Croajingolong Wilderness Coast Walk |
Getting there |
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Mallacoota Inlet |
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Setting off from Mallacoota |
Mouth of the Betka River |
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Footpath through the cliff-top tea-trees |
View north up the coast towards Mallacoota |
Looking through the tea-trees |
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The Betka Road |
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Eventually I reached a sign post informing me that I had arrived at the Shipwreck Creek campsite. The tables at the day parking area were a good place for an early lunch, listening to the wind rushing through the eucalypt canopy above. After a break, I topped up my water from the rainwater tank and headed on (bugger - I could have got all 5 litres here! but then this tank is sometimes empty) . |
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A grove of trees near Seal Creek |
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View across the sand bar at Shipwreck Creek |
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The tannin-stained waters of Seal Creek |
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Track across the heath of Little Rame |
Ground parrot in camouflage |
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Campsite at the Benedore River |
View towards Sandpatch from Benedore River |
Wind etched sand on Benedore beach |
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The rocky road to Sandpatch |
The steps up to the Sandpatch Wilderness |
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The old management trail through the Sandpatch banksias |
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Grass tree flats in the Sandpatch Wilderness |
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Back into the taller coastal scrub |
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Being watched by a wedge-tailed eagle |
Track through the coastal mallee |
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Looking down on to Red River lagoon |
The lagoon and sand bar at Red River |
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The route ahead from Red River |
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View across the waves to the rock platform ahead |
View back up the beach toward the Sandpatch heathland |
A big beach boulder |
A rare pool of calm water |
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Smooth flat rock slabs between Sandpatch and Wingan |
Round orange boulders and a blue green sea |
Three kilometres of broad flat beach |
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Entrance of the Easby River |
View across the rocks to The Skerries offshore |
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Orange rocks near Easby Creek |
A peaceful cove |
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Crossing point at Wingan Inlet - wide but not too deep |
Floating my backpack and gear across |
Soldier crabs on the move |
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The shore if Wingan Inlet |
Campsite at Wingan Inlet |
Yellow robin with boot |
Evening falls on Wingan Inlet |
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Wingan Inlet shimmers golden as the sun rises ..... |
.... before taking on a silvery light |
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Sea mist above The Skerries |
The sheltered western end of Fly Cove |
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Rame Head forest |
Ridge track through the tea-trees |
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My last bit of forest / heath walking was completed and ahead lay a long 15 km stretch of beach, punctuated by rocky outcrops. A light and cool south-westerly made for pleasant walking and, with the tide now well on the way out, I was able to walk on the firm wet sand of the intertidal zone. |
Emerging back onto the beach from the Rame Head track | ||
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Sand and the art of beachwalking |
The rusting remnants of a shipwreck |
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The rock platform at Petrel Point |
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A curiously water-carved rock |
Rock pool on the Petrel Point platform |
The grassy verge of Petrel Point |
Coastal tussock grasses |
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Eventually, near the far end, I found a faint track through the grass at the back of the rocks and this quickly brought me back on to the beach near Gale Hill. Once more the long pale sandy strip of beach faded into the distance. I continued my westward march on the firm wet sand to reach a small rocky point. The route here was a small sand blow in the dune behind the rocks, but it was also an excellent place for lunch as it provided a sandy perch from which to enjoy the views back toward Petrel Point and onwards following the sweeping curve of sand to Point Hicks and its lighthouse. |
Looking back towards Rame Head .... |
.... and ahead to another 8 km of beach walking |
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The last long stretch of beach |
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Wind-etched sand cliffs |
Hooded plover with juveniles - good news for a rare bird |
Nello and Aisha in the Thurra River |
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