Lost in the Outback - Mar 16

Man does it get dark when you are off the beaten track. The site we were at last night, next to the golf course, is really rural. There were no lights of any kind except for the two houses about a kilometer away. When I got up to pee at 01:30 you could see so many stars that you could not distinguish individual constellations. Although I knew we were coming to the land down under, a couple of things have caught me by surprise. I was staring at the constellation of Orion the other night thinking it looked kind of odd. It took me a minute to realize that it was upside down! The sun too is an issue. Down here it moves from right to left. This messed me up a couple of times when setting up the tarp for some shade!

Today we headed down to Wilsons Promentary. We started the day well off of the usual freeways so used the GPS to mavigate the best route.unfortunately one of the settings chosen was 'shortest distance' This setting worked great for is in the past when navigating along the scenic coastal road. We started the day, however, in the rural hinterland. Our beloved GPS gal navigated us from rural road to rural road and before we knew it she had taken us down a track that narrowed into a mountainous logging road. We found ourselves navigating a narrow windy train forest track on the side of a mountain. We thought, for a while there, that we were going to be the next news item - 'Canadian Couple Lost in Australian, Decomposing Bodies Expected to be Found Within the Week!'. Fortunately we emerged from the end of the pathway back on the freeway at Foster, exactly where we we supposed to be. I have had a heart to heart with GPS gal, and have given her an attitude adjustment (redefined our preferences). If only all women were this simple to adjust (sigh)!

Lost on the Aussie Bushland!

 

Another hour and a half and we were at the camp site on The Prom. It is a hazy day with a strong wind so a little on the cool side. Di and I walked along the beach for a while then up to the Lilly Pilly Valley path, about 2 km there and back, were we saw a couple of bush wallabies. We are staying here all day tomorrow so, will do some longer hikes then.

 

Bush Wallaby

In the evening we met a fellow camper who joined us for a glass of wine or two. Paul is from Melbourne and frequents the Prom to do hiking and camping. While sitting around we noticed a couple of shadows lurking around the neighbours site. These turned out to be Wombats! I got a couple of pictures of the little fellows who look like furry tree stumps with legs. There were a couple of males and a female who had her baby clinging on to her belly. They are slow moving and do not seem to be concerned at all with us being nearby and taking pictures. Later in the evening Paul suggested I pet one that was on our site, just to see how course the fur was. I thought 'Yah, this is just a joke they play on unsuspecting Canadians' But, I did reach over and give him a couple little pats while he grazed on the grass. WooHoo, I petted a Wombat! We can go home now.

 

Wombat

 

Paul and Di

 

 

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