The Happy Walk - Sydney Coast Happy Walk Pt3

Day 2 Monday 5th March Cronulla to Kurnell



Have you ever stayed with friends or family who fill you with energy? That's what it was like staying with Royce and Sumy and the kids. When I woke it was as if I had been plugged into the wall recharging all night. I was full of energy and felt great! I was in no rush to leave that morning. I had a relaxing breakfast with the kids. They packed me a big healthy salad for lunch. All my wet gear left hanging outside overnight under the back veranda was nearly dry. I missed the train I should have been on to start walking at 8am but I wasn't worried because it felt like one of those days destined to be slowed down and savoured.



A beautiful clear sunny morning greeted me with the bright light silhouetting the palms in the park and sparkling off the calm ocean on my way down to the sand. I hung around for 10 minutes taking photos before heading up the long beach to Boat Harbour.



On the way I passed through an off-leash dog beach and it was so much fun. Lots of happy, tail wagging, tongue flopping, lolloping dogs of all ages, sizes and breed. Some were chasing each other, balls, sticks, one was carrying a rock he had found further up the beach and they were all getting along like play mates. There were representatives from some of the most notorious breeds just having a great time and mingling with other dogs and humanoids without any problem.



It felt like my body was getting back into the swing of hiking with a fully loaded pack. I had no aches or pains, except a blister. I had picked up my pace a bit too. The tide was out so I dropped my pack, took off my boots, had a splash in the water and spent nearly 2 hours chilling out, taking photos and enjoying my yummy salad lunch. 10 minutes into the afternoon section I met Terry from Boat Harbour and we spent the next hour standing by the turquoise bay chatting about mental health. He is a retired clinical psychologist who spent many years working outback so I gained some valuable insights from his experiences and he was very encouraging and supportive of my walk around Australia.




The good old camera had a real workout that afternoon. I had to rinse it off after being dipped into little rockpools taking pictures of anenomes (waterproof too) but he spent about another 2 hours taking photos of spectacular geology on the world's largest sandstone basin, melaleucas and leptospermums, views from precarious cliff tops, interesting wildlife and much more. I completely lost track of time and occasionally lost the track too as I found myself heading down old tracks that came to dead ends where they had fallen into the sea or animal tracks that dwindled into nothing. Eventually I found myself on an inland track that took me on a very interesting and wet path all the way to the National Park Visitor Centre where I discovered a wealth of aboriginal history.





I have been called many things but never the "Ibiza Girl" before. I took a look at my refection in the window and saw there were still traces of ultraviolet pink in my hair, I was wearing purple fishermans pants, a shirt with a big bright smiling yellow sun and carrying a huge backpack. I guess it was the "girl" bit that sounded funny. I took being called "girl" when I'm about to turn 40 as a major compliment and sat back and enjoyed my bus ride back to Cronulla and train back into the city.



That night I stayed in another female share dorm at the Central YHA. I was put in a room with girls who worked in the city during the day and were staying long term so it was not a roudy night and I managed to get about 5 hours of restless sleep. My legs were starting to get restless, twitching and involuntarily jolting for a few hours after I went to bed but I was on the top bed of a wobbly bunk and couldn't rock or rub my legs otherwise I would wake the girl below. Other than that, it was a good night of rest.