Wilsons Promontory to Cape York by bike - Tidal River

Day: 001
Date: Friday, 28 July 2006
Summary: Hiked to South Point, the most southerly point of mainland Australia , and back, a distance of 42km.
Start: Tidal River
Finish: Tidal River
Daily Kilometres: 21
Total Kilometres: 21
Weather: Mild and sunny with little wind.
Accommodation: A cabin at Tidal River in Wilsons Promontory National Park .
Nutrition:
  Breakfast:  ?
  Lunch:  No lunch, just snacks of jelly babies and gorp while hiking
  Dinner:  Another “blokes” dinner out of multiple cans.
Encounters: As I was collecting a small jar of Bass Strait water from the tip of South Point, a huge whale surfaced about 50 metres offshore.
Highlights: Obviously the whale was a highlight, but virtually having the whole Prom to myself (I only saw six other people in two groups) on a perfect day was fantastic.
Lowlights: Finding my legs and feet were suffering badly in the last 8km of the hike.  It’s very depressing to think I’ve lost so much running/walking form.

Journal:
I headed out at sunrise (7:15am) for South Point, 21 kilometres away.  The route traversed pink granite headlands, vast sweeping beaches and scraggly forests recovering from a recent bushfire.  The weather was perfect and I was even singing to myself as I motored along trying to make good time.

When I got to South Point there was a sign requesting (not ordering) people to stay off the small promontory for conservation reasons.  After some consideration I decided to be a rebel and set off clambering across some very big boulders to the point.  Some of it was quite challenging for a 55 year old with a bum knee and, on more than one occasion, I retraced my steps when I felt there was a reasonable chance of falling some distance and knowing that nobody would find me for a very long time.  Eventually I reached the point and then descended to a small adjacent cove where I filled my little jar from an incoming wave.  Again it was somewhat risky, although the worst that probably would have happened was getting very wet.

Just as I finished filling the jar, I saw a black shape out of the corner of my eye.  It then disappeared and I wondered if I imagined it.  However, after waiting another two or three minutes a large whale surfaced and rolled slowly forward.  I watched it slowly move around the point and head north.  Will I see it again at Cape York ?

I made my way carefully back across the isthmus and then after a 10 minute snack, headed back for Tidal River at a good pace, making minimal stops on the way and reaching there at 4:30pm with very tired and stiff legs and sore feet.  I felt like I had run a marathon.  Sad, isn’t it.  Hopefully they won’t bother me on the bike tomorrow.