After another couple of days wandering around Victor Harbour, I left on Monday, public holiday, bus 8.30am, arriving at the trail from Mt Compass to Chookaroo campsite at 9am. This is a 30km day along rolling back country roads through forestry blocks, farms, and 4 conservation parks. Finnis, Mount Magnificent, Kyeema, and Kuitpo.
I knew i had no chance of making it through to the campground before dark, so planned to wild camp along the way. Quite against the rules but I hoped to be able to find a spot where I wouldn’t be detected and would leave no trace. This meant I needed 2 full days of water, 4kg, so I had a heavy pack.
But the day didn’t start well. The nice bus driver (this time) said he knew where the trail crossed the highway, and he would stop for me if there wasn’t too much traffic behind him. I was pleased when he pulled over. However, apon looking at my map, I saw that he had stopped too soon so I had a 2km walk up the highway to the start. Now it coukd be a 32km day. Not far in a car but a 9-10 hour walk for me and there was definitely not going to be enough time in the day to do that.
So off I trudged checking my map when I arrived at the correct road. Walk along this for 2.5km, then the trail went off across farmland. About an hour up the road hadn’t seen any signs, so I checked my app to see that I was only supposed to go down the road 250 metres not 2.5kms Grrr the only time I get lost is at the start of a day.
I trudged back 2.5km now giving myself a 37km day and it was now after 11am.
The walk was actually quite nice that day, a few steep hills in the sun, and I found an abandoned berry farm to have lunch #1.
I got through Finniss Park and then stopped for lunch #2 to find that my 3 litre water bladder had been leaking and I had very little water left. Definitely not enough to get me through the rest of the day and all of the next day.
There was a farm up ahead that the trail went through so I planned to call into the farmhouse and see if I could get some water and maybe somewhere to camp. Best case scenario, they would feel sorry for this silly old kiwi lady and give me a bed for the night.
Worst case scenario was something out of the iconic Australian horror film “Wolf Creek” where I would be split along my spine and become a head on a stick.
BUT I needed to walk through a paddock full of cows first. They were big mothers and their half grown calves. I got through the gate and started up the track as they became very vocal and just kept coming at me, mooing very loudly.
Now, yes ,I know they were just curious, and I needed to keep walking through them. But I have to admit that I was too scared and took off back through the gate. Where are my farming friends, Kay Garland and Francis Karl, when I need them?
I really told myself off for being so silly and had a second try, only to chicken out again. Can you believe that I was brave enough to risk being tortured by a deranged Australian but was scared of a paddock full of cows??
It was 4pm, I had very little water left and all along the trail, there had been signs saying “No Camping”, “Private property” etc. They were obviously not a hiker friendly lot around here.
I had walked 12km of the trail plus the extra 7km, totally 19km. I was tired and annoyed with myself. I needed a buddy to spur me on. This solo hiking is hard work because I rarely win an argument with myself.
So decided I just had to walk back where I had come, back to the safety of the highway and a caravan park at Mt Compass, near where the bus driver had let me off this morning.
After about 7km, I was trudging (I note that I keep saying “trudging” as this all felt like damn hard work) along a back country road, thinking I was very unlikely to get a hitch. But my luck finally came in, and a lady with 2 kids in the car stopped. She had seen me walking up the road in the morning, pointing me out to her kids as a Heysen Trail walker. So she was surprised to see me later in the day walking back the other way and was curious.
I explained my bad day, so she drove me right back to the Mt Compass caravan park. Lovely family. I did my usual speech to the kids that they were not allowed to hitch hike until they had grey hair. I don’t want to be a bad influence.
I put my tent up, had a shower, chatted to a few campers, ate my dinner then collapsed into my bed, not happy with myself.
Tomorrow, I am going to hitch to the Chookarloo Campsite then walk the easy 12km to the next stop, Rocky Campsite.
I am not up to doing 30km days. I do remember easily doing 30-40km days on Te Araora, but that was after having walked 1,500km and being a lean fit machine. That is not me today. It’s my own fault. Karen, you need to do better!
