Map of Wilsons Prom
May 29, 1978 Paul & I spent most of the day getting ready for our trip. We rode the bikes (that we brought along for our trip) into Bairnesdale were Bongo was getting fixed. The bikes had to be strapped to the front of Bongo. A Yarrum trailer park was as far as we got that night.
May 30, 1978 It had rained in the night and though still sprinkling we decided on a morning run through the Yarrum streets, which only took 5 minutes. We drove the rest of the way to Wilsons Promontory. Soon after entering the Prom I was delighted to see a group of emu’s along the road. After camping at the Tidal River camp site we hiked to nearby Squeaky Beach. It had nice fine sand surrounded by a rocky coast.
That night we gathered about the only campfire with a group of young people on a holiday. Talking with them I was surprised at how quickly they put down their jobs.
Photo: Rozella on Ralph
May 31, 2011 There were many noises in the early morning most of which I slept thru, but Paul thought someone was trying to steal the bikes on Bongo’s bumper. At sunrise we found that most of the noises were made by several friendly Rozella’s.
It was mid morning by the time we slipped on our running gear and camera’s. Our original plan was to jog to Mt Oberon, Sealers Cove, Refuge Cove, Waterloo Bay, then back to Tidal River. As we left I told the ranger our plan. He thought we were overly ambitious, especially for leaving as late as 11 AM.
The first 3 miles were an exhausting run to the Mt Oberon car park, 2/3 of the way to the summit. Three hikers we met at the car park reported that the track to Sealers Cove meant walking thru 2 feet of leech infested swamp. We then decided to shorten the run and headed for Waterloo Bay instead.
Photo: Rozella on car roof
Photo: Ralph on trail with Waterloo Bay in distance
The punishment of climbing Mt Oberon was immediately rewarded by a swift descent down a rocky, washed out trail into the densely forested valley below. To venture far from the trail would have been difficult, so dense was the scrub. The sky threatened rain as we followed the twisting path. We reached Waterloo Bay in good time. The only campers there were good enough to offer us a drink.
We retraced the path to the last fork in the road, then headed to Oberon Bay. We jogged a few miles on the roller coaster trail, eventually reaching a vast expanse of sand that stretched one mile to Oberon Bay. Eventually we made our way back stumbling into Tidal River Basin dead on our feet and dehydrated. The distance covered was roughly 25 miles.
That evening we spoke to some of the other campers, mostly Australians. One girl gave me a colorful description of an American car, a “Yank Tank.”
Photo: Rocks on Squeaky Beach
Photo: Waterloo Bay
Photo: Paul at Waterloo Bay
Photo: Waterloo Bay
Photo: Waterloo Bay
Photo: Oberon Bay
Photo: Oberon Bay
Photo: Mt Oberon
Photo: Whiskey Bay
Photo: Whiskey Bay
Area Map
