MT BUFFALO NATIONAL PARK

Since its the last day of 2011 we thought it would be nice to watch the sunrise and do 'The Big Walk' 23km return from the base to the chalet and Gorge at Mt buffalo.
I remember walking the 11 km from the chalet down to the base when I was 14 and I wondered why the only parts I could recall about that trek were scrambling across the 'sleeping elephant hide' rock escarpment and the very narrow, VERY STEEP decline of the last 2kms. I now know the reason I remember those parts is that I was terrified!!!
We had been talking about attempting this hike for some time, and since we'd been doing 10km walks whilst in QLD, we figured we'd give it a crack.
Now normally, we'd saunter along as long as the desire to hike was being fulfilled, however in this case, my brothers had been up earlier in the week and challenged themselves to beat last years record. I thought they were nuts, 23km in less than 5hrs, up and back. Did I mention it was steep, the accent rising 1000m over 9km???
The recommended time is 4-5hrs ONE WAY, not both!!! Oi Oi Oi.
Well now that I have re experienced the big walk for myself - I take back the 'nuts' and exclaim "You guys are INSANE!" How on earth THAT could have been an enjoyable experience is beyond me, especially since they practically ran down. Oi Oi Oi!!!!
So we rose at 4am to be there well before sunrise, as it was also to be high 30s that day. We head off with great enthusiasm for accomplishing this challenge, in our own time, in our own way! Well we made it through the first intense hour, our competitive streak had kicked in by this stage and we trudged on along the very cramped narrow pathway, which left little room for error I mite add (crazy brothers!). We arrived at Marriotts Lookout 7 km up and decided enough was enough. What were we trying to prove, we had enjoyed the walk up til that point, we were tired, it was getting very hot and by the time we return it will be 14km, so let's just go and head back to town for a quick swim and a stretch.
Thankfully we did cos we ran out of water with 2km to go, if we'd continued to the top we would have been in strife!!
So maybe we will finish the Big Walk another day. All in all, a nice way to say goodbye and thanks for the challenging yet growth-full experiences of 2011.