10 Things I learnt on the Oxfam Walk '17

Before friends tire of my fundraising prompts, I pen my final reflection in thanks to all the contributors to the Justitia team’s Oxfam Walk adventure.  I discovered:

1.      That it is fun preparing and training for an event, with the side benefit of re-discovering the pleasures of bushwalking in the surrounds of Melbourne

2.      How satisfying it was to ask for donations for a good cause and receive such an overwhelmingly positive response from one’s community

3.      That the regular enquiries of fellow trail walkers “how are you going” really helps

4.      How beautiful the Olinda bush is in the dark - if you lifted your head you saw the ? moon shining through drifting clouds between the shadows of eucalypts on an unseasonally warm night

5.      The role of a good podcast (in this case Serial & This American Life’s “ Sh-it Town”) to get me through an endless night of walking

6.      The joy of observing a wombat by the path, confused by humans wearing nightlights

7.      How stunning the deep red dawn light can be, pre-empting a sun not yet risen over Woori Yallock and signalling that another checkpoint was not far off

8.      That the stresses and strains on my three colleagues were not enough to diminish their good humour

9.      That with a fantastic support crew (partners, colleagues and family members) we were far more likely to succeed

10.  The importance of not being too hard on myself for not finishing, but being proud of our achievement as a team (which did finish), and discovering that the aches and pains are temporary and nothing compared to the hardships of those for whom we are raising funds.

Thank you Oxfam.