches last night and this morning. I was very hot too. I'd worn my long-sleeved hoodie as I wasn't sure whether we'd be going up higher where it's cooler. Also I've got a patch of sunburn above my right elbow - I must have missed it with the sun cream on Mt. Kosciuszko!