I got much better sleep this night and needed some more to compensate for yesterday. So I woke up at 7:30 rather than 5 am. I also dreamed very vividly that I was getting married and extremely in love with a man with a beard. Don’t think it was a vision for the future as I still prefer no facial hair. But I’ll keep you updated.
I could start late today because at 20km there would be an estuary crossing and high tide was at 1:30. So I needed to arrive a few hours after high tide. I could potentially continue and finish late. But hadn’t really decided yet.
After a third cup of tea, it was time to go. I gave Sue and Steve a hug as they truly were angels. As I‘m a stranger to the 2-year old I offered a high five. But not only did she give me a high five, I also got a really big hug! Which made my day and made me miss my own nieces and nephew even more.
I soon returned to pick up my hiking poles I left behind and then it was time to head off.
The road was fine and not too busy. I did feel my left ankle a bit. That is definitely something to watch and probably some tape tomorrow. But as it didn’t get worse, I accepted it.
The beach was lovely. Gorgeous views and I find watching the waves break very addicting. Always slightly different and I try to predict whether the wave run-up will come up to my feet. I get really good at it, but I got my shoes wet and a river crossing anyway.
It was high tide, so the beach was narrow and the sand soft. I took a long break and met up with hikers from two days ago: Ron, Carry, Hayden, Thomas, and more but as I hardly spoke with them, dropping their names wouldn’t be helpful. The previously mentioned hikers were planning to stay at a holiday park. I do prefer free campsites, however, they are lovely and if I want to belong to a group, I need to make compromises. So I was 70% sure I was going to camp with them.
It became 100% when dark clouds approached. Luckily we stayed dry during the hike and the river crossing was butt deep (not sure if you put it like that, but sounds better than crotch-deep 😅)
We arrived exactly at 5 at the campsite which meant we could pay and buy an ice cream. Mums!!
After pitching the tent and a cold shower, it started to rain. For a good hour, it rained, but with the holiday park facilities, we ate dinner in the dry communal area.
It was fun and happy with my decision to join them. Plus my tent stayed dry, although I did see some unexplained drops on my inner fly. So still not 100% sure it’s fully waterproof. Hopefully, tonight stays dry, although it won’t matter for the mud of tomorrow.
Zilla-in-the-wild 