Heather's Exquisite Map of Tassie

Antonio hung about, waiting to leave with them, and they were in such good spirits it didn't bother either Heather or Tim. Of course Antonio focused on chatting with Heather, and to give her a break Tim occasionally asked him a question here and there.

"Are you going up Barn Bluff?" Tim asked, pointing to the great solitary knob of brown rock jutting high out of the plateau to the south-west.

"I was planning to attempt it today, yes. How about you?"

"Um, not today. Maybe tomorrow morning. We'll see."

"We Italians love mountains so I couldn't wait until then," Antonio stated, as if it were a matter of fact for all his fellow countrymen.

After gathering their rucksacks from the hut below the trio walked onwards, past the great rocky buttresses of Cradle Mountain towering above them. Before long they noted another emergency shelter, reminding them they were traversing unforgiving country in which the weather could change to deadly cold with little notice. Antonio departed for his side trip up Barn Bluff, leaving Heather and Tim alone again.

"Ah, the serenity," Heather said as they walked along the cirque above the valley below where their first night's camp would be.

Tim smirked. "Don't you miss him though? He grows on you after a while."

"You're not the one who has to fend him off all the time. He's a persistent bugger, I'll give him that."

"He likes you!" Tim said with a laugh. "He's a big strapping lad and he's keen."

"Sounds like you have something for him, Tim. But he better push hard if he's gonna make it to camp before dark."

"I'm sure Antonio likes to push hard."

"Jesus, you sound like Ryan!" She gave a chuckle. "Actually, you sound like most blokes I know. You boys never grow out of it do ya?" Despite her chastisement she'd laughed at Tim's innuendo.

The track descended through forest and by mid-afternoon they arrived in the grassy valley below the cirque and Barn Bluff, walking past a hut and into camp. While they were setting up their tents a man in a National Parks ranger's uniform approached them, calling out, "Heather Coughlan?" and Heather looked up, surprise and recognition written across her face.

"G'day, Angle-arse! What are you doin here in a ranger's outfit?"

"I thought it was you, Cogsy, when I saw you and your friend walk by the hut! I volunteer as a hut warden here sometimes when I'm not working."

"This is Tim. He's a friend of my brother's, down here from Queensland." And then to Tim she introduced the ranger. "This here is Chris. Or Senior Constable Chris Sidebottom. Known to most as Angle-arse. I had no idea he played ranger in his spare time. Unfortunately I sometimes have to work with him."

Chris gave Tim a cheeky grin. "Only when she's lucky. Anyway, pleasure to meet you, cobber." Chris shook Tim's hand with an iron grip.

Heather and Chris caught up while Tim finished erecting his tent. He'd wondered if Chris and Heather's relationship went beyond professional, especially after his comment, only when she's lucky. Occasionally he glanced in their direction and was sure Chris was flirting with Heather, and unexpectedly Tim felt a slight pang of jealousy. The man looked confident and tough, like he was born in this rugged landscape, and perhaps the type of man a tough woman like Heather would go for. Why am I jealous though, he wondered, I've only known Heather for twenty-four hours, and besides, she's way out of my league.

"Well," Chris was saying, "I suggest if you're going up Barn Bluff tomorrow, leave as early as possible. The forecast says temps might get to the mid-thirties, believe it or not, so you'll want to get onto the next hut reasonably quick. There's swimming in the lake a little way before the hut, which will probably be a welcome relief if it gets super hot."

"Yeah, thanks for your advice," Heather replied. "We'll probably leave our stuff here and only take water and a few muesli bars. Race up and back. Tim's pretty fit."

Chris looked Tim over, as if trying to assess the truth of Heather's appraisal. "You'll do it in no time then," he finally said. "Well, I'll leave you to it. If you need anything drop into the hut. I can offer hot tea or coffee. Oh, and a quick word of advice. Always make sure your food's secure in your pack. There's animals about who'll happily lighten your load for ya. The currawongs know how to open zippers and the possums are so bold they'll almost mug ya. Oh, and there's a quoll about who'll break into your tent to get at any goodies you've left about."

"Quoll?" Tim said, joining them.

"Yeah. Little fella about the size of a cat, with red-brown fur and white spots. Cute little buggers, but they have no fear around here and are always looking to scab off bushwalkers for a feed."

"Good to know," Heather said. "What about devils?"

"They might be about, but unfortunately the facial tumour disease has decimated them." Then with a wink at Tim, he said, "Anyway, count yerself lucky their numbers are down because devils prefer the flesh of dead or dying animals. To them a human lying in their tent is as good as any easy meat."

After Chris left, Tim said, "Funny bloke."

Heather chuckled. "He's good value. I didn't know he volunteered up here. Anyway, how's your tent? You worked it out yet?"

"Yeah, gettin' the hang of it. I've only used it a few times before, when at uni. The closest thing to camping when I was growing up were trips to our friend's place on Magnetic Island. We'd sometimes sleep under mozzie nets on the balcony."

"Sounds nice. But some of your equipment is definitely a bit on the heavy side. Nothing wrong if you're able to carry it, and you seem capable."

Tim chuckled. "I borrowed some of this from Ryan. But it's funny, he gave me a list of stuff I'd need and when I saw I needed a torch I was going to bring me old Dolphin torch Dad gave me when I moved out of home. You know, the ones the size of a brick! Anyway, Ryan laughed when I went to pack it and gave me his head lamp instead."

Heather laughed too. "Well, I think you're doing fine considering you haven't done much pack work."

Later, clouds flew over, releasing some drizzle accompanied by a rainbow in the late afternoon sun, before scudding off again. Heather pulled a pair of tan sheep-skin ugg boots out of her rucksack for walking around camp in, while Tim wore a pair of thongs for camp footwear, which felt amazing compared to his hiking boots, airing his feet out.

Together they cooked their dehydrated meals in front of their respective tents. Wallabies and their smaller marsupial cousins known as pademelons grazed nearby, cropping the grass like a perfectly mown lawn, and a native hen honked somewhere across the valley in the distance. Heather and Tim ate their dinner in silence, admiring the beauty of their early evening valley surroundings.

After dinner Tim took out a pewter flask and offered it to Heather. "Would you like some Scotch?"

"Sure. Don't mind if I do. Thanks." Heather took a nip, handing the flask back to Tim with a beaming smile. "That hit the spot. All I have to offer is some chocolate."

"Ta. This is all very civilised isn't it?"

"Can't skimp on life's little luxuries, especially out here in the bush," she said, handing him the block of dark chocolate from which he took a couple of squares.

The campsite filled up like a tent village and the local quoll dropped by, darting enchantingly from tent-to-tent, its pink nose twitching at the end of its long snout and dark eyes staring hopefully at the hikers. Tim smiled at the marsupial, and said, "Hello little friend! No food from us, sorry."

"What an adorable cutie," Heather said with a smile in her voice.

"Who, me or the quoll?"

Heather chuckled. "The quoll, obviously."

Eventually Antonio, Kathy and Anita walked by, looking for a spot to put their tents in the growing twilight. Antonio waved, despite appearing to be deep in conversation with Kathy, gesticulating wildly with is hands. Heather whispered, "Looks like you have competition for your Irish friend."

"Nah, tell him he's dreamin'. She won't go for him. Like you say, too handsy and in ya face. I reckon she thinks he's a tool too."

"Do I detect jealousy?" Heather gave a little laugh. "The Italian stallion, cutting your grass."

Tim chuckled too. "Yeah, I'm totally devo. I thought she was gonna be mine."

FRIDAY

They were awake early the following morning, packing all their gear away except their dewy tents, which they left standing to dry, then ate breakfast while Barn Bluff, glowing red from the rising sun, towered above the foggy campsite. Once again unencumbered by rucksacks they walked quickly up the cirque, then made the steep rocky scramble to the mountain summit. On top they were again treated to magnificent views under a perfect blue sky. The temperature was rising and their walk back to camp left them both sweating.

Heather was wearing a white sleeveless activewear singlet top with black shorts which ended halfway down her well-muscled thighs, and her fleece jacket tied around her waist, just in case the weather turned unexpectedly cold. She wore her pink cap, from which her short blond ponytail stuck out through the rear adjustment hole, strands of hair sticking out at many angles.

Her fair skin was lightly tanned, with tattoos adorning both her arms, from elbow to shoulder, and thighs too. Most were black ink, but a few were coloured. She had a large red rose with prominent thorns on its dark stem, surrounded by black Celtic knot-work covering her upper left arm, and on her right shoulder she wore the face of an Alsatian dog with ears erect and its mouth slightly open, almost in a doggy smile, with tongue half showing. Below the dog was the Rising Sun badge of the Australian Army, with its semi-circular array of golden bayonets radiating out as the sun's rays, surrounded by more Celtic knot-work patterns filling up the background.

When she'd faced him, Tim noticed an inked thick black snake coiled down sections of her right thigh. And on the front of her left thigh he'd noticed a small Tasmanian tiger and devil, both side-by-side peeking forward through long grass as if on the prowl, and a thick black broad-arrow in the style the convicts wore down her thigh's side.

And on Heather's back, visible above the low neckline of her singlet, Tim could make out black ink in the form of a ragged old scroll type map with sections of the rugged northern Tasmanian coastline disappearing beneath her top.

After a quick lunch, they packed their tents and hiked southward. The temperature must have been in the low-to-mid thirties by now, and despite the reasonably flat track, walking along with heavy rucksacks under the sun was sweaty exhausting business. Not far from their destination they came across a whole bunch of people swimming in a lake, including Antonio who was swanning about in red speedo togs, barely leaving anything to the imagination when it came to his bulging package. Kathy and Anita were there too in bikinis, while various other walkers were frolicking about.

"Ciao, bella!" Antonio called out to Heather, causing her to cringe a little. "Come and join us. The water is bellissimo!"

Tim smirked. "Gotta give him points for trying. Are you keen for a swim?"

"Sure. Please hold me back if I try to drown him."

Using the cover of some bushes and pencil pines they changed into their swimming costumes. Tim wore his board shorts, and when she emerged from cover, Heather was in an aqua two-piece bikini. The sight of her caused Tim to catch his breath. She was muscular with skin tight over well-defined biceps and wash-board abs tapering to a v-cut pointing towards her groin. Her breasts were small but firm, with nipples conspicuous under her bikini. He noted her neat hole of a belly button which featured a small metal navel stud.

Her tattoos were better on display now, and he could see the snake on her right thigh sported finely detailed, almost photo-realistic scales as it entwined parts of her leg, with tail up near her bikini briefs and coiled down to above her knee where the snake faced forward, seemingly looking at any admirer in the eyes with forked tongue stuck out, tasting the air. Tim realised he was staring and quickly looked away, embarrassed. When he looked back to her face he noted Heather's humorous smile. "He's an olive python named Hector. I got him in Darwin."

"Sorry. Your tats...I mean he's impressive."

Heather laughed. "Come on, let's go and swim." When she turned from him he could see more of the map tattoo on her back, which was indeed a map of Tasmania on an old scroll of ripped and burnt paper. In the bottom left-hand corner, below her bikini strap, he could make out the words 'VAN DIEMEN'S LAND' below an old-style compass rose with cursive script denoting north, south, east and west.

Tim wasn't a bad looking bloke with well-defined muscles from playing sport, particularly rugby league, from childhood to his twenties. But despite occasionally lifting weights he was no Adonis gym junkie and suddenly he felt inadequate. Heather oozed an air of toughness and muscle, and she evidently exercised often. Furthermore, she'd been a medic in the army, even deploying to Afghanistan twice, and also lived in various places around Australia. He found her very beautiful and interesting, and Tim felt rather ordinary in comparison. Consequently, despite his developing romantic feelings towards her beyond lust, he suspected he was far out of Heather's league. Indeed, he wondered, she's a goddess and most blokes probably are out of her league.

When they entered the water more than a few heads turned to admire Heather. The English couple they'd seen in the caravan park kitchen were there, along with the young German men. Javier, the Chilean Tim briefly spoke with the previous morning, could hardly keep his eyes from Heather, while Antonio was speechless for once. Kathy and Anita called them over, and Tim decided then and there to keep playing things cool. Heather was Ryan's sister, and since he decided it unlikely he'd have a chance with her he'd simply continue being friendly and enjoy her company till he flew back to Brisbane in slightly over a week. And her company truly was most enjoyable. In the meantime there was a young Irish lady he fancied.

He gave them a smile. "Hey, Kath, Anita, how's it goin'?"

They swam and splashed and eventually Heather lay on a rock in the afternoon sun. Kathy and Anita followed her lead, and then it was only Antonio and Tim in the water. Tim engaged Antonio in conversation, deciding he wasn't a bad bloke, just a bit over the top when it came to the ladies. Other swimmers left, and new ones came. A group of five young Asian men turned up and began gesturing excitedly at something on the ground nearby. Tim and Javier went across to have a look and it was a fat snake with black and light-orange stripes basking in the sun.

"That one's dangerous," Tim said with reasonable certainty. Even though he knew very little about snakes, before he travelled there he'd read all three snake species in Tasmania were venomous.

Heather walked over and confirmed it a highly venomous tiger snake, so everyone kept clear, moving away from the lake's edge. The poor elapid, fearful of the giant, dangerous, noisy creatures who often came by its favourite basking rock, slithered away into the undergrowth.

After briefly chatting with the young men who'd discovered the snake, Tim discerned they were Chinese students studying at university in Sydney. They elected not to stop for a swim, the snake scaring them off, and Tim decided it was time to change back into his hiking gear. Heather arrived behind the bushes as Tim's pants were off and he was drying himself with his tiny microfiber travel towel. He stood there, completely naked in front of her, noting how she'd quickly glanced down to his crotch before averting her eyes and apologising.

"Sorry, I ah...sorry." She turned and left him to change.

Tim looked down to his manhood, which hung there oblivious to the goings on, despite the very recent presence of a beautiful young woman in a bikini checking it out. He laughed to himself, thinking there were worse things than Heather seeing his cock. He was a nurse and saw penises all the time and knew his own was about average as far as cocks go. Anyway, Heather was once an army medic and so surely saw many a penis too in her time. In fact, she'd probably had many a cock from tough, confident, battle hardened A-Jays with big swinging dicks, he thought rather unwelcomely. Fuck off thoughts, he thought to himself, chuckling at the irony.

After dressing he emerged from behind the bushes. "Your turn."

"Hey, sorry about before."

"Nah, it's all good. Nothing you haven't seen before, right?" He smiled and Heather smiled back.

Their imminent departure from the lake caused a cascade effect, with Kath and Anita using the same bushes to change, leaving Antonio on the rock. "Leaving so soon?" he asked.

"We'll see you at camp," Heather said with a smile. "Be careful of the deadly trouser snakes. I saw one hiding in the bushes over there." Antonio looked more concerned than amused.

The hut was only a little further along the track, tucked inside the forest, and with other hikers already claiming most bed platforms inside the small building, Heather and Tim secured one of the tent platforms, placing their tents side-by-side. Kathy and Anita set up camp on the neighbouring platform and when Heather produced a deck of cards she invited the girls over for poker. They all sat on the edge of the platform, enjoying the card game, and finally Antonio wandered up to their camp, telling them he'd somehow bagged a spot in the hut for the night. Still, he joined them for a few rounds of poker before everyone decided they were starving and went off to their separate camps to make dinner.

While they cooked their evening meals, Tim wondered aloud, "I wonder what happened to those bushwalking club walkers?"

Heather thought for a moment. "Probably moved onto the next hut. It was a hot day so they must be pretty tough for their ages. I really admire them."

"Yeah, for sure, it was pretty warm so they must be tough. But it was nice to have a swim. Still, the water was quite chilly."

"The cold water didn't seem to affect you too much," Heather said, giving Tim a sly glance.

"What? Oh. Very funny." He couldn't help but smile, recalling Heather glancing down at his nakedness.

SATURDAY

They woke to the sound of bird calls and muffled camp conversations, making breakfast under a sky showing even amounts of blue and fluffy white cumulus. The day's walk entailed a hike across plains of button grass heath, past lookouts with gorgeous views down forested valleys, and through the enchanting Pine Forest Moor. In front of them Mount Pelion West rose from the plateau, with immense cliffs towering above its forested talus slope. Heather and Tim found themselves walking alone for much of the day as the little gaggles of hikers petered out at their own pace, walking to their own rhythm.

Despite his aching body Tim was getting used to the weight of the rucksack. Keeping up with Heather was no problem on flat ground or downhill, and they conversed much of the time, learning all sorts of things about each other. But he frequently lagged behind when the track climbed and she'd wait for him at various intervals, often preparing to walk on as he reached her.

"Hold on a minute while I catch me breath," he'd say, and though obviously eager to get going again she'd smile and wait patiently. The track wound through some darker rainforest sections with pretty creeks flowing clear from the mountain above, and then traversed up through open eucalypt country. Here they spent some time in silence following a fat echidna ambling along the track as if it were also on their hike, until it finally noticed them and waddled quickly into the grass, where it rolled itself into a ball with sharp defensive spines poking out from its thick brown fur.