Tequila, Bushwalking, SciFi, Mayhem

2010 : Wineglass Bay

Trek Date: 18 January 2010

Well the first TasTrek of 2010 is done and dusted.

It’s been a long while between treks - nearly 18 months - so I did wonder at the level of pain & discomfort we’d be in for… but that’s never stopped us before! :)

This time it was just three of us, myself, Mike & Sienna - on her first bushwalk!
She’s been on many camping trips with me, but never a bushwalk - it would be exciting for her. As the days got closer she was nearly jumping out of her skin with excitement.

Finally Saturday morning rolled around, and we were ready to go. Mike arrived at 8am, and we got everything in to the car. My back weighed in at 23kg - not too bad for me. Mikes was the same, and Siennas weighed 5kg.

The drive up was pretty uneventful - we stopped at Sorell for McBrekkie and an energy drink. We also stopped for a leg stretch at Swansea which was nice - it was about 25'C and very sunny and warm.

It was then as we drove out of Swansea we realised we couldn’t actually see The Hazards… which are usually very visible. All we could see was grey… dark grey clouds…

The closer we got the greyer it got… we arrived at the check in spot to purchase a parks pass, and it was lightly sprinkling with rain. We stuck the pass on the car and headed around to the carpark.

Sienna was hoping to see some animals - particularly wallaby's, paddymelons and possums - well she need not have worried - there was one sunning itself on the bank behind our car! She went over and introduced herself, and made friends with it. She got to pat it, stratch it, and generally become its best friend.

Soon we had to go - Mike & I loaded up our backpacks, got Siennas backpack on, and off we went - but not too far, as Sienna needed to go to the toilet, so we dumped our packs, and took her for a wee.

So, we loaded up again, and off we went.

It had been a while since we’d done the Saddle, so I was a bit lost - they have re-done the path up to the lookout - there are now TWO tracks. One completely new one and the older one.

We took the new track to see what it would be like. As it turns out - very easy. Mike & I commented on how we didn’t seem to be too sore or tired. Half way up there is a new lookout, looking back at Coles Bay - very nice!

We made it to the top quite easily with not too many stops - only to remove a few rocks from Sienna shoes… oh, and Sienna got tired carrying her backpack, so I had to carry that too! :(

We stopped for a little break at the curvy wooden couch at the top, and then proceeded down the other side.

The wind had picked up, and the rain was becoming a little heavier, but it was nice cool walking weather - certainly not the 23'C they’d predicted.

The walk down the otherside to the beach was slow, with Sienna being very careful of her footing. The closer we got to the beach the more the rain increased.

At the beach we stopped and rested under some trees - Sienna met some more wildlife and became friends with them.

So, off we went - immediatly we noticed that the sand was horrible to walk in. Large coarse sand, more like tiny pebbles, that we sank in to - the going was slow and tedious.

Once we were out on the beach, the rain and wind picked up, and by the time we got around to Wineglass campsite, we were cold, and wet through.

We walked in to the camping area to see if we could find a good spot - luckily we found our usual spot unoccupied! Everywhere else was taken - there were probably a good dozen or so campers nearby.

First thing was to get our tents up, get out of the rain, and get in to some warm dry clothes.

I got the tent up very quickly, got a shivering Sienna inside, and wrapped her in some towels to dry off. I got the campstove going, and this heated the tent up to 40'C in no time - she wasn’t cold anymore!  Once she was dry, I put her in her new rainbow thermals, and a hooded towel, and she was fine!It was time for a late afternoon lunch - so I got out some dehydrated peas, and mashed potato, and cooked it up, and we both polished it off. Followed up with hot chocolate & marshmallows!

By this stage the rain had stopped, but the wind was still causing big drops to fall from the trees but it wasn’t too bad outside - not cold at all.

Sienna found some more friends - a wallaby and offspring - and she had fun jumping around after them. Then Sienna, Mike and I went for a bit of an explore to see what was about - the campers across the way had brought a 3 month old baby with them! We also found that the Parks people had installed long drop bio-toilets - very nice.

We wandered down on to the beach, and found it was a mess - there were jellyfish corpses and dead fish everywhere - there must’ve been a hell of a storm at some stage in the previous week. After a nice walk along the beach (I tried a bit of fishing, but only caught some kelp) we headed back to camp.

By this stage in the day it was definately dinner time, so we broke out the dehydrated camping meals, Sienna had Lamb Fettuccine, and I had Beef Stroganoff. Very nice they were. Sienna had another hot chocolate to wash it down, while Mike & I shared his Famous Grouse whisky :)

It was getting pretty dark now, and two possums decided to come looking for snacks, so Sienna chased them around with her torch. She was having a great time. We broke out two coloured glow sticks, and Sienna & Mike decided to have light sabre fights with them…

Pretty soon though, it was her bed time, so she snuggled in to her sleeping bag, and after a quick bedtime story, she was snoring in about 2 minutes.

Mike and I polished off the rest of the whisky, and wandered down to the beach to see what was happening - the clouds had gone, and it was a brilliantly clear sky. Occasionally we’d see flashes of light on the horizon - lightning to the south west.

Mike & I went back to the campsite, and hit the sack.

Sienna woke in the middle of the night very hot, so she slept on top of her sleeping bag for the rest of the night - only climbing back inside about 6am.

Sienna woke about 9.30am - a big sleep in for her… and didn’t want to get out of bed until around 10am :)

She got up, and we had breakfast - Vegemite on toast, and some hot chocolate & marshmallows - very yum.

Sienna went and had a bit of an explore, and played with her furry friends…

After we’d all eaten, it was time to pack up - this took a little while, as I had to pack up more than usual - but pretty soon it was all in my backpack and we were ready to go.

The day turned out to be quick warm & sunny - a marked change from yesterday!The slog along the beach was ok - the sand had firmed up somewhat, and only became soft towards the end. We stopped for lunch at the end of the beach, and had some sandwiches, and some barley sugar lollies to keep out strength up.

The walk up the saddle to the top was a long hard slog, and took a while - with Sienna wanting a break every 10 minutes or so - but she was tenacious and soon enough, we were at the top.

Sienna went and relaxed in the curvy wooden couch, and we took a good 1/2 hour rest before heading down hill.

Downhill is always hard - you’ve got all the weight trying to push you over, and it’s more tiring than going up hill.

We made it though - tired & sweaty - and headed around to the nearest shop for some dinner & a drink. Mike & I both had fish & chips, while Sienna had some Kettle Chips.We headed back home via the Lake Leake Highway, and it had turned real grey - with flashes of lightning everywhere.

The rain started, and got heavier and heavier as we drove - and at one stage we had the most impressive hailstorm, so heavy we had to pull over or we would’ve crashed the car the road was that slippery.

We got to Campbelltown, and put some fuel in the car - then headed south… it pretty much rained the whole way home… with a stop at Mood Food for some last minute caffeine & snacks, we were soon home.

All in all, it was a great trip!

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