Off the beaten path (aka. Into the forest take 2)

I wanted to increase the distance for this morning walk / Jog session so instead of heading back down the fire trail with the epic uphill I decided to head down one of the bush tracks. Id not been down here before which is odd as its the closest path to home. It also joins up with a few other paths along the way so there's a few options for increasing the distance step by step over the weeks.

5am and its a stunning morning, clouds have all rolled in which meant low visibility yet nice and cool with light drizzle. This is perfect rain forest weather.
Since Id  never been down there before I assumed where it went and where it came out onto the main road. However what I thought, was wrong. After about 3.5km it joined to a fire trail which led onto the road  but much further down than where I thought I was which was a surprise.


As it didn't drop in elevation much I was In rain forest pretty much the entire way which was a change.
Heaps of animals again. These early morning treks are so well worth it. Saw some Bright Blue birds as well but didn't get a close enough look to identify them .

Over all was a really nice trek through the rain forest , out onto the road a bit then back in down a slightly different path. Only downside was the large amount of leeches due to the wet morning. I had to stop and check every 10 Min's or so, just quickly so I didn't drop pace too much. I flicked off around 25 or so of the little suckers. Next time ill wear long socks and tuck the pants in.

Total of 7.88km and I'm happy with that. Fast paced walk with some jogging . Just stopping for these photos and leech checks.

Rain forest trekking Tips.
- Don't wear running short shorts. Long pants tucked into socks. Leeches suck. Its true!
- The forest is better early morning or late afternoon when its been raining.
- Try not to brush up against too many bushes or trees. This is how a lot of ticks and leeches get on you.
   Plus there's stinging nettle and some other nasties which aren't too pleasant.
- Don't let any of the above stop you from doing Forest treks . Its so well worth it.

Some areas quite overgrown and path blocked by fallen trees or land slides. I had also planned to jog a lot of it however the trail surface was quite rough, with tree roots and large rocks which was a challenge, not to mention the shear drops down the mountain.