Hello muscle soreness!

Hello dear home,

here is a belated report about the past adventurous Monday:

Day 41: 01.10.2018 - Mt. Warning

When we were both awakened by my phone alarm this morning, the sun was already peeking through our curtains. The weather would get better from today on and the temperatures would rise again in the next days. But it was still very cold outside, so we had our toast with sunny-side up egg in the small cabin. When booking, we were not aware that the campsite belonged to a subgroup of a Christian Adventist community. We had no problem with the regulations of no alcohol, no drugs, and no smoking. But in the actually really cozy cabin, we were surrounded by shelves with free booklets, brochures, and DVDs about the Savior, the last day, and other creepy conversion stories. On the one hand, it was really cozy in the 'living room' that we had all to ourselves, on the other hand, it gave you a somewhat uncomfortable feeling. During breakfast, Julian told me that he had encountered a small kangaroo sitting on the meadow watching him with big eyes on his way to the toilet at night.
Afterward, I consulted the owner of the campsite for advice on what to do in the hinterland on the way to the coast. We decided to drive to Mount Warning, which is 1156 meters high, and hike to the summit. Reviews on the internet warned of a very steep ascent. However, it would be worth it because the view from above is incredibly beautiful. The mountain was once the central volcanic vent of one of the largest volcanoes in Australia.
After 40 minutes drive on very narrow, steep, and winding roads, we arrived at the hiking parking lot. Julian wanted to get butter and cold cuts from the fridge to make some sandwiches for the way. But it was unfortunately empty except for three carrots. We had forgotten all our fresh food in the fridge of the Christian community! So after our hike, we would drive back and spend another night at the campsite. Instead of the prepared sandwiches, we packed dry slices of toast, canned tuna, granola bars, and two pears and set off. The hike to the summit was advertised as 9 km and 5 hours. The trail led through rainforest in switchbacks and occasionally offered views of the landscape in the distance. We met many hikers on the way up. After about 1.5 hours of ascent, the path became even steeper and we had to climb over rocks. We were sweating a lot in the warm temperatures and we were happy to hear from descending hikers that we only had the last section left. When we turned the corner, we saw it: The last section consisted of a rock wall with an iron chain on the right side and a seemingly hundred percent slope. We swallowed when we saw it and were curious if we would manage the ascent. And so we started and pulled ourselves up step by step using the chain. The rocks had many protrusions and it worked better than expected. However, an end was still far from sight. When we looked up at the wall, we only saw rocks and blue sky above us. We continued climbing, it was exciting and really fun! Already slightly hypoglycemic and shaky, we noticed that the slope was decreasing again. After a few last meters, we did it! At the top, a viewing platform awaited us, from which you could see in all directions. The view was incredibly beautiful. We recognized the beaches that we wanted to visit in the next few days. After taking a few photos and enjoying the view, we had a small refreshment in the form of the pitiful edible remnants that we had dug out of the camper. After about half an hour, we set off again, refreshed and strengthened. I had a great deal of respect for climbing down the rock wall backwards, but even that turned out to be easier than expected. At 15:40, exhausted after a total of 3 hours and 40 minutes, we reached our campervan. In our untrained condition, muscle soreness for the next few days was definitely programmed!
Juli cruised the winding roads back to our campsite, where we immediately cooked ourselves a large portion of pasta. While eating, we reviewed the day and were glad that we had decided to go on the hike!

See you soon,

Juli and Nina <3