Day 13

Start:  Lakes Entrance

Finish:  Lakes Entrance

Distance:  0

Total:  202

Today I enjoyed my first day off since leaving Melbourne on New Year’s Eve. Like most day’s off, there are still things to get done. 

I slept in until 8:00 which means I’m finally acclimated to being halfway around the world. I had a list of things I wanted/needed to do so I walked down the street for breakfast, then went about another mile down the road to the pedestrian bridge that goes from the mainland across the lake to Ninety Mile Beach. It’s a beautiful, sunny day and there were a few people out on the beach even though it was only 10:30 in the morning. The body of water to the south and east of Australia is the Tasman Sea. There were kids splashing around in the water but it is only in the 70s here and never got out of the 60s yesterday so I don’t doubt that water was a little chilly. 

After visiting the beach I had some shopping stops to make. First, K-Mart in Australia only has household stuff, kinda like Bath & Body Works back home. I found that out on my first stop. Then Woolworth’s here is just a grocery store. I found that out on my second stop. If you want to get professional assistance in a pharmacy, don’t ask for a pharmacist; ask for the chemist. I learned that on stop three. Between all that, I got everything I needed. 

Final official duty for the day, as it is EVERYDAY; do laundry. Laundry has to be done every day because I only carry two days worth of clothes with me. When I’m lucky, like here, my motel has a guest laundry. Occasionally, the motel operator will actually do it for me if I look desperate enough at check-in. If all else fails, the lavatory in my room will have to serve as the washer and the hairdryer makes for a good clothes dryer.  

Tomorrow is a 15 mile day.  After that I have five consecutive 20+ mile days including one of 29 miles.  That stretch will be a real test. That’s all from the south coast of Australia. Have a great day mate. JB