KING OF THE WALKS

THE first time I walked the Overland Track a Tasmanian devil stole one of my leather hiking boots from outside my tent in the middle of the night. Half asleep and barefooted, I chased the animal across the grass at Waterfall Valley until it let the boot go, slightly chewed but still wearable. That was back in 1997.

I walked the track a second time in January 2009 with my girlfriend Yasmin. I had been working as a bushland regenerator and was mad on plants and animals. At least half my 20kg backpack