Murray’s A Sun Of A Beach

Day: 379

Towns / Cities Visited: 283

Countries Visited: 31

Steps Taken Today: 26,631

Steps Taken Around the World: 5,868,368

We awoke, much to our annoyance, to the sounds of construction workers across the road, the chorus of shouting, reversing trucks, and general banging foisting us back into the waking world at 7am. Not happy. It was a cloudier day than the previous two, but for once the tent was not dripping with condensation, and we were thankful for that. The weather was predicting rain later in the day, but we were not deterred, and so we packed our lunch and set off in search of adventure.

Our main destination for the day was south of Jervis Bay and we were soon arriving at the entry gates to Booderee National Park. Although it is located in New South Wales, it is actually an independent territory owned and managed by the traditional land owners of the area who reside in Wreck Bay Village within the territory. As we purchased our pass into the park, we were saddened to discover that one of the main attractions we had hoped to visit, St George’s Lighthouse Ruins, was actually inaccessible due to a road closure. This closure also meant we couldn’t reach Stony Creek or Moe’s Rock.

A little downtrodden, we decided to make the most of what we could reach and picked a few extra things on the map to add to our agenda. Heading along the southern road, we made our way to Caves Beach, parking the car and wandering off down the track to the shore. As we drew closer, we passed a sign stating that the area was of cultural significance and to be respectful. It was at this point that I despaired a little at the sheer amount of plastic pieces dotting the sand, obviously having been washed up from distant places. Honestly, humans are such a scourge on the earth sometimes.

As we reached the sand, we decided to head to our left towards the rocks at the end to do a little light clambering. Hopping along the rocky outcrop like less graceful mountain goats, we admired the sheer beauty of nature’s geological offerings. Eroded in divots, the rock…