I got so lucky on my final day in the prom. I didn’t set an alarm, but woke up at 5:20am and decided to get up because I knew rain was on the way.

The walk from Oberon Bay back to Tidal River is along the west coast of the prom and absolutely stunning. It was a combination of beach walking and an easy undulating track, which would make for a very achievable entry-level overnight hike for anyone starting out.

This was the route I took on my first hike in the prom 12 years ago. I remembered the exact spot where I realised just how badly I’d packed my pack on that original hike, and checked my blog last night to find a picture of me leaving the house in 2013. It makes my back hurt just looking at it! Here’s my post from that training hike: https://mexicotocanada2013.com/2013/01/29/the-training-wheels-come-off/

During the last ten minutes of my hike it started to rain lightly. But 15 minutes after I reached the car, the heavens opened completely and it rained all afternoon. I was so relieved to be in the warmth of my car, but couldn’t stop thinking about my dear friends walking out from Refuge Cove who would have been caught in the deluge. I hope they made it out safe!

I’m so grateful for this opportunity to reconnect with nature, sleep under the stars and exercise my hiking muscles again. Life always feels so full of possibilities when I’m out in nature.

It’s a shock returning to the hustle and bustle of traffic, emails, calendar notifications and various life responsibilities afterwards. But I’m going to try and savour these expansive feelings, and bring them with me as I venture into the unknowns of 2025!

Happy New Year! 💕

It’s 9:30pm and it feels like it’s about 40 degrees outside! I’m camping at Oberon Bay and am both sad and relieved this is my last night. Sad because it’s been such a magical reunion with nature, I’ve enjoyed the time alone and have met some amazing people. Relief because of the constant harassment of biting march flies, the extreme heat, the fact my block of cheese has turned to liquid, and I’m almost out of toilet paper! 

I’m so unbelievably relieved I did not hike to Sealer’s Cove yesterday. Mainly because I spent a wonderful morning with my new buddies, eating breakfast, drinking coffee, sharing stories and going for a swim. I honestly feel like I’ve known them for years. Secondly because after leaving Refuge Cove at midday, the 2.5 hour walk back to Little Waterloo Bay felt never ending. I would have added another 2 hours to that walk, and because I stopped to post my last post at the peak again today, I lost a ton of time. I was being harassed by march flies at the peak, but this cute little lizard ran around my feet eating them for at least 30 minutes.

Once I arrived at Little Waterloo Bay, I jumped straight into the ocean in all my clothes and then made my dinner for lunch because I knew there would be no water here tonight. I only have a 3 litre capacity, so I drank a ton before I left, drank about a litre during the 3 hours of extreme heat hiking, half a litre when I got here, and I have 1.5 left for the 2.5 hours tomorrow. I believe there is a creek between Oberon Bay and Tidal River, but if it’s dry I should just make it!

Most of the track that cuts across the prom from east to west is boardwalk, fine sand, and a little bit of gravel. It was so hot that at one point I thought I might have to wait for nightfall to continue. But fortunately some cloud cover blew in, and with a slight breeze I was able to reach here by 7pm.

Oberon Bay is beautiful! I remember coming through here in 2013, but everything looks so different to me now. I sat on the beach and finished off my can of Pringles, then made a wrap inside my tent before going for another evening stroll along the beach. I feel like I’m in the tropics, but I absolutely love this heat! I’m so happy to sleep without a sleeping bag tonight!

Goodnight from this magical part of the world!

Today had an unexpected turn of events, but it wasn’t because of rodents biting into my tent or bumping into a giant snake like yesterday.

When I left camp this morning just after 9am, I bumped into a group of four people I met in the parking lot on day 1, who were setting off on their hike at the same time. We immediately hit it off, and I was hoping to bump into them again somewhere along the line.

I left ahead of the group, but knew they would pass me as I wanted to climb to Kersops Peak between Little Waterloo Bay and Refuge Cove. Turns out the peak was only a 350m climb, but in the 31 degree centigrade heat, even that was tough. I found a shady spot to post my last post, but because the signal was so weak, it took almost an hour, and by then, it was 1pm and the hottest part of the day.

The scenery along the way was stunning, but my body felt like I was on energy saver mode, moving so slowly to avoid completely overheating. I barely saw anyone else on the trail at that time, and all I could think about was immersing my body in the ocean once I reached Refuge Cove.

I threw myself fully clothed into the water the moment I arrived, and while I was having lunch, bumped into Cam, one of the group of four I’d met on my first day.

I joined him and his partner Amy, and another couple named Alice and Ro, and we ended up chatting for over an hour. I still had 2 hours to hike to my intended campsite at Sealer’s Cove, but because the campsite at Refuge was practically empty, Alice asked if I actually wanted to go there. Only one guy had camped there the night before alone, so I was torn between wanting to see what it was like and completing my intended goal, or enjoying a night with my new friends.

I flipped a bottle of sanitizer to help me decide what to do, but when it told me to go to Sealer’s Cove, I still wasn’t sure. The two couples went for a quick dip while I was still deciding, and once I was on my own again, I immediately realised I wanted to stay. The A-type part of me wanted to push and hike the whole park, but the softer side of me realised I could hike alone anytime, and this would be my only opportunity to spend an evening with these folks.

After an amazing swim together, they invited me for dinner and we played a Monopoly card game before they cooked up paneer curry with rice and naan bread. Much better than my dehydrated bolognese!

I had such a wonderful evening, and have cut 2 hours of backtracking from my hike tomorrow by not going to Sealer’s Cove. This is a good thing as the temp is going to be in the thirties again tomorrow and there is no water at Oberon Bay where I’ll be camping.

I’m proud of myself for putting people before my achievements, and for enjoying what’s important in life rather than boasting an achievement that nobody cared about other than me!

Goodnight from Refuge Cove!

Today was an eventful day in Wilson’s Prom! It started at 1am when I woke up to scuttling noises, which I believed were outside my tent. I had been wearing earplugs, but when I felt something run over my feet I sat up with a start, grabbed my headlamp, and switched it on to find a rat-sized mouse or small marsupial inside my tent.

Both the creature and I were startled, and I had to try and coax it out the door before discovering the massive hole it had chewed through the mesh to get in. I taped it with a large bandaid like my last big hole, and then unsuccessfully tried to sleep with adrenaline pumping through my veins.

I met a lovely woman named Veronica and her daughter Caitlin at the site and enjoyed dinner and breakfast talking about gear and various hikes in Australia. I forgot how friendly Aussie’s are, and have chatted to at least 10 people I’d love to bump into again.

What I love about this hike is that people are walking in all different directions and to different campsites, so you don’t find yourself yo-yoing with the same people and can get a lot of intel about all the campsites from various people. It also makes me feel like I’m in less of a hurry when I don’t have anyone to keep up with or try to stay ahead of.

It was a beautiful walk along a bush track towards the lighthouse from Roaring Meg. The approach to the lighthouse was very steep, but the views and history of the lighthouse was incredible to learn about. I even met a woman living there whose great grandfather had built some of the infrastructure around it.

I found a shady spot behind a stone wall to have lunch, then continued on a long climb along the track leading to the Little Waterloo Bay campsite. I was keen to post my previous post and a few photos, so I kept checking if I had any signal as the trail claimed higher. When I was finally at the top after almost 2 hours, I had a tiny bar, and decided to climb up onto a huge boulder for better signal.

I must have been standing on this boulder for at least 30 minutes when I turned around and saw the long, sleek trail of a snake. It had been a tough climb to get onto the boulder, and I hadn’t thought about how I would get down until the snake began slithering towards me.

I’m not sure what this snake is yet, but I’m almost 100% sure it’s deadly. It took me at least an hour for the adrenaline rush to wear off, and I was terrified of every stick I walked by for the remainder of the afternoon.

Thankfully my final stretch was along the stunning Waterloo Bay. I did bump into a wallaby, but the interaction was rather fleeting. Somehow I was the only person on the beach when I arrived. I went for a quick swim, and then walked along the sand as a group of birds went crazy on a massive school of fish, half of which ended up on the shore.

I showed up to camp after 7pm, which left slim pickings for a site. But I managed to squeeze myself into a little cosy nook and am just praying I won’t be disturbed by any wildlife this evening! Goodnight from Little Waterloo Bay campsite!

I’m on my first solo backpacking trip in over two years or more, which is hard to believe given hiking has become such a major part of my life over the past twelve years. I’m not exactly sure what stopped me, other than breaking up with my partner Tom at the end of 2021, who had been my adventure buddy for the previous few years.

I’ve been doing a ton of soul searching since then, moving 9 times in 2022/2023 across various regions of BC. After landing in Vancouver at the end of last year, I had a very rocky start to 2024, but managed to piece myself back together in the summer. It’s only recently I’ve started to feel like myself again, and the desire to get out and hike feels like the old Rozanne has finally returned.

Wilson’s Promontory is actually where I did my first practice hike for the PCT at the beginning of 2013. I was with three of my friends, had never packed a backpack before, and set off with a 2L dromedary of water strapped to the outside of my pack. This is where I learned that strapping water to the outside of your pack is ludicrous and utterly painful, and after a deluge of rain hit us within the first few minutes, I realised the importance of having rain gear close at hand.

I picked Wilson’s Prom, not only for the sake of nostalgia, but because it’s a relatively easy place to hike with lots of signage, drop toilets, and a water source at almost every campsite. I also knew it would be populated, as I didn’t have the brain capacity to plan something more complicated, and didn’t want to worry about taking an emergency beacon. I figured it’s the perfect place for me to ease back into the hiking game.

For those interested in this hike, most of this day runs along an unsealed access road straight down the centre of the prom. It’s only between Halfway Hut and Roaring Meg that I could choose between a track and a road. I chose my particular route by what campsites were still available, as most of the coastal sites book up super fast and I only planned this a few weeks ago. I’m excited to hit the coast tomorrow and head past the historic lighthouse, which I’ve heard is well worth a visit.

It also feels nostalgic tapping on my phone inside my tent before bed. Though this may pale in comparison to my adventure on the PCT or TA, being out here again feels like a big deal to me. It feels like I’m coming out the end of a dark tunnel, and I’m excited to see what 2025 has in store!