Day 31: 18 December 2019 (SCT Day 5)
Osmiridium Beach to Granite Beach
Tim has the capacity to avoid the worst of the mud so Justin and I followed him out and were relatively unscathed for the first 20 minutes or so of the day. Our destination was Granite Beach, just 9 km away on the western side of South Cape. So we anticipated a fairly easy day. The walking was pleasant through a combination of forest, just a moderate amount of mud and wonderful beaches. The addition to these later days is the steep descents and ascents to and from each beach, sometimes with stone steps and occasionally a rope. Each beach carried a warning to be aware of the tides and continue with caution or wait for suitable conditions.
We enjoyed the walk to Surprise Bay then climbed up to the superb campground about 20 metres above the beach. Here again Justin went on ahead and Tim and I had a very relaxed lunch with our boots off, and soaking up the tranquility and the warm sunshine. The track continued to rise and as we walked along a high ridge over the ocean we came across a magnificent overhanging rock cave, and wondered how many indigenous families would have sheltered there over tens of thousands of years.
The final part of our journey involved walking over granite boulders for a good kilometre or more. Justin had been sitting on the beach watching out for us and suggested that we might like to make the most of the waterfall before climbing the rockface and steep path up to the campground. He had found a cleared area above the main campsite, which felt like an eagle’s eyrie. He had also picked up a pack of playing cards at the Par Avion waiting lounge and taught us a new game the guides often play, “Yaniv”. We were soon hooked on it and so our tent setup and dinner was rather later than usual. In our slightly exposed position, gusty overnight sea breezes worried me initially, but we all managed to sleep tight and stay comfortable.