wilsons promontory

This weekend I went to Wilsons Promontory with the International Students Outdoors Program. And it was incredible. I'm going to try to write this post by the pictures... so follow along and enjoy!


↑ [squeaky beach]

Thus far my time in Australia has been absolutely filled with sunshine and warmth. However, in the late afternoon on Friday it started to rain. The sky was gray and gloomy, and the beautiful sunshine was replaced by cold dampness. I was a little bit apprehensive about the weekend since it was supposed to be a weekend of camping and hiking, neither of which are very much fun in cold rain. But, my friend Becca told me on Friday that it was raining then so that it wold be all used up before the weekend. I decided that sounded good and that I would ignore the forecast and prepare myself for an adventure. After several hours of driving (more than intended because we took a wrong turn... but after getting up at 6:30am we were all napping in the bus and oblivious) we arrived at Squeaky Beach, named because the sand squeaks when you walk on it ('very creative,' as our guide, Stefan, remarked). It was incredibly windy and absolutely gorgeous. The above is a picture that captures some of the beauty as well as the ominous rain clouds.


↑ [more squeaky beach]


↑ [still squeaky beach]

After spending some time at the beach climbing rocks, taking pictures, and laughing at the hilarity of our attire (rain jackets, rain pants, and several layers under each) Stefan pointed us in the direction of the coastal track to the campground and sent us off on our own. (Apparently they usually have two guides, one to drive the stuff and one to lead the walkers, but the second person was sick). We took our time and enjoyed the incredible scenery. The picture above is from the very beginning of the trail extending from Squeaky Beach. This is one of my favorite pictures from the trip. The water really was that brilliant turquoise color, and the waves really did splash like that every time they hit the rocks. It was stunning.


↑ [me hat-rescuing in tidal river]

When we came to the other end of the trail we had to cross 'Tidal River' by going over a small bridge. You would think this would be an uneventful moment... just a small bridge across a small river running into the ocean. And it was, uneventful that is, until my hat flew off. I bought a Commonwealth Games baseball cap when they went on sale after the Games and... I really like it. This was the first time I had gotten to wear it. It says Melbourne 2006 on it and is, well, quite nice. And the wind blew it off my head, off the bridge, and into Tidal River. I stood on the bridge looking at it. I couldn't reach it and it wasn't moving. It was just floating there looking like it wanted to sink. What to do?! There were not a whole lot of options. Stefan goes, 'well, you have three options: you can leave it there, you can go in and get it, or you can convince someone else to go in and get it.' After standing and watching it pathetically for a solid two minutes I decided the thing to do was to go in and get it. So... I stripped. I took off my rain coat, my fleece, my long sleeve shirt, my jewellery, my tennis shoes, my rain pants, and finally my dickies. I left on undies, bra, tank-top and socks (in case there were sharp things), handed my stuff to some people to make sure nothing *else* blew into the water, and... I jumped into the ice-cold water and swam and got my hat to the sound of clapping. It just seemed like the thing to do. I figured I had nothing to lose besides my hat. A couple minutes of warmth. I opted for losing the warmth and gaining the story and hat. It was pretty fucking cold, not gonna lie. But I gained some solid respect from my fellow hikers... and got my hat back.


↑ [stephen playing cricket on norman beach]

After the hat/river adventure we walked the rest of the way to the camp (only about five more minutes) and set-up camp. (I put on dry clothes first after Stefan insisted firmly that I do so before doing *anything* else. It really wasn't warm outside by any standards.) After we set up our tents we headed down to the beach! The above is a picture of Stefan, our Swedish guide (nope, not a single Aussie on the trip) playing Cricket (a very Australian game) with us at Norman Beach.













↑ [left: kukaboora, right: rosella]

There were three main critters of the trip. The kukaboora, the rosella, and the wombat. The kukaboora above insighted much excitement. We saw it and began discussing child-hood songs, and taking pictures. And all was well and good until we started cooking dinner on the grill. The kukaboora above literally, I kid you not, swooped down onto a grill full of hamburgers, stepped on the hot grill, practically sat on a hamburger, and then flew off... either because it burned its feet or because it scared the shit out of about 11 people who all yelled simultaneously. Our veggie-burgers on the next grill over were safe. You wouldn't think kukabooras were meat-eaters but the same one later on was practically stalking Stephen's chicken. Weird. The rosella's on the right above were the first thing we saw when we arrive in the parking lot of Squeaky Beach. And... they were the last thing we saw before we left. They are so used to people that they will come right up to you and sit on your shoulder. Pretty cool when you're not eating lunch... pretty annoying when you are. And the wombats at this campground are *monstrous.* We were given fair warning not to leave any food in our tents. There are no bears in the Australia but the wombats will, as Stefan so eloquently put 'bulldoze your tent.' They look like giant walking logs. One ran across the path in front of me on my way down to the beach.


↑ [mount oberon]

On Sunday morning we woke up at 3:30am. Yes, 3:30am. It would have been 4:30am but the time changed. Who in their right mind gets up at that hour on the day the time changes?! Well, we did. We got up at 3:30am and climbed Mount Oberon in the pitch black. Why? To see the sun rise, of course. It took us about an hour to get up from where the road ends. And because of the clouds we didn't even really get to see the sun rise. I mean... we were up there when it rose, but we we mostly saw the sky lighten. However, the view of the beach campground from above at the literal crack of dawn was pretty spectactular. Once again, we were bundled up like nobodys business. As many layers as possible at the top of the mountain in the dark was the name of the game. So... by 7:00am we had already climbed both up and down the mountain in the picture above.


↑ [lilly pilly gully]

After our sunrise hike we went back to the campground had some breakfast (and some naps) and packed down the tents. We then headed off to Lilly Pilly Gully and Mt. Bishop. Lilly Pilly is a kind of tree... not the one above, I don't think. But I thought this was a cool tree so I took a picture and it is the most exciting picture I have from the gully. We walked through the rain-forest for a bit... and then up Mount Bishop.


↑ [mount oberon and campground as seen from mount bishop]

The small whitish patch in the right-hand corner of the picture above is the campground we stayed in in Norman Bay. The tall mountain that peaks on the left is Mount Oberon. And the picture was taken from the top of Mount Bishop. By noon we had hiked up Mount Oberon, and back down.... and up Mount Bishop. Phew.


↑ [view of norman bay from mount bishop]

This is the spectacular view we had from the top of our second mountain. The combination of mountains and ocean is just incredibly beautiful. The picture doesn't quite do it justice.


↑ [group picture!]

Overall the weather treated us nicely. It was a weekend of layering (see picture...) and delayering, but it was *not* a weekend of rain. It rained on the bus on the way to Wilsons Promontory, and then stopped. The tops of the mountains welcomed us with freezing cold gusts of win but they also welcomed us with inspiring views and fresh air. I love getting out of the city on the weekends. I am wind-blasted, salt-blasted, sand-blasted, sleep-deprived and generally exhausted. So... having been up since 3:30am, I am heading to bed. Love to all!