Day 11 Hugh Gorge to Birthday Waterhole.

Razorback Ridge

A fitful night, rolling back and forth from side to side, with my Exped air mattress rotating 45 degrees from its original position.
Then the usual early 7.45 AM start, with the Spinifex Tongs going to Vicki who had stolen David, the driver’s egg at breakfast, though Colin was a strong contender as he had managed to collapse his tent exiting for a pee the night prior, and dropping the tent this morning before Peter Wynen had managed to get all his gear out.
It was the a rocky gorge walk in the early morning light through Hugh Gorge followed by a climb onto Rocky Saddle.
An easy descent to Fringe Lily campsite (bugger all to see) and then a vicious climb to Razorback Ridge, which truly lived up to its name, with us sometimes walking on the edge with a drop off some many metres each side.

It was up down, up down to Windy Saddle, living to its name, then another steep descent to Spencer Gorge, and another of those rock-hopping experiences, then to cheese us all off, a climb to a saddle before descending to Birthday Waterhole.
This was a tiny camp-site off track on the banks of a small water-hole with “cold” water, where a number of us took the opportunity to wash off some accumulated dust, grime and sunblock.
The tents were packed two deep on the small site and there were few places to sit.
Fish for dinner BBQ’ed on the hot plate with apple turnover things for desert.
We did manage to develop a rocky amphitheatre for the poetry reading, thirst meeting of the Birthday Creek Poetry Society.
Jane started proceedings with “Now I am Six” and we were truly entertained by some great poems and dissertations and even a song. The night finished strongly with Peter Wynen’s rendition of a couple of Banjo’s poems.
After the poetry reading, most headed off to bed, it being by now 7.30PM!!! Hardier soles lay on the sand and looked for satellites the task being made very difficult by a near full moon. They were rewarded however by two shooting stars and a couple of bats.
Cold drove them to bed.
Simon's thought of the dat-Belief closes the mind.