A two-night hike at Wilsons Promontory with the Zeiss Terra

I love to go on overnight hikes with my daughter. It's wonderful to spend time with her just out in the bush. We always get on well, but on a hike, we really match and have a great time. The Norwegians have a saying "ut på tur, aldrig sur" (on a walk, you're never grumpy).

Summer can be a good time for hiking, as long as it's not too hot, and fires aren't a hazard. The cooler months are better for non-alpine hikes, but because we both work, this was an opportunity to get out, so we took it.

Our hike started at Telegraph saddle, and the first day was short, just down to Halfway Hut. From there we went to Roaring Meg and left our packs at the campsite, continuing to the Lighthouse and back with just a day pack. The third day was back to Tidal River via Oberon Bay.

However, hiking isn't entirely without problems, though. I'm getting on a little, and Emma is much fitter and stronger than I am. I've had problems with knees and ankles before, and it gave me something to think about.

As well as all that, carrying my heavy Nikon Monarch 8.5x56 binoculars is a right pain. I've left them behind in the past, and regretted it. Murphy's Law says that a great bird will turn up, just beyond easy viewing.

To tackle my doddery pins, Emma provided me with a pair of walking poles. You can see that they make me look like an old man indeed. However, they seemed to help. and I'm certainly not the only senior walking round with these things.

As to binoculars, I borrowed a pair of Zeiss Terra ED 8x32s. These are beautiful, smaller and lighter than my Nikons, and certainly didn't give me any trouble. What's more, they combine with a saxon ScopePix smart phone adapter to take phone photos.

As you can see, I do look a bit of a goose using them, but you can probably also see that the photos are quite passable. There's no way I could have photographed the Little Penguin without them. That little guy was sitting under a rock at the landing place at the Lighthouse, and I didn't want to get too close.

The photo of Rondondo Island shows not only hard vignetting (caused by the image circle on the Terras) but also a little soft vignetting, where the light intensity decreases away from the optical axis. There's a bit of a colour balance problem as well, but I think that's acceptable, it's certainly not a professional-level photo, but acceptable as a hiking option.

We got back home tired, but refreshed by the hike.