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Published: January 4th 2016
Talk about (not) roughing it. Yes we may have slept on uncomfortable foam mats hidden in the dunes but as planned the day started with delicious breakfast and equally delicious coffee from Tallwood restaurant. As I mentioned, this is one of the best restaurants we have been to on the South Coast so if you are travelling through Mollymook you should check it out.
Caloried and caffeinated up we headed through Ulladulla on the Princes Highway-- the least inspiring part of the walk but an essential hunting and gathering trail as it went right past a Woolworths. Armed with credit cards (essential hunting and gathering tool) we stocked up on some supplied including a few treats like fresh fruit and vegies. One of the great things about doing a walk that does go through towns is that you can have light packs AND eat well at the same time.
By the time we had finished our café breakfast and morning shopping it was much later than we had planned (about 11.30) but that was ok. We were itching to get off the tarmac and back on to the sand by the time we made it back down to the
beach. We walked through forest tracks to get to Wairo where there are some really cute old cabins built before the area became national park. Jono's uncle part-owns one of these cabins so we dropped in hoping to catch him for lunch but the cabin was all locked up so we kept on heading down to Wairo beach and had a walking lunch to make up for lost time. (I over-dosed on dried fruits and nuts!)
There were two river crossings today: Burrill lake and Lake Tabourie. One of these (I think it was Lake Tabourie) was the one where Jono went under water for a brief moment and dropped my pack. A bit of late afternoon excitement.
We ended up finding an amazing spot to camp in Meroo National park between the ocean and a lake. I feel mildly guilty about sleeping on the beach of a national park rather than in one of the defined camping sites but this is appeased by the fact that we did not light any fires and we left all the beaches cleaner than when we arrived. I actually injured my back a little bending over to pick up rubbish all
the time and forgetting to squat and/or engage my core. (I know, as a yoga teacher I should know better!)
It was such a treat to have a beautiful beach to ourselves at this time of year and cook under the setting sun. This in addition to being able to watch the orange globe of sun rise up over the ocean as mist danced up towards a near-full moon in the early morning made up for an almost sleepless night from being cold. The condensation on our sleeping bag that night was so thick that it was as though it had rained and it took me a while to realise that part of the reason I was so cold was that my feet were resting in a puddle on our 'ground sheet' (a painters' drop sheet). It was great to have packs that were for the most part only just over 5kg but next time I do a long walk I would happily carry an extra kilo or two for a comfier mat a sleeping bag of my own a pair of thermal pants and a beanie. Even in summer the nights can get cool - especially by the
coast. We were sharing a light-weight summer bag between us which made for good night time wrestles! (only one of us at any one time could really have our feet fully covered by the tapered end of the bag!
The lightweight hiking thing will need years of refinement I reckon. Mum / Dad - waddya reckon - another attempt next year??
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