Budgewoi to The Entrance
19 km (964 km) 6 hr
Today was a pretty stretch of beaches, headlands, and coastal towns from Budgewoi to The Entrance. Lakes Beach and Hargraves Beach lead on to Jenny Dixon Beach and Norah Head Beach and Rockpool. Norah Head Lighthouse on the tip of the headland was great, (as is every lighthouse, always). Lighthouses are such a powerful symbol of humans cooperating and helping strangers, and I always find a lighthouse visit to be immensely uplifting.
Had to leave the beach for some impassable sections north of Norah Head but then it was an outstanding beach walk from Norah Head Lighthouse to Soldiers Beach and onwards, down low around the headlands. Great cliff formations, nice mix of rock platforms and sand and some incredible sand dunes - just what the doctor ordered. A little bit of inspiration and plenty of options for a dip on a beautiful summer day.
After rounding Pelican Point, it was an 8.2 km beach walk to Karagi Point (sand spit) on the north side of The Entrance. Waded across the channel which seemed like cheating compared to the long road bridge a little inland. The entire beach is backed by a barrier system between the lake and the sea and, as the northern dunes are located in Wyrrabalong National Park, it gives this stretch a wonderfully remote feel.
I crossed Tuggerah Lakes at Dunleith Point at low tide – the current was strong here and it would be safer to walk a short way inland to the Entrance Bridge. I was staying the night at The Entrance which is (obviously) the ocean side entrance to another of the massive lakes that sit behind much of the coast between the Hawkesbury and Manning Rivers. I've always been a 'beach guy' rather than a 'lake guy', but these enormous lakes are incredibly beautiful. Amazing birdlife with the array of pelicans being perhaps the most dramatic, but plenty of other sea, shore, and land birds all around. Glorious!
This shorter day helped me to realise that around 20 kms is a good par for me for multi-day beach walking – the long days previously are fine in isolation but might lead to some unwanted injuries when done in succession. Many other factors do come into it though, particularly weather and tides. A falling tide on a calm, cool, sunny day with a light backing breeze is the perfect recipe - but if you wait for ideal conditions, you won't get very far - a bit like life, I guess.
Planning a coast walk is usually pretty straightforward. I start out by noting the highlights - headlands, lookouts, beaches (of course), lighthouses, caves, picnic areas and any areas where I may need to divert or detour as required. On the NSW coast, it is a 95% certainty that you can find a way through or around most of the difficulties – although I have learned that you can be misled looking at 2D maps for a 3D real world!
I’ve started to think about what a 10/10 day looks like for me on this walk. I think it would start and end in a smallish town and include a mix of wild places and the odd 'tame' beach with access to drinking water along the way. The odd stretch of bush that is big enough to get lost in but small enough not to be threatening, and a few perfect places for a rest along the way. While today didn't have anything truly wild, Norah Headland, Gravs (Gravelly), Pebbly, Soldiers, Pelican, Magenta, Tuggerah and North Entrance Beaches were all remarkably 'lonely' for such a perfect summer day and I marvelled yet again how easy it is to ‘get away from it all’ if one is willing to walk a few clicks. I even had a great swim with a pod of dolphins at Magenta Beach. I body-surfed a couple of waves with my dolphin buddies beside me... another moment of absolute bliss.