Like a poorly made B-movie, the leeches are back when you least expect them!
The drive to Bundanoon across the tablelands was like something out of a British summer – rolling green hills with pine trees – only with the roads a little quieter, and the views stretching that little bit further. The sleepy hamlet of Bundanoon claims Scottish heritage, but not being a scratch on Maclean further up the coast, we made for Morton National Park and a quick walk into the forest.
Taking the longer walk, and the path less trodden, we reached the Fairy Bower falls, and whilst clambering over rocks to photographise, I slipped and got a foot soaking. Now it was whilst looking at my one sodden foot that I noticed the waving tentacles of three or four leeches! Now you may think I go on a bit about leeches, but they have one task in mind – having a suck on your blood. Also, unlike mozzies, they are fearless and aren’t scared off by a wave of your hand or even a flick of a stick, just continue up your shoe relentlessly. They just hold on at one end and wave around until the find something to grab on to. To top it off, you can’t even tell which end bites! So, the walk back up was fast, with frequent stops to check for leeches and tuck trousers into shoes. I’m sure at least fifteen of the critters made their attempts, but not a single one got to skin, woohoo!
The day was rounded off with a trip to Glow Worm Glen at night, with trousers firmly tucked in red leech spotting socks, we walked a kilometre down to see the little green glowing worms in their natural habitat, made even more fun by torch failure on the way back!