Total km: 879km

I got a great sleep, which came in handy because it was another tough day. No matter how trail fit you are km’s on end of steep ups and downs in the sand are going to test you.

In saying that, the first 6km of todays trek to the canoe crossing at Irwin inlet were not too taxing. I’m not gonna lie, I was real nervous about this bit. Real nervous. With me not being the most elegant beast on land, let alone water, I figured the chances of me tipping the canoe were extremely high. My fear increased when I saw the rapidly flowing inlet, which looked swollen and ominous. After procrastinating a little too long I decided I may as well get my unwanted swim over with, did my best to waterproof my pack, and grabbed the nearest canoe.

It was a simple job to get the canoe in the water (those with a slight stature may struggle a little though), not as simple to get myself in the canoe. I did wobble a little, but amazingly, didn’t fall. And it turned out that the fast flowing water made it easier to make it across, as the track on the other side was about 50 meters downstream.

Half way across I did stop paddling for a bit, and tried to “enjoy the moment”. But I decided I’d rather enjoy the moment on dry land, so got straight back to paddling. Getting off was not too terrible either and I actually finished the whole endeavor without getting my feet wet. That must be an achievement, surely!

I had obviously been worrying about this for the last few days because once I completed the crossing it felt like a weight had been lifted, alas not from my pack, which I almost forgot to retrieve from the canoe…

After the crossing, the track climbed up from the inlet and then meandered over the rolling hills, peppered with Roos, heading back to the beach. Then there was some more beach walking along the other side of Peaceful Bay. It was beautiful, but in a lonely, desolate way.

There was still a lot of light left in the day by the time I reached Boat Harbour campsite. I had planned on walking the 10kms or so to Parry’s Beach campsite, so I could get started on the long beach walk as early as possible, but as soon as I sat down in the shelter that was me for the day. I was knackered. About an hour or so after that my decision was validated as an an epic storm crashed overhead. Sometimes it’s a good idea to listen to your body.