The walkers reached Walpole on Monday 28th July after leaving Peaceful Bay on Friday 25th July .
Here is their story.
We left Peaceful Bay on Friday 25th July with fabulous sunny weather. We were also blessed with sighting a few whales off the coast as we rounded Point Irwin. It was only a short 12km walk today to Rame Head campsite, so we took our time and basked in the sun.
The weather seemed to get better despite the forecast as we enjoyed a lovely sunrise whilst packing up at Rame Head campsite, though there was a pretty heavy dew.
We had to say goodbye to one of our participants who pulled a leg muscle and has a trek in South America coming up. Thank you to Rebecca from DEC who not only carried Alan’s pack up the steps from Conspicuous Beach but also took him back to Peaceful Bay.
We had a few sections that were inundated but not as deep as the inlets we had to wade in previous sections.
We managed to dry out our gear at the Nut Road Lookout where we also had lunch on the way to Giants Campsite.
Now if you have kept up with the times, you would know that Giants shelter was flattened by a tree in a storm in early July. We had the opportunity to walk through the site and sit in awe of the effects nature’s power. Naturally we didn’t stay there. DEC had placed a temporary campsite not far past the Tree Top Walk.
However, thanks to the kindness of locals, and the Tingledale Tennis Club, we were transported to the club hall for the night. Alan joined us later that evening for a proper goodbye and some red wine. Jenny made us a very yummy cake.
Now put all 17 walkers in one room for the night and what are the odds that at least one person is a heavy snorer? I managed to get some sleep as I took refuge from the rumbles in the store room, some slept through it, Mike slept on the kitchen floor and others weren‘t so lucky.
Our next challenge was to cross Sapper’s Bridge. The day before, foam covered the bridge which meant that the fast flowing water was washing up onto the bridge. After inspection we crossed with care.
Lunch was had is the sun on the other side of the river with walkers acting like rock wallabies.
Frankland campsite is always a welcome site to see. Perched on the bank of the Frankland River, it has a lovely vista and plenty of decking to clear any rising waters.
We arrived at Coalmine Beach early and waited in one of the camper’s kitchens thanks to the Coalmine Beach Caravan Park. As we arrived in Walpole, scores of school children greeted us enthusiastically. Some even wanted to carry our packs – now that would border on child abuse! They did have fun learning to use our walking sticks though.
Special thanks to the Walpole Work Camp and DEC for clearing the fallen debris off the Track after the storms in early July. It made our walk so much more enjoyable and we appreciate your efforts immensely.
So it’s a rest day in Walpole to catch up on the world’s news and do our washing. We embark on the next section on Wednesday.
Farewell to our sectional walkers from Peaceful Bay and welcome to those joining for the next section.
Pseudo Solo Steve
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