April 3, 2001 - Tuesday - Wyall Rivers National Park
I met up with Jens again and gave back his passport that we both forgot was in my lock box. He's decided to head up north today also. It's a new adventure for me with new and interesting people. The voyage continues.
It was another overcast day to wake up to in Sydney and I was ready to be out of the city again. I left Sydney late this morning with Matt and Joerg in Matt's station wagon he nicknamed "The Barron".
We started off along the coast on the Princess Highway and slowly made our way up north. It was fun to travel with Jens in the past few days but three people traveling together are still better than two. Our pace was a little slower and not as frantic as before. We stopped by a beach area and had a brief lunch.
Even though we haven't been camping yet, we started eating camp food already. The lunch consisted of some fresh fruits and cereal with powdered milk. It tasted pretty good actually, and we went off again up north. We stopped by a supermarket in New Castle and stocked up on some supplies for the night before heading off again and trying to figure out where we're going to camp for the night.
Eventually, we made it to the Wyall River National Park in time to set up our tent behind a large row of sand dunes. It looked like a good spot at first and we set up our tent and gathered some firewood. I suggested that we should camp out on the beach after seeing a swarm of about 20 to 30 mozzies buzzing around Joerg's head.
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| Matt making a rollie by our beach fire, Wyall National Park, New South Wales, Australia |
They were everywhere! Mozzies galore. We quickly moved our camp right on the beach and Joerg started cooking while Matt organized the site and I gathered some firewood. Soon, we had a roaring fire going and a hot dish of spaghetti that never tasted so good.
--- Later that night ---
It's a good change of scenery and pace as I type this by a campfire right on the beach with the sound of the waves crashing in the distant. Just an hour or so ago, as we roasted marshmallows by the fire, the shadowy form of a Dingo crept onto the beach from the dunes and started scavenge along the shoreline.
It's hard to imagine that just earlier today, we were surrounded by concrete jungle of Sydney and tonight, we're sleeping on a desolate beach. Sydney felt as if it's a world away. The smell and the sound of the sea, the kaleidoscope of stars shining high above, the heat of the fire on my face and the cool grains of sand between my toes - I just feel so alive.
The fire is dying out as I type this, and I don't know if I can fall asleep this early, at 9, but I will have to get used to it. It's just so great out here. The temperature is now on the chilly side but it will get warmer as we move up north. I guess this would be a good time for contemplating the meaning of life and such, but I'm going to put that off for now and enjoy camping in the great outdoors.
;)
