Exploring God's great creation

Published: 16 October 2011

New friends from the west: Brisbane's West Deanery members at Cunningham's Gap including Larry Huynh (back third from left)

Picture: Dave Nightingale, of Kenmore parish

 

A recent bushwalk at Mt Mitchell, south-west of Brisbane at Cunningham's Gap, with other young people of Brisbane West Deanery and Greg Endicott, of the Brisbane Catholic Bushwalking Club, proved a pleasant surprise for LARRY HUYNH, of Corinda-Graceville parish. This is his story about the day

THE bushwalk turned out to be much better than I first expected.

Actually it was the first time I voluntarily went bushwalking and I found out I wasn't the only one.

We had a large, diverse group. I was with people from my own parish, people from within the deanery and others I had the privilege to meet during World Youth Day in August.

It was a Sunday morning and things started off rather slowly.

We made a quick stop at a café in Aratula and then we were off to Mt Mitchell.

When we arrived we were still all introducing ourselves to each other.

There were 25 of us and there were many new faces.

After that we pretty much got stuck into the hiking.

As we set off, the last comment from our guide Greg Endicott, from the Brisbane Catholic Bushwalking Club, was "be careful of poisonous leaves" and that "it's tick season".

I felt a little less reassured at that point, to say the least, but once we started walking and we got into the rhythm of it, it was actually quite nice.

The view kept changing as we walked higher and higher.

You lose track of time easily when you're up there.

We spent four hours walking up and down that mountain but it was a lot of fun.

It was one of those rare occasions where you had the time and the space to genuinely talk to someone.

I realised that had we been anywhere else - in a bar or a restaurant - things would have been very different.

I met new people - a couple of great guys from St Lucia who go to the same uni as me and a lovely French student who offered me an apple.

The walk also gave me the opportunity to catch up with old friends and talk about things we normally wouldn't talk about in any other setting (not even at WYD in Spain).

There was a nice and relaxed atmosphere to the whole day.

When we reached the top the feeling I had was indescribable.

I know we hadn't climbed Mt Everest but nonetheless I still felt a small sense of achievement for an ordinary Sunday at Cunningham's Gap.

I had the privilege of leading "grace" at 1200m (4000 feet) at the top of Mt Mitchell, something I'll always remember about that day.

Also, careless as I am, I didn't bring any food with me and everyone offered me their own.

In the end I had more food than any other person.

I am very grateful for such generous people.

Having lunch in front of one of the most impressive views in my lifetime made the experience worth it.

On our way down we confronted steeper trails, snakes that blocked our path, and of course diminishing time.

But in the end we made it back before the sun went down, even if it was a little later than planned.

A few parted ways there while most of us made one last stop in Aratula before we said goodbye.

I sincerely hope I will see everyone in the future again.

In hindsight everything about the day was so simple, but having the right occasion to talk to people as we made it up and down that mountain turned something simple into such a meaningful experience.

It was definitely worth it.

Special thanks to Greg Endicott, of the Brisbane Catholic Bushwalking Club.

Anyone interested in joining the club can visit www.bcbc.org.au