July 2023
We were on our way to Oze National Park for the day (read the beginning of the story here). A 2 hour trip from home, the drive had been pleasant except for the for last 1.5 hours of complaining from the kids!! We’d driven up the mountain wilderness and come across a random checkpoint just 5 minutes from our destination, and now we’d been told we had to turn around!
“We have to go back,” Shujin explained. “No cars are allowed passed this point. We have to park back down in the town, and catch a bus up.” WHAAAAT??!!! Then the penny dropped. Half an hour too late. That’s why there were so many carparks! And, now that he mentioned it, we had seen regular mini buses traveling down the hill, but had only see one car…
Now I was groaning and complaining along with the kids! Oh man! Twenty minutes back down the hill, only to get on a bus and go back up again! And to add insult to injury, the bus tickets were close to taxi prices…. Per Person!!!
Down we went. Parked the car. Loaded into a bus. Went back up the mountain.
When our mini bus finally reached the bus stop near the top of the mountain the kids were tired, everyone was hungry and all we wanted to do was sit down and eat! It was still a short walk from the bus stop, up the hill to the start of the national park. It felt like we dragged the kids there, kicking and complaining! Once there, we found the information centre, a few shops and lots of people. Hikers. Professional hikers. Clothed with hiking shirts, jackets, pants, long thermals, probably special socks to match their hiking boots, gloves, hats, hiking packs - with bells to scare the bears, and some with hiking sticks, the absolute works! You name it, they had it! These people were the real deal from the top of their head down to their boots. Some even had SLR cameras hanging around their necks with big long lenses attached to the front. I felt like I had just turned up to some hiking expedition, completely unprepared. I looked around our group. Most of us were in shorts (it was hot down at the carpark!). Yumi was wearing a long skirt. We at least had joggers on and not thongs…!!!! Shujin’s friend was carrying a small esky. Shujin was holding our lunch in shopping bags… We were lucky Missy had brought along her back back so we could carry a few supplies in it! I thought we were just doing a casual boardwalk through some wetlands!!
We found some seats and eagerly hoed into lunch. Soon the kids were happy, bouncing with energy and eager to go. Shujin had found some maps, we figured out the shortest route to the wetlands and off we went. Downhill. Oze National Park is famous for its boardwalks over wetlands. I fully expected that we would be mostly walking along boardwalks. Little did any of us realise before we left home, that you had to hike down the mountain a few kilometres to even get to the boardwalk!!
The rocky path started out so badly uneven it was slow going for the first few hundred metres, then thankfully the path improved and we had planks of wood to walk on. It was pleasant walking through the Japanese forest with the bright green foliage and lush feeling. Moss covered tree trunks in shady areas. The day was mostly cloudy and the air was much cooler than down at the carpark. I almost wished I had a cardigan. But the walking warmed you up. The scent of the forest was so clean. I enjoyed breathing the pure air. The path was well used, not over crowded, but plenty of other hikers were enjoying the day. The kids raced ahead and I tried to enjoy the forest and not be stressed about them going too far, especially with our new friends… I hoped the parents weren’t worried because our boys simply couldn’t walk, they had to run!
We’d been walking for a little while when the path crossed a small creek. As I approached I could hear my kids and knew that they were down by the water. It was very shallow, water gurgling over rocks. The kids were enjoying the water, splashing their feet and having fun. We still had a long way to go so us adults coaxed them out and on we continued. The walking track was rather busy, as I would have expected from all the people at the start. The people going back up the hill looked tired, hot, but determined. A little further on the forest seemed to clear, the path leveled out and up ahead, people were ringing a bell attached to a post. When I approached I read the sign.
“Caution Bear”
Ummm, Yikes! I guessed that the bell scared the bears so they didn’t stick around the area. I think all our kids were making enough noise that they would have been heard way before the bell!! The bears in this part of Japan are herbivores, and would only attack people if caught unawares, or felt threatened. Even so, I was happy to pass through this “bear territory” quickly and leave it behind!
We’d been walking for over an hour, down, down, down. The forest was beautiful. It felt so lush, moist and green. Bright green moss brightened up otherwise dark brown tree trunks. The leaves overhead felt dainty, soft even. The sun sometimes found its way down to us, but there was regular shade. The forest floor was thick with leaves. The path started paralleling a river. We seldom got any good views, but you could hear it. Eventually the path crossed the river. I was glad as I knew the kids would be down by the water, which meant we had finally caught up to them! The river was shallow but wide and flowing fast. As I suspected, the kids were down by the water, playing, throwing stones, splashing their toes, having fun. I sat with the adults at the small resting place beside the path and enjoyed the break. The serenity was soon broken by an angry lady, yelling down from the bridge at the kids. Of course, I couldn’t understand the Japanese, but soon the kids were milling around us. Turns out, you aren’t allowed to go down to the river. It’s out of bounds. It felt strange for me, and probably my kids, when in Australia, rivers are generally accessible and free to enjoy!
Having been scolded, the kids started their whinging about “how long till we get there?” I was also curious, as we’d been walking for a good hour already! Shujin approached a fellow hiker heading up the hill, and asked them how long until the boardwalk. It was only 10 minutes away. What a relief!
With renewed vigor we continued on and sure enough, soon we started to see wooden buildings through the trees and could make out the little village. We passed tents and camping sites. The love of camping made me long to camp, but the fear of bears around held my dreams back.
We stepped onto the boardwalk and soon found ourselves completely out of the forest, walking across the vast wetlands, surround by mountains all around. The scenery was stunning. The bright green of the wetlands contrasted with the deep green and blues of the mountainsides. The clouds overhead were every changing, sometimes creeping down the top of a mountain, sometimes dense and offering shade, but then whipped away to let the sun through.
Dragonflies were everywhere. We don’t see so many in Australia. Here, they seemed as thick as flies! But thankfully not as annoying! They were beautiful, flitting here and there, resting on flowers, holding onto stalks of grass, or even sometimes just suspended mid-space. If one was lucky enough, you could have one land on your hat, shirt or even hand!
After 30 minutes of walking, Shujin suggested we should turn around. I was disappointed. We took soooo long to get to the national park, and then that big walk down the mountain, and we’ve only spent thirty minutes here and you want to turn around??!! I understood why though. We had six children with our group and we needed to walk back up that mountain and get to the top before the last shuttle bus left for the day.
So back we went. Past the little wooden village. Past the camping sites and brave tents. Past the bridge and river. Past the bell and the bear territory. Up and up we climbed. We reached the little creek and once again I heard my children and knew they would be down by the water. They were. My feet were aching and I longed for some respite. I climbed off the path, kicked off my shoes and dropped my feet into the water. Wow, that was cold! A few minutes later, with my socks and shoes back on, and with renewed energy, I climbed back onto the path and there I saw it. The sign. “No Entry”. Oops!
I continued on, stopping a little more frequently, catching a breath. I caught up to Shujin. He was talking with a man who was also taking a rest. He had an incredible wooden contraption on his back. Like a frame for supporting multiple hiking packs. It had a laundry bag on it, with what appeared to be a musical instrument sitting on the top. Turns out, he was a porter. He’d been climbing this path for 25 years! Down and up each day. The little wooden village at the edge of the wetlands had no vehicle access to it. Everything had to be carried in and out again! This porter carried up to 100kg at a time! Just incredible! Apparently if the weight is high, it’s lighter (??) or at least feels lighter, so it’s easier to carry! Well there you go!
We all made it back to the top of the mountain, with time to spare. Shujin and I resolved that we would like to go back, but next time we’d plan better, perhaps camp (eek!) or at least stay overnight. Oze National Park had many walking trails with much to offer, maybe next summer we could come back, or in the autumn. Whenever it would be, we would come prepared. I didn’t need to look like a professional hiker, but being prepared would give us more time to enjoy this incredible destination!
Adventures and exploits - geez, Debbie. Loved reading this. A little exhausted for you though!