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We leave the volcano trail alone for a few days to explore the varied waterways around Nelson. The first attraction is the mighty Glenelg River, running unspoilt through the wild country of Glenelg National Park and stirring up boating fantasies and fantasies about a long walk. The 250 kilometre Great South West Walk track keeps intersecting our road, disappearing intriguingly under trees along river or coast.
Or at least I think we are leaving the volcano trail. Then I reread my guiding brochure. The limestone gorge the river runs through was cut downwards by the flow as the broad limestone plain was slowly uplifted by the force of very deep underlying magma. There is no escape from shaping forces.
The river meets the ocean at Nelson. We sit in the chilly wind with a paper bag of chips, watching people fishing, rugged up in coats and beanies, before we head out to the bushy headland, the ocean and the long empty beach.
As the day wears on in greyness and intermittent drizzle, we walk through wetlands that are seeking Ramsar status, across a boardwalk, along well-marked tracks, on detours to bird hides (spotting a lurking fisherman and a bevy of swans), and back to the starting point as the rain comes down.
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I HAD to make time for a watery interlude 🙂 🙂 Enjoying your panoramas but best for me is the whoosh when we open up to the beach shots. Peaceful now until the C word, Meg? Where are you spending it? Yikes- you’ll soon be off to Poland!
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Peaceful yes, if you mean am I haring off anywhere else. On the 20th the Mt Tamborine mob arrive. Before then I need to purge and shop and reorganise. Today I lunched with a Broken Hill friend I hadn’t seen for twenty years – that opened a storehouse of memories, and forgettings. The Poles don’t arrive till latish January. We leave on March 12 for an indeterminate stay. We may manage an overnight camp in the next few weeks.
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Sounds grand! Have a wonderful time, Meg. I’ll catch up soon. I do value your friendship. 🙂
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And I yours.
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For information about RAMSAR status, here is a link:
http://www.ramsar.org/
Although I had vaguely heard of RAMSAR, I needed to check what it was.
I did not realise that your trail had actually reached the ocean, Meg. I am amazed at the ground you covered in only 10 days.
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10 days and $500 for the two of us – petrol, accommodation, wine and food top-ups. Pretty good eh? And too far in too short a time. But oh, how good it was. Thanks for adding the RAMSAR link.
You’ve got a few RAMSAR sites near you, according to Wikipedia: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Ramsar_sites_in_Australia
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Yes, very good value for such a small outlay. The website I gave you also has a list of RAMSAR sites in Australia and other countries. The one I know is the Hunter Wetlands, not far from the university. It attracts numerous migratory birds but is purgatory during the warmer months for the plague of mosquitoes.
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