5 April 2012 - Lance Moon Park, Yanakie, Victoria

Squeaky Beach

Yet another glorious day dawned, serenaded by the birdsong of National Parks. We packed up the van, filled the water tanks and headed out of the camp to the car park. From there we set off for our morning walk, a couple of hours across the river and up the ridge between Tidal River and Squeaky Beach. We detoured at the top along to Pillar Point, an outcrop of granite boulders with breath-taking views of Norman and Squeaky Beaches and the Prom’s offshore islands. After back tracking, we walked on down to Squeaky Beach atop the steep rocky cliffs and watched the awesome waves smashing against the rocks. Signs everywhere warned against straying off the track and a memorial seat served to reinforce the message. 

It was erected in memory of two children who had done exactly that and been taken by the merciless sea. We did not take our shoes off to feel and hear the sand squeak against the soles of our feet, but could feel in our hands that it was that kind of sand and understand why the beach was named thus. We headed back up the path and back over the top to the park headquarters at Tidal Flat where we lunched before setting out again on yet another walk.

The second on the agenda was in the northern section of the park, back toward the entrance. As we drove back on the road we had come in by, we passed dozens and dozens of cars with camper trailers, caravans or just trailers full of camping gear. While we would have dearly loved to have stayed longer at the National Park, tonight and the days ahead over Easter are good ones to avoid.

Spot the wallabies

We were disappointed to find that the road to Millers Landing on Corner Inlet was corrugated and dusty, when we had been led to believe by the map that it was sealed as were the others we had travelled. After persevering for several hundred metres, we turned around and headed back south to another car park for an alternative walk: the Woodland Walk of 7.6 kilometres. This was over expanses of flat land surely once farmed but now regenerating in a variety of plants; tea tree, banksias, bracken, rushes, and many more. We came upon a small mob of wallabies all standing to attention shoulder high in bracken and fireweed, several lone tall and powerful looking kangaroos who bounded away checking back on our whereabouts from time to time and several emus, most of whom quietly melted into the scrub. We encountered one however who stayed in front of us, pausing in the hope we would disappear, and then running at full tilt ahead like Road Runner (of Wiley Coyote fame), his coat all wobbly-jobbly as he ran.

From there it was only a few more kilometres before we left the park and came on back to this excellent camp stayed at just a couple of days ago. We have done the right thing by placing our donation in the iron maiden, more than I suspect the other two campers who joined us the other night did, but then it is not immediately obvious how and where to make one’s donation, especially arriving after dark as they did.

I have this afternoon solved the Mystery of the Marmite and am feeling so much happier for having done so. We tend to restock our food stuffs as soon as a jar or whatever is opened and have been on the lookout for another jar of Marmite for several weeks. Staff in Coles told us that another grocery line had taken its place and they would no longer be stocking it. We have searched Woolworths, Safeway, Foodstuffs and IGA stores to no avail. I was coming around to the idea that I would have to change my allegiance and switch to Vegemite. This afternoon when I logged on, the monthly TradeMe newsletter popped up in my emails headlining Marmite. There on TradeMe were jars of Marmite being auctioned and sold to other shortage sufferers, and so I then googled “Marmite Shortage” and learned that the Sanitarium factory in Christchurch which manufactures this wonderful product was damaged by the earthquakes and will not be able to supply until July at the earliest. This is such good news even if I do have to switch briefly to an alternate product. And so as you read this, you will be thinking, how sad is she?! That such an issue should make it into a travel blog! But then you did not know before that I was a Marmite girl.

Chris on the other hand had other problems in mind. Here we are far from the shops who sell bread for less than $4.50 a loaf, it is Good Friday tomorrow and he has just realised that we have no chocolate bunnies to eat.