​Day 1 - Sunday 3rd January 2016

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away….4

Its 2016 and I’m on annual leave from the office of an insignificant little consulting firm in far north Queensland, where I spend the months daydreaming of impending adventures in Tasmania’s wilderness. I’ve fulfilled my duties as an employee: feigned interest at the appropriate times, nodded intelligently when a question beyond my comprehension is thrust upon me, and generally pretended to be a sensible member of society. These tedious responsibilities have been revoked and the sense of anticipation in the car is palpable as we make our way towards Lake St Clair from Hobart: Beneath Dad’s cool exterior as he negotiates the roads leading to Australia’s deepest natural lake is an excitement unrivalled by anything since the day he watched a slinky walk itself down a staircase, whilst Ben’s keenness is masked only by his heavy breathing as he catches up on missed sleep. The timing of our jaunt is rather delicate, as my heavily pregnant sister-in-law is threatening to make an uncle of Ben and myself,  whilst the third member of our party is expecting to become a grandfather. In universal news, another death star has just been destroyed. Nevertheless, Australia’s current Prime minister (although this could change on any given day) – Malcolm Turnbull – has recently signed a treaty with leaders around the globe declaring allegiance to The First Order in an attempt to maintain a “common determined purpose to ensure the security of our nation and its people.”

​Day 1 – Monday 12th November 2012
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We’re all stories in the end. Just make it a good one. 3
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After an early start from Hobart, I can’t help but be flooded with a wave of nostalgia as I find myself negotiating the flooded mud plains between Scott’s Peak Dam and Alpha Moraine. Almost a year to the day since returning from our Eastern Arthurs traverse, our sights are set on her dangerously attractive sister. Despite the physical and psychological damage inflicted by her somewhat crazy sibling, we are far from deterred by this iconic mountain range. Much of the last year has been spent daydreaming of the impending adventures to be experienced in the presence of her cool mountain air. If she is half as flirtatious as her sister, the Western Arthur range should not be approached without a high degree of caution.

In the beginning the universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move.2

Given the bad reputation that the southwest weather upholds, I thought it prudent to contact a high ranking BOM employee. I had decided to request a week of fine weather. Surely it wasn’t too much to ask? Don’t get me wrong, I understand that the employees at the bureau distribute weather in accordance with population density and a number of other complicated factors. But surely for just one week in a whole year they could grant me some fine weather at the expense of some inner-city slackers who would be sitting in an office drinking coffee all day anyway. Unfortunately my attempts at contact go unanswered. I will just have to hope that the senior officials at the bureau are in a good mood in the early days of November.