Week 3
Walking 22km from Loch Sport I arrived at Ocean grange where an awesome local ‘Dave’ helped me with a place to stay on this unique section of coast and one of the last residential areas on the 90-mile stretch. This peninsula can only be accessed by boat! Unless like me you are mad enough to walk countless kilometers on sand to get there! … The next morning, I walked 17 km in some of the most relentless soft sand I have ever had the displeasure of experiencing.
The sky churned consistently over the course of my last day of 90 Mile Beach, with magnificent storm clouds creating the most stunning patterns that stretched as far as the eye could see.
The only way off the end of this 90 Mile Beach is by boat, crossing to Lakes Entrance. Dave had put me in touch with a local who volunteered to take me across in her boat once I had reached Barriers Landing (a small collection of jetties near the end of the peninsula). As I neared the end of 90 mile a figure wearing a red shirt appeared in the far distance and considering it was the first person, I had literally seen on my beach walk, I was pretty sure It was my boat rescuer waiting for my arrival. But I was first met by a young and very excited Jack Russel named Mimbi who tore up the beach to greet me. Sally is still to date one of the most interesting people I have met on my journey.
Walking over the dunes, I followed Sally through gorgeous coastal tracks over small timber bridges and to her charming home nestled on the edge of the lake, for a cup of tea. She explained she lived here by herself and the few scattered homes surrounding hers were used as holiday destinations due to the isolation of the area. The only way to reach the mainland was by boat access. On the topic of pursuing passions, Sally’s love of bike riding came up in conversation. I also nearly sprayed a mouth full of tea across the room when she reminisced of her recent adventure in 2018, in which she rode her bike over 6000km from Amsterdam to Istanbul at 64 years of age, where her friends joined her for sections of it! As well as numerous other adventures including riding her bike from Melbourne to Sydney.
After the cuppa and chat and with Mimbi riding shotgun on my lap, we headed on her boat towards Lakes Entrance docks. We made a quick detour as Sally showed me the local seal colony that played around the channel entrance. With childlike glee, I watched as the seals dived and flipped showing off around the boat. One last coffee together at Lakes Entrance, I said my goodbyes to Sally and Mimbi and thanked them for their help and hospitality.
I truly admired the independent simple lifestyle Sally has created for herself. And this is not to be confused with being boring or conservative her appreciation of the simple wonders came from a life of bold adventures and incredible worldly experiences. I rarely look too far into my own future but seeing Sally in such a self-sufficient and unique circumstance resonated and reflected something I wished to create for myself one day. Content in one’s own company and not letting the pressures of societal expectations guide our decisions. Being true to ourselves. Always.
The saying when it rains it pours seems very apt as I went straight from meeting Sally to meeting Wendi and her adorable kelpie Fyfe. Wendi let me stay free in her cute motel, ‘Bamboo Motel’, Lakes Entrance. She is such a kind-hearted lady and she helped me out exceptionally during my brief stay with her including doing my washing, bringing me a hot breaky, and taking my pack forward to Nowa Nowa.