Start: Bairnsdale
Finish: Lakes Entrance
Distance: 23
Total: 202
Today was a real grind for some reason. Some days your feet and legs just don’t have it and this was one of those. Lucky for me, after 12 days without a break, it’s my first day off tomorrow.
I got out the door at 7:30 this morning but by the time I stopped for breakfast and went to Subway to buy lunch, it was 8:15 before I really got started down the road. Or in this case, the trail. About a mile outside Bairnsdale I picked up the East Gippsland Rail Trail. Like many towns, Bairnsdale and some other towns to their east have converted the old train right-of-way into an exercise trail. This particular one runs about 59 miles. Unfortunately it doesn’t go where I need to go but I enjoyed walking on it for about five miles.
The road has narrowed to mostly two lanes with an occasional passing lane and the shoulder is not as wide as it was either. However, drivers are still sharing the road and I’m watching my step. I got offered two rides today by random strangers but of course I declined.
By 3:30 I was on the edge of my destination, Lake’s Entrance; named that because it sits at the opening between the Tasman Sea and a series of large lakes along the coast. It is also the access point to Ninety Mile Beach which runs along this stretch of the Australian coast. The town itself is a tourist destination with lots of small motels along its Main Street. As I got within about a mile of town my route was actually about 300 feet above the coastline and town. I walked down a walkway beside the road following a series of switchbacks to get down to the town.
With tomorrow being a day off, I won’t do very much except rest. I might make the walk to the pedestrian causeway that accesses the beach. It’s about a three mile round trip. It depends on how energetic I feel. For now, it’s feet up; lights out. JB.
