Here we go here we go here we go... to Tasmania!

Finally... after getting spiked to hell by spinifex and nearly destroying my good walking shoes last year in the Karajini, and at Anke's patient but persistent urging, I've just bought my first ever pair of "real" hiking boots ready for our trip to Tasmania in a few weeks time (I can't wait actually!) and it's not quite as easy as buying dress shoes I tell you! I'm wrapped in them! They are very, very comfortable and surprisingly light (and yes, very expensive too).

Anke's had a good pair for years that she has trekked all over Africa in (even right up Mount Kilmanjaro - true!) so she well knows the benefit of having the right gear... and boy, is there ever an entire industry built around hiking & camping gear that I didn't know existed! Even buying the socks for them became an experience! They all looked the same to me until I innocently made the mistake (?) of asking one of the guys that worked in Main Peak "What's the difference in all these socks... are these one's $40 really any better than the $20 ones?"

Much serious chin scratchy was observed as he prodded us with relevant and apparently very serious questions that had to be taken into careful consideration before any opinion could be offered! Questions such as:

• "What kind of terrain will you be trekking in?"
• "How hot will it be?"
• "Will there be any snow?"
• "What kind of a load will you be carrying... will it more than 20 kilos?"
• "How many days at a time will you be walking?"

More than 20 Kilos?! DAYS?! Hmmm... this IS getting serious...

And this was just for the socks! Sheesh, I went in thinking $20 was just too extravagant for a pair of socks but ended up being 'educated' into realising that the $40 pair were actually a real bargain... and that I couldn't possibly get by without them unless I wanted to end up with rancid smelling, blistered feet after only a few days and risk possible amputation! After all... they were the very same socks HE used when he trekked in Patagonia last year... they MUST be good... I HAD to have them! I didn't have the heart to ask if they came in another colour!

Anyway, Tassie... here we come - boots and all!