Total km: 919.4

I intended to get up super early so as I would not get into town too late…but I was warm and comfy so I hit the snooze button. Repeatedly. It was 8:40 am by the time I got going, so I lost a good couple of hours from my original plan. 

Boat Harbour beach was difficult to walk on, with my feet sinking calf deep every step, but at least it was short. Then it was climbing up and down dunes to get to Parry’s beach whilst the rain hammered down. The sky was a mottled steel grey and the ocean was the colour of slate. A real dreich day, as we would say back in Scotland. Think of the colour tones from the movie ‘The Road’, so you know, not super pleasant

To be honest, I’m finding walking along the coast a little frustrating. You can see where the path goes in the distance, but often you have to walk the other way for what feels a long time before the path meanders its way back the other direction.

At Parry’s beach there is an inlet that can prove to be a challenge at times. I was a little worried about it to be honest. The sea scares me, I like looking at it but I am not comfortable in it. One of the advantages of going northbound on this trail is that you can time it so the inlets are closed by sandbars, meaning you can just walk them. Alas at this time of year, they were open and by all accounts, pretty deep as well.

I got my hopes up a bit, when near the start of the beach walk I crossed a little stream flowing into the ocean. Was that the inlet thingo? Surely it wasn’t…but was it? Because awesome if it was. I couldn’t see anything else on the beach ahead, and the more I walked the more my hopes were raised. Alas, they were cruelly dashed when I finally saw the inlet glimmering in the weak sun. All in all, it wasn’t too bad to cross as it was fairly narrow, maybe 6 or 7 metres, and only thigh deep. It was fast flowing though and it nearly knocked me off my feet a couple of times. As is the way, after I got to the other side I immediately noticed a spot that would have been a whole lot easier to cross at. Ah well, one inlet down.

The 5km or so walk along the beach after that was challenging at times. For the first section the sand was quite firm, but then it was an ankle-deep struggle fest. Even though the tide was going out, there were some narrow sections were the waves were right up against the dunes. One almost knocked me off feet, even though it was only shin deep. I recalled the story from the hiker I met near Rame Head shelter, where a wave brought the water up to her neck *shudder*, so I counted myself lucky.

My shorts had also picked up some sand from crossing the inlet and I started to develop chafing in my thighs. Great.

I had a rest at William Bay shelter and then pushed on, keen to get into town. Thankfully the walking in this section was a bit easier, though fairly unremarkable. I honestly don’t recall too much of it, I was pretty damn tired after finishing the beach walk. Full confession here, at the road crossing before the climb up and down Mt. Hallowell a lovely couple, John and Lana, offered me a lift into town. It was getting late, and the temptation was too great so I gratefully accepted. All up it cut about 5km from the trail, as well as a few km of road walking. 

I had booked a bed at the Blue Wren Hostel, which was in the centre of town and pretty damn cool. James was there, he had taken zero in town. It was great to catch up as the last time I had seen him was at Donnelly River. By all accounts Harry is a day ahead of us, though he was walking around the inlet
today.

I have already established that I am not a fan of road walking, so I organised a lift around the inlet for tomorrow with Mark, the hostel owner. It’s $50 for the ride and saves a 26km road walk, so well worth it in my opinion. James was contemplating the road walk but decided to grab a ride as well, this was cool as it meant I only had to pay $25!

We headed to the pub for dinner where I had the best chicken parm on the trail. No joke, it was bloody delicious.