As we were feeling a little under the weather but needful for some exercise we ended up driving part of the way to our desired destination. Rather than having to climb 800m we left ourselves about 250m to do. Even so it was a bit of a challenge. A lot of the time we were on steep slopes, waist high in grasses and occasional thistles. When we reached the top of Stony Bay Peak we were almost blown off our feet by the tremendous wind. It was refreshing as the day was turning out very hot. The view from the top was superb.
We hiked back down to the car by a different route taking about 2 hours in all. Back in the car we turned the aircon on and drove back the long way via the rim getting more great views of the bay.
Back at the tent we both had cold showers to cool off and clean ourselves before walking into town for fish and chips. On the way back we passed a couple taking a rest on the way up to the campsite. We joined them on the way up and chatted. The chat turned into a bottle of wine, then three and then a promise of more after we’d all cleaned up and eaten dinner. We rejoined their company at 8pm and only returned to our tents (and I doubt it was in a straight line) after midnight.
It’s nice running into and getting to know interesting people and we were glad of John and Margaret’s company for the evening. Sadly, unlike sailing, we’re not all heading in the same direction so our chances of crossing paths again are slim. (On a separate note we’ve heard that three more couples of our cruising friends are on their way south so hopefully there will be some more land based reunions).
After such a warm day yesterday the weather turned overnight and it is now cold and wet. Looking ahead the weather forecast is looking excellent in a few days on the west coast. We’ve decided to wait out the wet weather here today and move back west tomorrow.
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