A perfect day

Sunshine, blue skies! And today I saw so much beautiful nature that I feel like overflowing.

I stayed the night at a campsite in Wynyard (the town is named the same as the bus/train station in Sydney), just out of town directly on the beach. There were fresh flowers in the toilet block, rabbits hopping around the site at dusk, and a barbecue area with a fireplace. I joined a group of five at the fire, making tea in my kettle over the flames. When I went to bed, the sky had totally cleared up, and I admired not only the famous Southern Cross but also the Milky Way brighter than ever before. No big city anywhere near! The night was cold, but I turned on the heating and was okay. This morning I woke up early at sunrise, grabbed my camera, went out to the beach and took wonderful photos (you know, the old photographer's rule, always go for sunset or sunrise light).

After breakfast I headed off westwards along the coast road. The first stop was Table Cape where I did an idyllic cliff walk from the lookout to the lighthouse. Next, Boat Harbour Beach where I delighted in the turquoise crystal clear water and rewarded myself with a big ice coffee at the Jolly Roger beach café.

On the way to Stanley I found a nice campsite to stay the night at a place called Crayfish Creek. Unusual campsite on a piece of forest land, I loved it on first sight. Then out to Stanley, the small town on a headland at the foot of a giant rock called "the Nut". It is the core of a million-year-old vulcano. There is a cable chair lift going to the top, but I climbed it on foot. Great view. Burrows of some bird species that, I learned, flies all the way from Alaska to here(!) for breeding, and back, every year.

Back down on the beach I went for a quick swim. Found the intact skull of a penguin washed ashore - admittedly a bit yucky, but also fascinating.

The last station took me to Dip Falls, 25 km inland. The waterfall wasn't too thrilling (not much water coming down, it must have been dry here the last weeks) but the forest reserve there was great. I enjoyed the walk to the "big tree", a 60-metre eucalyptus, 12 metre circumference. Big tree ferns gave the track a "magic forest" feel.

And finally, back to the campsite. It is next to Crayfish Creek itself, which flows in a big sandy bed like a river and did its best to compete in beauty with all that I'd seen today. The thought crossed my mind: how many times is this more beautiful than sitting at the Lech river (in its modern channeled form)? 10 times? 50 times?

I cooked the ideal simple meal after such a day -- Spaghetti and tomato sauce. Had an nice chat with my neighbours. No rabbits here, but a speaking parrot who kept saying "Hellooo!" Collected some firewood for the fireplace in the camp kitchen. Watched the flames, plucking my guitar, but only very softly, overwhelmed by the impressions of the day.

The pictures I have in my head and heart, and in my camera, just from today, would be enough to fill this blog for two weeks.