Day 26: 12 December 2019
We woke on our final morning on the PDT to rain and wind and were very thankful that we had already completed the Bathurst Harbour crossing. As it had been a late arrival the evening before and the Trek group had already departed, we explored the area as the weather chopped and changed; blustery squalls, bright sunshine, wind and even a few minutes of hail.
Each day as we walked we prayed our own Celtic style , and had a refrain that got longer with each new surface or weather condition. So it now went,
We walk with You in mud and water,
through sun and wind and rain and hail.
(There were a couple more additions by the end of the trip.)
The first stage of the walk was a gentle climb to a ridge, with the chance to look back to rugged Mount Rugby, then a moment of exhilaration when the Melaleuca Inlet came into view for the first time. We stood in awe of the full panorama that surrounded us, at the same time marvelling at the tiny garden of wildflowers including a Blandfordia (Christmas bells) at our feet.
After meandering down the hill (more mud, no boardwalk) the track continued relatively straight in a south-easterly direction across button grass plains and swamps. We met 2 women heading in the opposite direction for an overnight camp and enjoyed a few minutes chatting. Overhead about 4 or 5 planes flew in and out of Melaleuca and we anticipated a full house on our arrival.
Arriving in Melaleuca just as the last plane of the day leaves.
Finally, after about 12.5 km of walking (the total day’s walking was 13 km) we came to the famed bridge over the Melaleuca Creek. We had arrived at civilisation (if you can call this tiny South West outpost that) at last. Now to find our food parcel. As we crossed the airstrip, the last of the day’s planes was just departing. There we found Annette, a volunteer ranger, who had seen the plane off, and helped us locate our box and 2 canisters of gas we had pre-ordered. The unlocked room is ready for walkers to claim their parcels at any time. We appreciated Annette’s warm welcome and discovered that extra planes had been scheduled today to get as many people out as possible as heavy rain and low cloud was predicted for the following day and all flights had been cancelled. That included Justin’s. The great thing for us, though, was that maybe 20 or more people had been flown out so we had a whole cabin to ourselves and could hang up our delightful wet and grubby clothes and camping gear and give them a good airing.
Once again we had thought the Trek group would have gone on ahead of us but they were in the other cabin and at their invitation we enjoyed a chat while the guides prepared their group’s evening meal. A little later, back in our own private residence we celebrated our arrival at Melaleuca with a platypus of red wine.
