Day 17: Halfway

 

I woke up to absolute stillness- no birds, no wind, just silence. I opened the fly of the tent and could see stars amongst the treetops. I’m really soaking up these moments. 

As I crawled out of my sleeping bag, the zipper “unrailed” (or whatever the technical term is) - I hope I can get that fixed, otherwise it’ll get pretty cold... the nights are definitely getting a lot colder! 




I enjoyed being able to doodle around a little this morning as I only had 24k to cover today. It was lovely to have a second cup of tea and just enjoy the morning sun on the trees. I ended up being so much later than usual that Birger got concerned about the lack of “I’m leaving camp now” message that he is used to getting between 5 and 6am, 6:30 at the latest. I’m glad he’s paying attention, but I was really only just having a second cup of tea 😃 after saying Goodbye to my two trail angels who were setting off towards Donnelly River and then my resupply box in Manjimup. 


It has been a pleasantly flat section and the weather is perfect. Not as hot and still sunny. I think that may change over the coming days though. There is a cyclone forming off the Pilbara coast that May affect this area... 

Oh, and I saw the first snake today. 



I walked past One Tree Bridge, and continued along Donnelly river until the half way sign. So I have made it halfway. 501km. And another 501km to go. WOW. 
It?s actually neither as exhilarating nor as daunting as I would have thought. I?m happy to be here and I?ve had such a good time so far. 
I sat down and had lunch right there next to the sign - gotta celebrate when you can, right!? 

The afternoon was more walking along the river, then actually across a one-tree-bridge and then up to Boarding House campsite. 


I had a quick dip in another very dark waterhole- I probably came out more tanned (as in covered with tannins) than I was before, but it always feels refreshing to at least rinse off. 
  
This afternoon’s yoga spot


A bit later, another female solo hiker, Maria, a nurse from Mosman in FNQ, arrived and we had a lovely evening chatting about walking, life, jobs (first time in over 2weeks) and missing our husbands before going to bed at 7pm. Sunset is around 6:15pm, so it’s dark by 6:30pm and it’s nice to snuggle into a sleeping bag then... 

24km today. 

Comments

  1. CorkyApril 12, 2021 at 7:15 AM

    Woo hooo.....congratulations. Hope the good weather lasts 🤞.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JuliaApril 12, 2021 at 10:02 AM

      Thank you! No, the weather didn’t last... that cyclone off the coast brought an absolute deluge, but I’m in Pemberton now and it’s supposed to ease off by mid day, so I’ll start moving again then! 👣

      Delete

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