A very hot day was forecast and David Hufton was keen on a walk that involved some swimming. We had originally intended to go to some pools near Campbeltown – but the forces there was for temperatures around 40°C – a bit too hot for walking. So we settled on something closer to the coast.
We decided to walk down to Burning Palms. Checking the tide charts showed that there was a low tide in the middle of the day – so we could also visit the nearby Figure Eight Pool if we wanted to do something more.
Bonnet Orchid – Cryptostylis erecta
David met me at Waterfall Station, and we then drove out to Garrawarra Farm. On the way, we encountered a campervan coming towards us and driving on the wrong side of the road and refusing to move from that side of the road. They stopped and we had to pass them on the right! At the carpark we set off down the track to Burning Palms.
We reached the beach soon after and found shady spot to rest. We then cooled off in the surf. And we did “cool off” – the surf was quite cold. Certainly a lot colder than some previous swimming in the sea at Wattamolla two weeks earlier.
It was quite hot, but near the sea, we had a nice cool breeze and it was quite pleasant in the shade.
We left the beach and followed the rock platforms around to the Figure Eight Pool. As is typical these days, there were quite a few other people there. We were lucky to get a nice shady spot to dump our gear. We swam in the Figure Eight Pool – but it was quite cold. A nearby shallow pool seemed much warmer.
After a few photos, we retreated to our shady nook for lunch and a rest.
We then headed back to Burning Palms and had another quick swim in the surf – in order to cool off before the big climb back to Garrawarra Farm.
At the carpark, we met two of the walkers we had seen at the Figure Eight Pool. They were two nice girls, visiting from Singapore – Sonia and Xuiyi. They had walked from Otford Station to the Figure Eight Pool and were grateful of a lift back to Waterfall Station, as it was a very hot day for walking.
More photos of the walk are online here on my website.