Next activity: 5th October - Little Drom - see program for details
19th to 23rd September
Starting at Boyd's Tower, the north end of the Light-to-Light Walk, our group was rewarded with early glimpses of whales. Several seals, bobbing around near the point, seemed to wave the walkers off as they headed south. This early marine mammal activity only hinted at the fabulous sightings yet to come. Throughout the walk whales abounded all along the coast, sometimes just splashes out towards the horizon but many were satisfyingly close to the shore. Day one's lunch at Mowarry Beach was accompanied by a young calf breaching multiple times close to shore. This calf and its mother then appeared keep the group company for sometime, hugging the coastline as they continued on their way south. Dolphins also joined the show, putting on a synchronised wave surfing display. As they swam, one energetic dolphin, compete with its bigger relatives, by somersaulting clear out out of the water.
The newly improved and rerouted track takes in some of the most picturesque and widly beautiful stretches of coastline anywhere. The walk (approximately 32km) was achieved over three days: day one - Boyd's Tower to Saltwater Creek, day two - Saltwater Creek to Bittangabee Bay and day three - Bittangabee to Green Cape. Taking advantage of being in a group, camp was made at Bittangabee Campground and car shuffles were used to access the start and finish points. The group began to gather on the afternoon before the first walking day to set up a comfortable-as-possible base. Most walkers camped but others (given as this is one of our local walks) joined in for one or more of the days of walking.
Being spring there was also plenty to look at on shore with colourful spring flowers, including some fabulous purple orchids, as well as the many flowering shrubs. As for birds, more than one lyre bird rushed past through the undergrowth and a sacred kingfisher was spotted jouncing in a tree while eagles soared overhead. Rocks also held interest, their formation was explained and speculation about certain boulder locations were made - evidence of a long ago tsunami?
For those that did camp, on the third evening, Jeff put on a very special evening's entertainment around the camp fire. His rewritten, mostly comedic, song lyrics, made us laugh and think. Accompanying himself on guitar he also covered other songs, several by Bob Dylan - more tunefully playing homage to the great balladist.
The rerouted track was most appreciated on the third day of walking. The old route used to require a 2-3km detour to visit the impressive Pulpit Rock. Now the track passes right by it. In addition, the final stretch of the track is now over some of the most spectacular rock platforms. This allowed the group plenty of opportunity to watch the extravaganza occuring out at sea. As the wind picked up, multiple whales breached in every direction - a calf duo even perfected a synchronised aerial flight. Back on shore, a blow-hole immitating the creatures out to sea, drew our attention back to the land. It wouldn't have been possible to have a more stunningly memorable end to a walk. The lighthouse came into view up the track leading into Green Cape. And so, the walkers made their way down to lighthouse, where a raft of seals greeted them at the southern end - bookmarking the journey.
Many thanks go the leaders, Lyn and Phil - not only for leading the walks but also for so ably organising the multiple car shuffles. Also thanks to those who used their cars for the shuffles and of course to Jeff for a wonderful evening.
