Ex-Lord Mayor Sandy Verschoor and husband Gregg’s walking adventures: The good, bad and wonderfully unexpected
For many years, former Lord Mayor Sandy Verschoor’s holidays with her husband Gregg have involved long, long walks … and rarely have these adventures gone according to plan, she writes.
Opinion
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For many years now my holidays with husband Gregg, have involved picking countries we haven’t been to before and long, long walks. And like so many things they have rarely gone according to plan …
In Japan, we walked 80km of sections of the gorgeous Nakasendo Trail, from Kyoto to Tokyo. Bells to ward off bears, saki and onsen. Brilliant. To finish our trip, we decided to do a tour of Tokyo. by bike. Now I am no cyclist, I’m slow and wobble, a lot. Husband, a cyclist for nearly 40 years, grew impatient at my tentative crossing of a very busy road so decided to cut in front. I immediately braked, forgot to put one foot down and promptly fell off. Once my ‘friends’ stopped laughing and helped me off the road, the remainder of the 24 km ride was eye-watering, each tiny bump jarring my very sore wrist. A quick look by fellow traveller (thankfully a doctor) and yes small fracture … ice and elevate and make husband do the chores for several weeks.
The longest of our walks so far has been the Portuguese Camino – 260 km in 11 days, from Porto to Santiago de Compostela in Spain – which uses ancient paths that crisscross forests, villages, historical towns and cities as well as bridges left by the Romans. The Way is marked by a large scallop, with or without a yellow arrow, which you find on walls, trees, in pavements, at intersections and crossroads, literally anywhere you might deviate from the path. For me the Camino was like a great big treasure hunt!
We’d set off for an average daily walk of 25km, exploring the different landscapes, sampling local food and copious, free pour, end of walk drinks. We had done well until several days in, we hit a main road with no marker in sight. Should we go left or right? We saw a small village in the distance, so chose right. 5 km later we arrived. Still no markers. We found a local workman. None of us speak Portuguese so after resorting to 15 minutes of charades and much pointing to our scallop shells, he finally started laughing and pointed back the way we came. Methinks we weren’t the first to miss this particular marker. Back we trod adding a 10 km detour to our 25km day … and yes we found the elusive marker hidden in plain sight behind a bush.
Once Covid hit we explored more of Australia, starting with the Overland trail in the Cradle Mountains. Apparently, you are supposed to train for these long walks, which means more than a quick trot around the block with the dog. Gregg took his training schedule to heart, walking 10km every day up the pioneer women’s trial. I managed one 8km walk from Goolwa to the Port Elliot bookshop, yay!
The trail was magnificent and hard-going for an unfit person, small of stature with a 12kg pack on their back. I swear those steps are built by giants, most came up to my knee. Still, slow and steady got me to the cabin in time for showers and dinner.
On return to Launceston we took ourselves on our own walking tour (I refused to go on a bike), another 15 km, and found a great pub for dinner. On entering I jarred my foot hard on a concrete lip, waking the next day to a swollen ankle and unable to walk. Walking stick, physio and flat shoes for 2 weeks. For street cred, I let my friends assume I had stumbled in a forest or while climbing a mountain.
Most recently we did a trip to Kakadu and a number of top end waterholes. Promise yourselves you will do this at least once in your life. Stunning scenery, the essence of Australia. Much to my surprise I almost enjoyed the camping experience – especially given we had a driver and cook and it was only for a week. One of our last stops was an out of the way site in Burrundie. The campground was very, very basic and almost empty so we had unlimited choices as to where to pitch tents. Gregg chose a semi sheltered space under a spindly gum, our friends chose to be closer to a shelter. We were just settling in for the night when we heard our friend scream, followed by frantic cries of ‘Oh God! They’re everywhere!’ A dripping tap had attracted frogs, hundreds of them, covering the ground. We heard a heated exchange followed by the silhouette of a tent being dragged across the grounds and re pitched in a much drier, less slimy area. Today, any mention of frogs can still elicit the desired response.
Travel adventures are so much more fun with unexpected detours and mishaps – remember to share them with you friends and family, have a laugh and may there be many more!
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