UP & ATOM

STEVE and I stand before a cluster of bush studiously eyeing the map. Surely we’re not in the right spot, although we’re in agreement: this is definitely the point we leave the Overland Track. It’d be helpful now if we had a superpower that could turn us into wombats. The terrain ahead is a scrubby scoparia swamp. We plunge in and it’s not long until my feet are sinking at random intervals. I wobble, instinctively clutching scoparia to steady myself, but it’s too spiky to hold.

We’re approaching the Du Cane Range, hauling ourselves up towards the aptly named Falling Mountain. This rocky stack looks prone to imminent collapse. This is the only bush bashing section we have (pending navigational disaster). I use branches for leverage. My backpack periodically snags on foliage. At one