There was an incredible storm last night and even early into the morning we could hear the wind and rain lashing the hut. It really felt like the hut might suddenly rip open and we were very grateful not to be in the tent. We were also grateful that by morning it had cleared and we had a nice peaceful morning with very little breeze. The animals seemed to be enjoying it too.

We started out at 8am with a nice road walk for the first hour and a half. It was fairly easy and had a good incline to help us chip away at the next climb.

The road came to an end and we hit the start of the forest track. We weren’t sure what to expect for the Longwood’s but had heard it was a bit of a challenge to finish with. The mud started near instantly and we were fairly caked after the first 30 minutes. Despite the mud we were enjoying ourselves and the forest. It was extremely thick bush but the track was well marked and the trail easily found.

After a little bit we popped out the top of the bush and climbed through some tussock to reach the top of bald hill. From here we incredibly had our first views of Bluff! It was fairly clouded over but we could just make it out.

We continued to follow the road down, loosing sight of Bluff, to an old quarry where we stopped for lunch. On the way we passed a weary looking NoBo who told us the track ahead was long and muddy.

Turns out he was right and as soon as we turned into the forest again the mud picked up. We were up and down in the forest and along ridgeline for a bit but for the most part our feet were constantly under mud or water.

Eventually we climbed to a final high point where we could again see Bluff. The hut was pretty close and it was early enough to keep going but we hadn’t seen anywhere we could’ve even thought about putting a tent so decided to call it a day at the hut. Unfortunately we really had anticipated going further and have already eaten our lunch for tomorrow so we’ll have to push extra hard to make it to Colac Bay for fish and chips. The hut is also probably one of the oldest we’ve stayed in on the trail and isn’t very warm.