Start: Shellharbour Junction Train Station
Finish: Wollongong
Distance: 15
Total: 573
I had a good Saturday walking into Wollongong from the coastal village of Shellharbour. The weather was overcast and very muggy but not at all hot.
I caught the train out to my starting point about 8:00 without any breakfast. I noticed on my route study last night there was a 7-11 store a short distance down the road from my starting point so I decided to try my luck there. It worked out OK.
The road I followed almost the entire distance today had a sidewalk so I stayed out of the traffic. I passed through several small towns along my route, though they were so close together it was unnoticeable when one ended and another began. I passed several golf courses and noticed the majority of the golfers were walking, not riding in a cart. You don’t see that in the U.S.. By lunch I found a Subway sandwich shop and stopped there for a bite to eat and a break. It’s funny; the Subway’s here do not have any kind of potato chips. Zero. Just sandwiches, drinks and cookies. If you buy a meal deal, you get a sandwich, drink and cookie.
I had planned to walk 13 miles today, ending at the hotel I’ve been staying in for the last three nights. However, with tomorrow being an 18 mile day, and I’m checking out of this hotel and carrying all my things in my backpack tomorrow, I decided to walk a couple of extra miles today and take the train back to the hotel. That will make tomorrow’s walk a little shorter.
So I’ve made it to Wollongong, a city of about 300,000 just south of Sydney. Tomorrow I’ll walk right along the coastline to a train station and ride the train into Sydney where I’ll be staying four nights while shuttling out to finish the last three days it takes to walk from here to the center of Sydney. On the fourth day, next Wednesday, I’ll have a day off to see the sites in Sydney.
That’s all for my Saturday. I hope you have a good Saturday as well. JB.
