77.6 km / 48.2 miles
109,753 steps
Day 4! Today was our shortest day – and it was also our rest afternoon and real bed night at SurfPoint resort in Gnarabup. It’s where we started the hike, and had planned to refresh our clothes and ourselves, and stuff as much delicious pub food into our bellies as possible. Oh we were excited for dinner today! Surfpoint resort was also our ending spot – so in a few days time we would be spending an extra day here to recover and rejuvenate before heading back to Perth – back to reality.
We were awake super early at 5.30am and ready to get up and get going – lunch/early dinner in Margaret River was definitely spurring us on and the weather was looking pretty sketchy – definitely seemed we were gonna need the rain coats today. It was also the day of the Margaret River Mouth Crossing which we were fairly certain was crossable – and below knee deep (even for my short legs!) We had breakfast at 6.15 and were out of camp by 7.15! We had packed the tent away very damp so were happy to not be sleeping in it tonight and to have the chance to hang it out to dry – clean laundry was something to look forward to too!
The hike started with a sandy uphill then thankfully harder surface and then a mix of low and high shrubs either side of us, making for a pretty narrow trail and us getting pretty wet from the overnight dampness. It wasn’t long till the rain started though, so we put rain coats on but were still getting wet everywhere else. The shrubs were a little overgrown in places and scratching our legs nicely as well as soaking us. The wind was getting stronger and hitting us pretty hard in the face as we headed towards the coast. We didn’t stop much, just powered on through the trail ready to get to the beach, and then the Margaret River Crossing and the last the few km’s (we had already hiked this part on our first night in Margaret River) to the resort! After 4.3km we reached the winter/summer diversion – which was where you had the choice to go for the river crossing or take the extra 1.6km detour by road to bypass the crossing. At 5.5km we reached the beach and “Joey’s Nose” and then it was a nice windy walk along the beach and rocks, and then up and along the cliffs before heading down onto the beach again towards the infamous River-mouth Crossing. We had covered almost 8km by 10.15am – we had made really good time by the time we got to the river crossing – a yummy lunch AND hot shower was so close in our future!
We crossed the River with another hiker we had shared the trail with (Emma and Baby Q)- we were glad to catch up with them on the cliffs before hand and make sure we all crossed safely. The water’s current was stronger than it looked but manageable and the water was up just past my knees (so would be fine for others). We all crossed easily and were glad to have that part behind us and to not have fallen in! We continued on the beach and up the steps to the River-mouth car park. I got changed out of my wet shorts (my little legs meant my shorts got soaked – but Michelle was pretty dry with her long legs!), we had some snacks and then began the assent up the road and back onto the trail to heading to SurfPoint resort.
Now considering we had already done this part of the trail before, and in thongs – this time it felt horrendous and about 10 times longer. The uphill (which we’d only done downhill) was exhausting and felt never ending. We were tired, and ready to be done for the day. It was almost another 4km of walking until we hit the resort. This was definitely my least favourite part of the whole trail. I think in my head I had it down that it was going to be super easy, but with the back packs, tiredness and it still being damp and windy, I was pretty mentally drained for the day.
As we headed out of the forest and down the steep road to the resort we knew it was downhill for another 5-10 minutes before we arrived. Thankfully we got there just before the big rain came. We checked back in at 11.50am – very grateful our room was ready (and it was the same room as before). We dumped our stuff, showered and laid on the bed for a while before moving again. We sorted the laundry and got that started and got the tent out to dry, knowing that even though this was a rest afternoon we were back on the trail tomorrow for 3 more days. We drove into Margaret River for a late lunch/early dinner at Teddi’s Big Spoon (my chicken wings were so fucking tasty) and we stocked up on some snacks and goodies before heading back to repack, dry laundry and rest! We did decide to head to Surfer’s point later in the afternoon to catch a beautiful (but windy) sunset which was a nice round off for the day followed by an early night. Ahhh, a real bed!
Today’s video: