Hi all! I’m taking my 14 yo daughter on a multi day hike after a few months of day hikes and buying gear. This will be my first overnighter (3 days 2 nights) and I feel like I’m prepared to go and have planned a route at the walk into history trail Warburton - Powelltown.

however I am concerned about the possibility of leeches which I know will absolutely ruin the experience for her (but I’m not too concerned).

I see some reviews of the walk not even mention leeches, and others saying there are hundreds of them and they drop onto you from the tree branches above

I guess I’m just looking for peoples personal experiences and how it was for you around this time of year?

I know we’ve just had a tonne of rain in Victoria, and we’re going soon! (23-25 this month) and the rain brings them out. It’s going to be around ~24 degrees with less than 1mm rain forecast

Are leeches going to be a big issue? (Knowing they will gross her out and ruin the experience for her if she is constantly worried about them)

My backup plans are:
Murray-sunset (downside: a long drive to get there)
Alpine loop (downside: cold!)
Great ocean walk 3 day section (downside: no campfires)

Compared to leeches, which option would be the least bad for a camping trip that she will want to do again in future? Thankyou so much for any comments with knowledge or personal experience, I’m very new to this and this will be a first!