Last night we went up onto a granite rock behind Woolbales Hut to watch the sun go down. I managed this little climb without a problem. The sunset wasn’t very striking but the view to the coast was welcomed. I really needed a change if scenery. This flat walk gives little chance of ever seeing very far ahead.
Today there was more wet parts underfoot given that we are walking through a low flat drainage system that leads west towards Boke Inlet. Then the sand started.
The wild Southern Ocean is reached via Mandalay Beach which was a good half way stop for me.
The reports told of a hard beach walk and huge sandhills to climb before the day was finished. The sun was out and temperature about 24° just as one would expect at the beach. So I sat and rested, drank heaps of water and checked out what was left of my daily allowance for snacks. (Daily allowance is 6 dates, 12 cashew nuts, half a protein bar and 2 snakes). I was pleasantly surprised to see that the snakes had bred and I had a cute wee baby one.
The walk along the beach was only about 1km so nowhere like my 100km of beach walk at the start of Te Araroa. I am glad I know what hard really is as i gave something to compare with. Consequently this little beach walk wasn’t too bad at all. Peter and the girls all stopped for a swim when they reached the beach but I didn’t. The signs said not to swim and the hassle of getting dry with a 10cm square towel put me off.
I wanted to get the huge sandhill out of the way and get out of the hot sun. Not many photos today as I didn’t have much charge left on my phone. The sandhill wasn’t so big. I believe it is all about managing expectations. Expect the worst so when I get better than that I will be happy. I have learnt that what Aussies think is really hard os nothing compared to what I have done in the past. So at the end of the day I am happy.
I saw a beautiful tiger snake coiled up on the side of the track. It looked at me then slowly slithered off into the bushes uncoiling as it went. So I am happy with that snake encounter and do not need another one.
I also came across a wild cat that hissed at me before running off into the bushes. It looked and acted very much like my daughter’s mad cat Maizie who died recently. Maybe she hads been reincarnated.
