We walk from views of coastal cliffs into the serenity of a forest. Our first full day’s walk of the Aussie Camino with Raw Travel, today we’re on the Great South West Walk. Our guide knows the track well; he’s walked the Camino with the people who designed it. He stops us to explain all sorts of interesting bits about the track, the history, the animals and now the soap mallee trees that surround us. The steel-grey twisted trunks look unique, the thickness of arms. Are they reaching for each other? Dancing? Eucalyptus diversifolia is endemic to a small patch in Victoria and South Australia. The foliage blocks enough light that few understorey plants grow. Yet we’re not in darkness. The path is soft with the Eucalypt leaves. Echidnas are often here, searching with their long snouts for ants amongst the leaves.
