THE BREAKFAST CLUB

For six days last autumn, a ragtag band of walkers came together to tackle the famed Overland Track and explore central Tasmania's spectacular flora, from the tiniest fungus to its towering King Billy pines.

- LIZ GINIS

T’S DAY 6 and we’re sitting down to our final breakfast together – oatmeal garnished with sultanas, almonds and honey; chunky slices of freshly baked fruit toast with lashings of butter (if you’re so inclined); and steaming coffee, a selection of teas and juice. Just the fuel we need to power through our last 10km to meet the ferry at Lake St Clair, our journey’s end.

Gathered around the table are Rob and Izzy, both from Adelaide and at different ends of the age spectrum; Ian and Liz, newly dating and charmingly enamoured; Jan and Kim, best friends for life from Victoria; Michael and Alanah, seasoned Blue Mountains walkers and delightfully engaging; the brilliantly dry-witted Nell, en route from “Brisvegas” to Canberra after our Tassie wander; and me.

Skilfully preparing and serving the feast are our cooks/ hiking guides/first-aiders/all-round golden humans – Danah (a passionate botanist); Shawn (a skilled photographer); and Angus (what he doesn’t know, I’ll never know).

The mood is a little heavier than on previous mornings. We’re all a little melancholy. The days have slipped by with the kilometres and none of us are quite ready to leave the wilds and step back into our daily lives.

“Stay with the forest today,” Danah says. “Savour every moment, and don’t let your mind leap forward. Let the rest of the world wait a while longer.”

It’s sage advice, and as we wind our way from Windy Ridge Hut to Narcissus Hut (from where the