My spreadsheet planner has an asterisk against today- Ive marked it HARD. Eek. Reason being coastal section with possibility of impassable beach plus the Irwin Inlet crossing with the canoe (theres always a chance that there might not be a canoe or there will only be one meaning multiple crossings towing canoes from one bank to the other). At any rate, great sunrise and Im walking by 0700 and the vegetation is a bit overgrown and soaked. Glad for the gaiters. At the top of the hill I get a message to say that there is a chalet (no toilet or shower) I can rent for $65/night $20 more if I want linen!!!, please confirm- I do so, a bit grudgingly, no linen thanks!). That out of the way I hope it is torrentially rainy and stormy to justify the expense!
Interesting walking day, the weather remains fine. Good mix of timber steps, sandy trails, peppermint thickets and some beach, also 4WD tracks (not quite as scenic). My first beach of the day is Middle Quarram- firm sand, passable. Surreal moment when I spot a fox on the beach!
Unexpected. The second beach is Big Quarram, my luck is in, it is also passable. I remember last time Meg and I walked this section it was quite challenging having to navigate with big waves crashing around us and the rocks being slick.
By 10:00 I reach the next distinct point of the day- The Showgrounds and Im ready for a cuppa. Mid sip of coffee another hiker emerges- Daniel, he stops for a chat and tells me he was expecting me (he had bumped into Geoff the day before)! Anyway, Daniel saved me quite a bit of time in that he had done 3 trips with the canoes to balance up the numbers on either bank! What a guy! The Showgrounds are aptly named - they are totally unique and cover about 2km of land vegetated in low grasses and shrubs with some decent ridges and valleys. It is quite a different colour to the typical Australian bush scape due to the grasses and it provides a haven for kangaroos... except not today... I only saw a handful. By contrast the Currawong population was rife.
shed and load my pack in before getting the boots off. The water is pretty calm and its not too windy. It probably takes me about 15 minutes from bank to bank. Quite a nice challenge and in my opinion really adds to the experience of the track. Shoes and socks back on for the last 8km of the day!
The next little section is a real treat, I descend into a woodland which is really vibrant, a totally different shade of green with lots of lichens, mosses and a very green frog. The trail into Peaceful Bay is not overly inspiring- scrub, vehicle track, 3 lots of shoes off again wades through various patches of inundation, mosquitos and then the backside of Peaceful Bay.
By 2pm Im at the Caravan Park Shop and have ordered my (late) lunch/ (early) dinner. The fish and chips are pretty famous here, they dont disappoint. The small attached shop has the usual stuff that caravan park shops stock- pasta, convenience foods, some frozen meat, frozen bread, toiletries, etc. They kindly sell me a single breadroll for my lunch for tomorrow. I have a small resupply box here so pick that up
and get a coffee and an icecream before traipsing off to the chalet trying to balance everything. I bump into the foursome I met at Mt Hallowell- it feels like catching up with old friends!
I find Unit 7A (minus linen), pay the caretaker (who gave me a free towel!) and dump my stuff before heading off to the shower block with fresh mini toiletries from the resupply box. But first... the shower requires cleaning, look away if the thought of large hairballs and assorted gunge in the corners of a shower stall make you feel ill... I shower in my crocs and leave it a lot cleaner than when I went in...YUK. Next laundry (I did get dressed first!). Clean laundry before using it- hair balls, assorted gunge...YUK.
