Thursday 26 December 2013

‘Tweren’t really that much of a rest day, as rest days go.  We did waken at 7 o’clock, murmured “Not yet”, both rolled over and slept until 10 o’clock.  After a leisurely breakfast, we hiked 5km to the caretaker’s compound meeting Kim and Spud, from Lady Barren on Flinders Island.  (Volunteer caretakers live on, and look after, the island for three months).  They welcomed us warmly and invited us in for a cup of tea.  After a chat about the family dramas amongst the Cape Barren geese living within the compound fence, we filled our water bladders, paid a nostalgic look inside the schoolhouse, visited the museum and hiked back 5km to the campsite.

Dinner, some major planning and then we relocated our camp.  We didn’t want to risk rock-hopping in the dark the next morning, so everything was moved to the beach where we set up camp right next to the kayaks.  The damp sea mist rolled back in after dark as we readied as much as we could for the next crossing.