Hiking at Wilsons Prom 12 - 14/11/2004

We'd been planning a hike for when the ski season finished. To start the year with something simple, we did one of the shorter hikes at Wilsons Prom. The months of planning in advance went out the window when the weather report listed high winds, lots of rain, thunder and even hail. We didn't get to the speed limit at all on the drive up Friday night, as we couldn't see the road through the heavy rain. The plan was to camp at the Yanakie Caravan Park. When we got there at 11pm, and it was still raining, we paid the extra $10 each and pitched a cabin. Read as: Tim and Chris didn't want to setup the tent in the rain for the first time while Caitie and Misty sat in the car.

The cabin was pretty comfortable, with bunks, and a double bed. It was a little disconcerting when we were woken by the cabin shaking in the wind. Real happy we weren't in the 'targe mahal' dome tent, as usually they don't like strong winds.

After breakfast we headed down to the park, and started hiking. Before we could begin, Tim needed to make the final adjustments on his new Mac Pac Cascade hike pack, purchased especially for the event. After the night before, we were lucky to get the girls that far. Must have been because the rain had stopped for the moment. We headed across to Oberon bay via the coast and made it there just in time before the rain hit. It was really heavy, so we hid in the shelter of some trees where we had lunch.

Once the rain stopped, we headed across the Prom to Little Waterloo Bay. As soon as we arrived we setup the tents before the next down poor. Fortunately the camp site wasn't booked out, as half of the camping spots were flooded. Again, we set the 6pm rule, where we weren't allowed to start cooking dinner until then so we would go to bed at a reasonable hour. We played frisbee on the beach, and climbed on the rocks to try and pass the time. Its a real shame fires are banned at the prom, as when it got dark, there was nothing to do.

Camping next to us were the Packenham Scouts. This was their second night out, doing the loop from Sealers to Refuge to Waterloo. They've still got a lot to learn, but we did our best at showing off what is possible for dinner (when your big enough to carry it). Also they learnt the hard way that they needed more metho.

Saturday night it poured. The camp site was reasonably well sheltered, but the rain and wind were really strong. The next morning we packed up and headed back to telegraph saddle. The hike out was shorter, as we cut across the centre of the Prom, and didn't go via Oberon bay. We got to the end, but still had a 4km walk back to the car. Walking on bitchumen wasn't fun in hike boots, so when the shuttle bus went by, we couldn't refuse their offer to drop us back at the visitor centre.

Overall, the weather wasn't all that bad (at least during the day). Generally by the time we'd stopped to put our coats on, the rain had stopped too. Everyone had a great time. Just a shame we had to have a 'ring in' to get 4 rovers to go hiking. Hopefully the rest of the crew isn't as 'soft' next time.

Much easier to setup than a tent
Last minute adjustments	Everyone smiling at the start
Little Oberon Bay	Hiding from the rain at Oberon Bay
Misty's its only a little past its used by 'milk'	Tim and Caitie heading towards Little Waterloo
Misty out of her depth	Dr Tim to the rescue
On the beach at Little Waterloo Bay	Rock Hopping
Taking a rest after a hard days walk	We had some nice weather
Tim trying not to fall in	Packenham Scouts