Time to be on the
road again and we wind our way down the hills and valleys to Moe where a quick
stop to restock the larder is accomplished.
Then we head south following ridges and green valleys until we near the
coast. We check into Waratah Bay Caravan
Park and get set up on a site overlooking a beach that wraps around the bay.
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| Steps leading down to the beach from our campsite at Waratah Bay |
To our left we can
see Wilson’s Promontory and to the right is Cape Liptrap. Just over the horizon, directly in front of
us, lies Tasmania. In the morning we hop
in Mitzi and drive around the bay to Wilson’s Promontory National Park – the
furthest point south on the Australian mainland. Tidal River campground is the end of the road
for vehicular travel so we park the car and do some walking. The scenery is spectacularly rugged
 |
| Tidal River at Wilson's Promontory |
with the river
emptying out into the bay.
 |
| The entrance to Tidal River at Wilson's Promontory |
The southern end of the
beach is tucked in under a large granite outcrop.
 |
| The southern point at Tidal River |
The ‘Prom’ is a
hiker’s paradise with tracks ranging from short strolls to strenuous overnight
rambles. We definitely fall into the
‘short stroll’ category. We take a walk
to ‘Squeaky Beach’ being careful to take notice of the warning signs.
The beach was so
named because the rounded quartz sand ‘squeaks’ when you walk on it.
 |
| Squeaky Beach |
The rock formations
at the north end of the beach are quite striking
 |
| Wok takes it easy at Squeaky Beach |
with a maze of
passages that are fun to explore.
 |
| No Wok - We don't believe you are stuck! |
The park boasts an
abundance of native animals and although we did not see an abundance, we did
see one emu, one small kangaroo (maybe a wallaby) and one echidna. There are road signs advising one to take
care when driving and one sign caught our interest.
We’re not going to
say what sort of animal this is – thought our overseas friends needed to have a
guess. Needless to say it isn’t one of
the critters we did see.
Wow – what a change
in the weather. The next day we have
jumped in temperature from a pleasant 22 degrees to very hot 32 degrees. We aren’t daunted though! We don our sunscreen and hats and head off to
do some more sight-seeing. On the
opposite side of the bay is Cape Liptrap and we follow the lighthouse track to
take in some spectacular views over Bass Strait. |
| Cape Liptrap lighthouse |
The Cape offers a
panoramic view of Wilson’s Promontory stretching south towards Tasmania.
 |
| Wilson's Promontory in the haze |
We follow the dirt
track down to the small hamlet of South Walkerville. In 1875 lime was discovered in the cliffs
here and in 1878 the first lime kiln was built.
At its peak there were five kilns operating with the quick lime being
transported to Melbourne by ship. The
last kiln ceased operation in 1926. We
meander along Limeburners Walk where the remains of a couple of the kilns can
be seen.
 |
| Remains of lime kilns at Walkerville |
We wander along an
overgrown track just above water level to get a better look at the bottom of
the kiln where the men would rake out the lime powder for bagging and stacking.
 |
| Wok points to where the quick lime was raked out from under the kiln |
We were making our
way back along the track when we were surprised to see another trekker making
their way toward us.
 |
| Out of the way! Echidna coming through ... |
Mr/Mrs Echidna seemed
oblivious to our nearness and slowly made its way up the track checking under
rocks and twigs for a likely meal.
 |
| Checking out the rock for some tasty delicacies ... |
The echidna
eventually ambled off into the undergrowth leaving us alone on the track once
more. We both looked at each other - a
chance encounter – one to remember!
Back at camp and
another hot day - time to relax and take in the natural beauty around us. What better way to finish up our stay
here. Just strolling along a deserted
beach … pure magic !
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