Start: Bemm River Cutoff
Finish: Cann River
Distance: 25
Total: 288
Today’s walk was longer than average, and it has warmed up into the 80’s, but I was only carrying water and lunch in my pack so it wasn’t too bad. I’m also still nursing along my gimpy right foot problem.
I started the day with a bus reservation for 10:05 to take me back out to the Bemm River cutoff where I stopped walking yesterday. After breakfast I decided to try my luck at hitching a ride to get started earlier if I could. Lucky me; nice guy Tony O’Brien from Bairnsdale walked up from the service station parking lot next to where I was standing by the road and offered me a ride.
The area I’m now walking has become very hilly and thickly forested. The roads have gotten progressively more narrow and I find myself switching from one side of the road to the other due to blind corners with no shoulder. I always try to walk facing traffic, but sometimes that’s not the safest side to be on.
Tonight I finished by walking into Cann River. It’s a very small town with several National Parks nearby. I haven’t mentioned yet but camping, especially with an RV, is extremely popular in this part of Australia. I would estimate that almost half the vehicles on the road in this area are either pulling RVs or have camping equipment strapped to them.
I’ve noticed over the last few days the thick forests I’m walking through have been charred heavily by fires. Back in 2019, this area of Australia was devastated by bushfires. The town I’m in now, Cann River, is so isolated it’s residents got cut off by the fire and all the occupants were evacuated to the local school for shelter. Helicopters airdropped them supplies and if not for a government fire fighting team who happened to be here at the time and also got cut off, people would have been killed in the fire. Most of the trees have recovered with new growth and only the tree trunks show charring.
That’s all for today from Cann River, Victoria. Thanks for following. JB
