Rainbow Station

We planned to explore the Rainbow Station over the New Year with Rosa - 6 and Hazel - 4, tenting and checking out the hidden valleys and figuring how much we could carry and for how long. Unfortunately I injured my lower back (suspected herniated disc) two days before we were to leave. After day lying on the floor stretching and two days of ice and some excersies given by the neighbourhood physio, and the sun shining we headed up to the station. We arrived late the first evening, had dinner at the truck with the sandflies then walked in through swamp, river and armpit high grass with scary holes (child's perspective, it was pretty mellow) and made camp in the river valley.

We woke to a chilly morning on the second day, with Rosa freezing in a dress she had snuck in with a fluffy lamb (fashion first at age 6???). It warmed up and we battled the heat and explored the vast valley floor, wandering through a mix of wildflowers, green pastures and burbling creeks. The back was feeling a bit average towards the end of the day, so after the kids had had a siesta in the tent we back-tracked to a lovely wee campsite, where the kids played on a mini scree slope while we made dinner.

The third day the back was pretty bad, so Shane ended up carrying both tents out while I hobbled out on Grandmas walking sticks. Took a few days to be able to walk straight again and now focusing on recovering for more summer adventures. The kids loved the camping, the walking not so much. The flowers were lovely, like spring up there or the Colorado mountains in summer. Also many possums had been killed by the recent baiting effort which was great to see. We saw an average of 3 carcasses on each successful bait station.

Now back to the easel…