Day 27: 14 December 2019 (SCT Day 1)
South Coast Track – Melaleuca to Point Eric (Cox’s Bight)
The farewell from our new friends was genuine and warm. Sarah was also continuing on and left just before us. We crossed the airstrip, stopped for the obligatory photos at the South Coast Track sign, and found ourselves on boardwalk. Yay! But this time it was submerged by up to 30 cm of water!! We sloshed through it, I fell a couple of times on the slimy timber, but we were not fazed by anything anymore. The weather was overcast but the rain had stopped and it was great walking conditions. We noted a bird hide off the track, and recognised this as one of the sites where unsuccessful attempts had been made to establish new colonies of the orange-bellied parrots. No one really knows why the OBPs only survive in the very specific location of the tiny settlement. Next, we noted that grass fires had been through, but had stopped at the track, a phenomenon we had also seen in the highlands. After the turnoff to New Harbour (a place we will have to leave for another day), our track took us around the hills and down to Cox’s Bight.
And there we were. On the rocky beach lapped by the waves of the Southern Ocean. We had completed our Island Traverse, 11 months, 1 cardiac arrest, open heart surgery and cardiac ablation later. Sarah arrived within a couple of minutes and we appreciate her taking a couple of photos for us to commemorate the moment.
It was a short walk along the beach and through a (muddy of course) path through a forested area on Eric Point to a beautiful campsite just off the beach. Our view was framed by trees and we set up camp with the whole afternoon stretching before us. The sun emerged and we got boots out on the beach to dry. Tim was really keen to go fishing and scrounged around until he found the items he needed, hanging from trees – a couple of fishhooks, twine, sinker, and even a fishing basket. He was out on the point when he heard me squeal – Justin had arrived. He became a bit of a legend on the trail. Others who had arrived on the same plane saw him streak off immediately. We had not been expecting him for at least a couple of hours later, but he was there before 6 pm having landed about 3:30 pm. We caught up on news from home, world events, and set our plans for the walk ahead.
