Flo’s Blog

Wilsons Promontory - a 5 day hike

Lands end

Wilsons Promontory is a national park located at the most southern tip of Australia’s main land only 3 hours from Melbourne. It offers and abundance of hiking tracks, long and short.

And that’s why we returned after our short visit in 2007:
hiking or bush walking how they call it here. We decided on the southern circuit because the north had burned down just last summer. All in all we covered 64.4km in 5 days and 4 nights with 15kg on our backs.

Day one - 10.2km, 3.5 hours, easy:
It just wouldn’t be us without packing in the morning. I also worked a 10 hour day the day before… After all we left at around noon and started walking from Mt. Oberon car park at 3.30pm which we had anticipated.
The first hour up to windy saddle is rather unspectacular with the next 2 hours down towards Sealer’s Cove making up for it. I was positively surprised by the lushness of the forest in this valley. After a bit of board walk over a swampy area we stepped on the beach of Sealer’s Cove. We were awed immediately by its beauty in the evening light.

Sealers Cove at sunset

Our camp site was tugged into 2m high fern undergrowth in the forest close to the beach. Birds beeping, wind in the trees and the sound of the surf.

Nemo Morpho AR in between fern at Sealers Cove

This was also the first time we used our new Morpho AR tent from Nemo and our cooker from Snow Peak. Not to forget our SteriPen to treat the water taken from the creek with UV light. Only my sleeping pad from Kadmandhu failed with a broken valve this evening which left me with half a centimeter of foam to sleep on for the next days.

Day two - 13.4km, 5.5 hours, medium:
We got up ‘late’ at 7. Leftovers are OK, but cold cheesy rice in the morning will never be one of my favorites…
Todays hike traverses over two ridges, 200m and 300m high. From Sealer’s Cove to Little Waterloo Bay. The coastline is rugged with many ridges pointing into the ocean like fingers and beaches in the bays they shelter. The sand can be so fine it squeaks when walking over it. Every climb is rewarded with stunning views over sea, coast, hills and forest canopy. In between huge boulders rounded by the  millennia.

Refuge Bay on the way to Little Waterloo Bay

It was also day two when we saw our first snakes. A tiny 30cm brownish snake which wriggled over my shoe. And a 1.5m shiny and thick black snake with white underbelly. Wait a second, underbelly? Looks like the snake was as surprised to see me as I was to see it when it winded itself up half a meter into the air only one meter away from me. And that’s why I know the colour of its underbelly.

Only the tiny 30cm snake...

We reached camp early in the afternoon. Time to go for a swim, have a cup of tea/coffee with shortbread, read, write diary and chat with other hikers. After dinner I enjoyed the evening sitting on a huge rock watching the surf while the sun set. Back at camp a Swamp Wallaby observed our tent from just a few meters away.

Little Waterloo Bay at sunset

Day three - 17.0km, 11.5 hours, hard:
We didn’t plan to be on the track for that long of course. It should have taken 7.5 hours including a 1.5 hour detour to the lighthouse (without backpacks). So why did we? Times our planing was based on are for a counter clockwise direction but we walked clockwise. Since the 300m ridge had to be traversed in either way I didn’t think much about that fact. The only problem was that our way ‘up’ was via a steep climb, at that time already in direct sunshine with 35°C (in the shadow as always with those temperatures, too bad if there’s none). This broke our back for the day, we had to take many breaks, drink a lot of water and try to keep our energy levels up.

Over the beach of Waterloo Bay

Nevertheless, the section after the ridge, along the steep hills of the boulder range with its light eucalyptus forrest, lush gullies full of fern trees and thousands of hugs, round boulders is one of the greatest of the whole walk. Remember the scene where the fellowship of the ring walks over the ridge between those rocks with the fantastic music and great camera movement? That’s how it feels for hours while walking there.

The lighthouse from the distance

We still walked the detour to the lighthouse. Pure luxury with a flush toilet! Then up another 200m onto some kind of plateau and via two smaller ridges to our camp at Roaring Meg. This time we had the place for ourselves and used this opportunity to skinny-dip into the creek to wash our sweaty bodies.
In the evening came the long awaited cool change with thunderstorms and a bit of rain. What a bliss to feel the temperatures drop by 15°C within an hour. We slept right away after dinner and slept all night long even on the hard ground.

Day four - 16.2km, 5.5 hours, medium:
We got up early again and first walked 3.7km downhill to South Point, Australia’s most southern location on mainland. We left all our things in the tent, only carrying our camera and one liter of water. The remoteness is uplifting - lands end once again.

South Point at sunrise

Back at the camp we had breakfast. I had sneaked in instant hot chocolate for Danny and had another coffee myself. After we packed everything we for the first time went ‘back’ in the direction of our car. The way from there for the rest of the day  is rather boring via management vehicle tracks. But that’s why I had planed to walk this section at the end. It’s always great at the end to suddenly cover many kilometers in a short and easy walk.

Vehicle Track between Roaring Meg and Halfway Hut

In the early afternoon we reached our camp at Oberon Bay where we enjoyed the rest of the day. At around 6pm two French guys came by: wearing flip flops, without a map worth the name and most stunningly without any way to treat water. I don’t even think they had a tent. Not to mention the cotton cloths they were wearing. I just hope they didn’t get rained on - the clouds this day were on the darker side. We gave them some directions and 10 of our backup water cleaning tables. I can only hope they’re all right.

Oberon Bay bush camp

Day five - 7.6km, 2.5 hours, easy:
Another short day to finish the hike. From Oberon Bay via a 80m and a 100m ridge to Tidal River.

Oberon Bay in the morning (20 march flies hidden on this photo)

Oh were we happy to take a shower the the camp ground next to the visitor centre. I then had an ice cold Coke and Danny an ice-cream. Pure luxury! On the way home we stopped in one of the towns on the way for a fantastic steak for lunch.

View Bushwalking VIC in a larger map

We were exhausted but happy. The kind of happiness one only feels after having achieved something. Our longest walk so far; the most kilometers, the most days, all with a tent and highly independent. Back at home everything seams to be back in perspective: a soft bed is suddenly a little piece of heaven, a fridge full of food and water out of the wall? You must be kidding me.
Being ‘out there’ is just so worth it. In so many different ways.

Tags: Australia, Hiking, Multi Day Hiking, Travelling, Victoria