A really stormy night with gale force winds, hail and heavy rain. We didn't sleep very well as a result; I was expecting a tree to come through the roof or to have the roof wind damaged. The whole cabin shook. We were getting concerned about today's walk.
Breakfast at 0700 (really good porridge) and we made our lunches for today. Onto the bus at about 0815 and we arrived back where we finished up yesterday. It rained during breakfast but as we got towards today's start there were patches of blue sky.
We headed off just before 0900. We went down to and crossed over Elliot River (the term river is a bit of a stretch as it more like a creek). It was an easy crossing and no wet boots. Quick celebration at crossing the 'river' then we started the accent up to Elliot River camping ground. A challenging climb but it did have some good stone steps that helped.
From the camping ground the track heads inland on old logging tracks looping around for about 12Km to the beach at Blanket Bay. The inland loop was easy going although boggy in places and goes through a Forrest of large eucalypt and there were a few more koala sightings.
Lunch spot at Blanket Bay Campsite
Blanket Bay is a really beautiful Bay. The surf today was smashing in with a swell of about 3 to 4m. We met the bus at the camping ground and had lunch. It was a great place to have a break.
After lunch a couple of walkers opted to finish the day there and jumped back on the bus. The rest of us continued on up the gradual hill and around the top of the cliffs. The scrub here was coastal eucalypt and a few tree ferns. The track wound around for about another 4Km to the beach at Parker Inlet.
We crossed the Parker River (a lot trickier than crossing the Elliot River) but none of its ended up with really wet boots. The next hill for the day was a big one and not a pleasant experience. It was steep and most of the stone steps were not spaced well. We met the bus again at the top and two more of us opted for the bus rather than finish the last couple of Km.
The final couple of Km was an easy walk following the coast along the top of the cliffs.
We met the bus at the Franklin Point car park just after 1600. We had coffee and soft drinks available. We got back to the accommodation at Bimbi Park at 1700.
The weather today was really kind to us. We only had a few short showers and the wind was not too bad near the coast. A far cry from the weather last night.
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