After five days of walking along the western coast of the Yorke Peninsula, we reached Point Turton, on the peninsula’s north coast.
Getting up early so we could get to the caravan park in Point Turton before closing and have time to relax and get dinner, we continued our trek south along the beach shortly after 7. The wind from yesterday evening never really stopped, and it the day started off cooler and cloudier than yesterday, which gave us a nice boost.
With the tide still out, we were able to easily see the intertidal reefs along this stretch of beach. Clearly, the plants that grow on the rocks there are pretty hardy, to be able to survive the wide changes of sea level that leave the alternately exposed and flooded with saltwater.
Later, we found a golf ball partially buried at the edge of the water. We packed it out to throw away when we reached town. Over the course of the day, we saw several more golf balls near the water.
We also saw several large jellyfish washed up, and a number of large cuttlebones, actually the porous chalky internal shell of cuttlefish, used to aid their orientation and movement in the water.
Detouring off the beach, we walked through the town of Hardwicke Bay. We talked briefly with a woman who had walked most of the trail in section, and stopped for a short break near the town’s public toilets and beach access. We were delayed there a bit because CareFree got notification that the reason for her needing to get off trail (which caused some stressful appointment-making and travel arrangements) had been obviated, and she needed to confirm that it really was no longer necessary.
Continuing on Longbottom Beach, and then Flaherty Beach, the wind picked up and dark clouds blew in, seeming like they were going to rain on us. Fortunately, they stayed out over the water, and weren’t a problem.
While we typically haven’t seen many beachgoers, today we saw a few. At first, two groups of cars whose occupants walked out to the water, easily a couple hundred meters away. Later, while we sat down on the beach for a break, a family drove their SUV out to near the edge of the water so their kids and dogs could play in the ocean. (Fortunately, the tide was out and was going to be out for a while; it would have been quite unfortunate if their car got stuck out there as the tide came in!)
The wide intertidal zone narrowed as we neared Point Turton, revealing more intertidal reefs. We ran into a woman who is planning on hiking and biking the trail with a friend of hers next year.
The end of the beach, as we neared the town of Point Turton, got a bit rough, with rocks and seaweed piled up, until we were able to cut off the beach to a bike path.
Curving around the Longbottom and Flaherty Beaches completed the (northern) western coast of the Yorke Peninsula, completing one milestone for us.
We stopped at the Point Turton General Store, picking up the food boxes we sent from Adelaide and getting an early dinner of ice cream, burgers, and fries. The food was surprisingly good.
We arrived at the caravan park late, but fortunately reception was also closing late, so after getting checked in, we were able to get more ice cream and soda for the end of our day.
Once we got our tent up, we got showers, which is usually a luxury on the trail, but so far has been more available than usual.
The caravan park seemed to be full, and we were situated between two caravans. Despite that, it was relatively calm and quiet; most people seemed content to hang out in their RVs or caravans and not make a lot of noise. Plus, we had a nice view out to the ocean.
With a day off tomorrow, we’re very much looking forward to letting our feet rest.