Day 4 - Feb 25: Sunrise. It is a while since I have watched sunrise over the water. It is hard not to love this time of the day. Today there was dawn, first sunrise, then second sunrise.
Mallacoota Inlet looked so beautiful this morning that we decided that a kayak upriver was the go. There are so many different routes one could take but we decided to go up 'The Narrows" and then "Double Creek Arm". It was quite windy to start but the tide was with us and the going not too tough.
There were lots of other craft in the water, almost all of them fishing and all, except for two yachts and one kayak, were motor boats. Nevertheless, none were rude or unthoughtful and we weren't washed away by excess wake! Double Creek Arm was lovely - much quieter and with a view towrds Genoa Peak. There is plenty of evidence of the 2020 bushfires. They really must have been hellish. Whole hilltops, four years on, still look dead from afar. From closer you can see new growth and so recovery of the bush is happening but since most of the upper storey disappeared it still doesn't look good.
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All up we paddled (I should say pedaled - they are pedal kayaks) for about 12.5 km which will probably mean a few tired muscles tomorrow!
Rested after a late lunch, we decided to walk along a section of the inlet where we had seen a boardwalk on our way up to where we started paddling. Lots of birds, including ones I couldn't see, a beautiful marshy area, and again wonderful views.
We drove around town, looked at another possibility for kayaking tomorrow then headed back to camp for dinner and a sunset viewing over the caravan park and town.
Today I've also spent quite a bit of time poring over maps and tourist information about this part of Victoria. I'm starting to understand that our time away is not going to be nearly long enough to explore what there is to explore. It's funny. I always think of Victoria as a small state, and I guess it is compared to most other states, but there is such a lot going on in this part of the country and I didn't realise it. Oh well, now to decide where we will head and what we will miss out on - this time.
Day 5 - Feb 26: Nothing like giving sore muscles another workout, so Pete and I headed back out on the water with our kayaks. This time we headed to Betka River just south-west of Mallacoota. The weather is much cloudier today with the threat of a few showers, but since we were the only ones on the water today, the weather didn't matter. It was so peaceful. After 5.7 km paddling upstream we decided we better turn around so we had enough steam to get back to the car. Unfortunately, I left my camera back at camp so the photos are pretty ordinary. Never mind. Here's the map of today's kayaking.
There were cormorants/egrets/herons of many varieties, ducks, swans, and we saw one Azure Kingfisher. We saw nature in action as two adults ducks flew off as we approached, abandoning their duckling that couldn't yet fly out of the water. Not far away a small bird of prey of some sort, whooshed past my head, heading in the direction of the duckling. One of the ducks was there on our return, but no duckling. Didn't see the actual demise, but I'm pretty the it had become hawk food. Fish were regularly jumping out of the water but I suspect this river is off bounds to fishermen, at least past the estuary.
Again we saw plenty of evidence of the 2020 fires and of subsequent floods that appear to have cut off many of the dead trees lining the river. So many dead trees, but the undergrowth is impenetrable now (well, without a machete) with new saplings.
Upriver, the reflections on the more protected waters were beautiful.
Come with me for a ride for a minute and see how peaceful it is.
Our afternoon exploration involved a drive back to the Princes Hwy and south a few kilometres to access the track that led us to the Genoa Peak walk. This is the hill that we saw yesterday (and this morning) while kayaking. The walk is not long at 3.5 km return, but it is steep and quite rocky.
When we arrived at the base of the walk, I discovered that my hiking boots were not in the car and all I was wearing were thongs. Reminder everyone, don't hike in thongs! I did today, but had to watch every footstep. Going up wasn't so bad, but I certainly used my quads coming down, trying not to step too far and risk breaking the bit of the thong that goes between the toes. Ugh!
Fortunately, the walk was worth it. Despite the fact that this is not a particularly good season for wildflowers, there were a few to beautify the walk.
And, there were fantastic 360 degree views from the Lower Peak and the real Genoa Peak. Worth the effort if you are ever in the area.
Looking up to Genoa Peak from the Lower Peak
Looking down to the Lower Peak from Genoa Peak
The devastation of the bushfires was again very obvious. It basically appears as though all the old growth was killed. There is plenty of new growth coming and the pioneer plants like acacias are doing well, but what has been lost forever? The loss of animal life in a fire like this doesn't bear thinking about.
Day 6 - Feb 27: We decamped from the caravan park at Mallacoota to
the relative quiet of Croajingalong NP.
After passing Betka Creek, where we paddled yesterday, we called in at a
few stops on the way to our final destination of Shipwreck Creek, a whole 15 km
south of Mallacoota.
Our first stop was Bastion Point. There is a boat ramp here for heading out on
the open ocean, but I wouldn’t want to do it for anything. Maybe today was a bad day but I don’t know
how boat drivers would navigate this boat ramp. The photo probably doesn't show how bad it was but basically the launching area is parallel with the waves coming in. You would have to do a mighty quick 90 degree turn to avoid being sideswiped!
We walked along the coast for a bit, marvelling at the wild looking
coast.
Our next stop was the aptly named Geology Point, where you
can see the folding of rocks on the headlands. Just beautiful. I had not really
thought about it before, but this is the area where the Southern Ocean, Pacific
Ocean and Tasman Sea meet. It therefore
often has rough, turbulent seas. It was
in this area, all those years ago, where the Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race disaster
struck and lives were lost in terrible weather.
A few headland heath plants were flowering.
The name “Secret Beach” on a signpost was too much to resist
so we walked down to a secluded little beach.
Not warm enough to be tempted to swim. However, here we watched a juvenile White-bellied Sea-eagle while it watched us!
Finally, we reached our campsite at Shipwreck Creek, named I
guess for one of the many shipwrecks that have occurred in this area. No sign of any though. The camp is located
about 300m from the beach, which of course we had to explore.
The patterning in the rocks is just fascinating.
I also explored around the campground for
insects and plants and later in the afternoon we headed off on a heathland walk.
Given that I visit a lot of heathland around Wooli, it is fascinating to see
plants I recognise and those I don’t. The highlight of today was what I call
the baby goblin orchid. Of course this
is not its real name, scientific or otherwise!
But I hope you’ll understand why I’ve called it that. (Real name: Eriochilus cucullatus or Parson's Bands)
Quite a few other flowers around too.
At one point in the walk there was a small wood, full of
dead trees and new, very thick undergrowth.
The sound of this wood as we passed through was quite eerie. You could
hear small birds in the thickets (we did see one quail), but it was the
squeaking and creaking of the dead tree timbers that really permeated the
atmosphere.
At another part of the track there was a view down south to
a beach that I suspect is impossible to get to without abseiling or falling
down a cliff. Bummer.
Day 7 - Feb 28: Sunrise is late here – about 6:50am and so without
too much effort, we headed down to the beach to watch it. Lovely.
Yesterday’s cloudy skies had cleared by this morning and all
signs were for a hot day. So, reasonably early we headed off on a walk to Seal
Creek a few kilometres south of where we are camped. The middle section of the
walk was across heathland again but interestingly, many of the few flowers that
were around yesterday were not flowering or were even fewer in number. I wonder why.
We were greeted at Seal Creek Beach by a couple of little Hooded Plovers.
But, except for the birds, Seal Creek Beach was deserted and after a hot walk, a skinny
dip in the creek was in order.
Divine! Certainly needed the dip
to cool off as there is not too much tree cover on the walk, even in the
woodland section. There is a lovely
little walk-in camp here for people doing the multi-day coastal trek you can do
along this coast. We explored around the beach, again the patterning on the rocks providing fascinating viewing.
After exploring, paddling on the edge of the surf, eating morning tea and having another swim before heading back.
I discovered a few critters and plants on the way back but
by the time I reached Shipwreck Creek, the only thing I cared about was a
swim! Quite a warm walk!
After a lazy lunch, I wandered around the bush near camp having a look for anything that caught my eye. What did I find? Among other things, a pretty butterfly, a damselfly, an interesting fly and a big black spider.
Back at camp, the Superb Fairy-wrens, Eastern Yellow Robins and Grey Fantails amused us with their antics.
A moth watch netted many species I've never seen before including this beauty (Abantiades hyalinatus or Mustard Ghost Moth).
Day 8 - Feb 29: We departed Shipwreck Creek this morning, heading to Cape Conran. Pete had decided at some stage that every time the 29th Feb occurs it warrants a dinner out somewhere, but since we are going to be in the middle of a Coastal Park, we opted for morning tea out in Mallacoota instead. Not quite the same but something is better than nothing. For the first time in a week I didn't make the coffee!
I had never realised just how hilly this corner of the country is. Somehow I imagined that it all fell away after the Snowy Mountains but it doesn't. The drive to Cape Conran is a windy one along the Princes Hwy but there are interesting places along the way. There was more evidence of the 2020 fires, especially near Wingan River. The roadside still looks like this there.
Other parts, however, look much healthier. There must have been a concerted effort to protect some of the temperate rainforest that survives in the very steep gullies around. We stopped at one point at a place in a state forest called Drummer's Walk. This is a rainforest walk along the Thurra River (creek), While there was water in the creek, the vegetation was very dry. This part of Victoria was obviously not affected by the recent flooding! Neveretheless, it is very obviously rainforest.
The trees here are magnificent. Photos do not do them justice. The size of this first one was so incredible I had to take a video inside it!
We next called in to see Bemm River, a township on another one of the inlets that are scattered along this coast. We checked out a free campground at Pearl Point where I'd read that there were 'spectacular sedimentary rocks'. The campground was nice but the spectacular rocks were really not that different to anywhere else. A lovely grass grew on the coastline though.
There was a bit of excitement though when T-Rex's head seemed to appear behind the bushes ...
Onwards then to our campsite, Banksia Bluff Campground, in Cape Conran Coastal Park. We didn't have time to do much around here today, but did the short "Swampy Creek Walk." That took us out to the beach to the east of where we are camped. We hope to walk to the end of the Cape tomorrow.
Day 9 - Mar 1: We had a lazy start to today, not even leaving camp until after morning tea. We then took the Cape Conran Nature Trail walk out to the end of the Cape, then wandered around the rocks, called Salmon Rocks. The rocks are aptly named because of the colour of the lichen. Not quite Tasmania's Bay of Fires, but pretty all the same.
There were quite a few birds in the area, including lots of juveniles, squawking away at their parents.
From the point of the Cape, one gets good views east and west along the coast.
This was not such a lazy walk - a bit of 9km all up with some steep stairs, soft sand and rock hopping involved.
On the return trip we used the beach wherever we could and were lucky enough to see a White-bellied Sea-Eagle eating something it had caught and cormorants resting on the beach rather than the rocks.
The cool of the water was very pleasant on our feet as we walked the last leg, because despite it not being very hot today we were rather warm by the end of the walk.
I enjoyed another lazy walk in the afternoon - the Heathland Walk. Here are some of my finds.
Meanwhile Pete cycled the area and discovered somewhere to visit tomorrow.
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