I got away about 9 and I mostly walked on my own to start with. I met Pam who lives in Port Stephens and is part of a bushwalking group. We chatted about family and enjoyed the wild flowers we walked through. She and her husband Peter, a gentle giant, walked with me for a while but eventually they walked faster. I started to tire and feel the distance drag but bumped into the group who were on the AusWalk supported trek, ( about $3000, but sheets, showers and fully catered) and the conversation got me over the hump and I soon arrived at Munro lodge. What an attractive design, with a balcony overlooking the Munro bight. The toilets were so far away we dreaded an evening pee but some of the guests got up especially to check out the wombats, quolls and the stars!
This night I went to bed at 8.30 and slept solidly till 5 am! I had eaten a huge Backcountry dehydrated meal but wanted to use the dessert I brought. (What was I thinking !?) Those meals are so large so I made it up and shared it with Pam and Peter and Sam, another solo walker from Brisbane.
It turned out quite delicious and Peter was delighted to share. Sam and I spent time with Jenny another solo walker. She leads an interesting life and stunned us by saying she had visited 88 countries and this year was going to Tanzania and Nepal. She will be walking in Nepal but then volunteering with an animal shelter. She has found the DJ life and partying was no longer satisfying. She retrained as a nurse, runs a beauty salon in Bali, but is still trying to find her direction.
Sam is a single mum working in Child protection and another gutsy, capable woman. She took up hiking because she needed a positive way to manage her feelings after her divorce. There are a lot of woman in this cohort who are celebrating significant birthdays, friendships or freedom to explore. There are groups of friends, couples. All the men are great people as well. Humorous, helpful, kind and interesting. This is the thing about this type of ‘ rustic’ walk. You get all sorts, from a family with two pre-teenagers, young people in their 30’s, mid-lifers, retirees and the odd seventy plus person (me!). All different sections of society brought together by an interest in nature and walking and getting out of their comfort zone.
There was a shower on offer this evening but as it was really cold, wet and windy I was not one bit interested. Peter offered to fill the bucket for the shower with hot water for me because he said it was very heavy when full. Despite that kindness I was not tempted. I preferred to stay warm. I had checked out the shower earlier and was amused to hear two voices in one shower. I asked how it was and they replied they had decided it would make for a longer shower! Lots of squealing and giggles ensued.
My fears about snoring and disturbing people in my bunk room were solved by my portable tongue grip that I had trialed before I came away. I was telling one of the men about it when we got on to snoring in communal sleep areas and showed him what it was like (a bit like an adult dummy). One of the other guys was a dentist and said it was an excellent option when a CPAP machine was impossible. He used it when he was camping and hiking to avoid carrying a power pack to support a portable CPAP machine. I had already decided I couldn’t add my 1 kg power pack on top of the 2 kg of food, so this has been a perfect solution.
Tomorrow we have the longest day out to the Blade and the end of Cape Pillar. Fortunately we only need to do a day pack, leaving our full packs in a shed at the beginning of the track where we pick them up and walk on to the next lodge Retakunna for the night.
fleetfootkath 