Day 3 Port Clinton to Macs Beach
Day 3 starts with waking up to a wet tent inside. Last nights rain has somehow come into the tent and sits under the mattress so my mattress, sleeping bag, some clothes are wet along with the tent. I take them across the road to the shelter and have breakfast while drying out my wet stuff on the fence. The poditive is the tent didnt blow down. I think the water came in because I didnt pull up the floor up to the main top part and so it must of come off the tent and run into the floor.
Off starting around 7.30am along an established walking trail on top of the cliffs looking out over the mangroves. Eventually there are steps down to the flats and wombat holes again but no wombats to be seen. Its then into Price and into the caravan park kiosk/office area to buy some morning tea and get the code for the toilets. I check out the CP and its good, better than Port Clinton but it is what it is.
Nice people a tthe office and some customer on his buggy arrives and they help him out with his purchase and clear some spiders from his cart.
there is no other shop only a pub open on some days only.
I stop at the bench with the logo for some video before continuing on towards the famous salt stockpiles. Its interesting because my pool salt comes from Price. Past the company headqurters building and around the water catchments holding the salt water that is pink in colour. There are dumps trucks and some machine that spits out the salt collected onto the stockpiles gleaming white.
Im wearing undies and rain pants that I've rolled up because my shorts got soaking wet last night and havent dried, and now its warming up along the 4wd track that runs past the salt lakes without too many trees, only low lying shrubs.
I look for the road to Macs but can only see wheat fields and salt marsh towards the sea with a huge haystack in the middle. I would love to short cut to Macs beach but I have to walk alongside the dirt road then a left turn. A few cars and caravans roll past. Once on Macs beach road its all downhill and I can see the shelter in the distance near a farm house and am looking at all camping options to get out of the wind.
Theres no water tank at the shelter and I have forgotten to fill both bottles up at Price and am shitty Ive only got half a bottle left. I know tomorrow is not too far to Tiddly Widdly beach and Ardrossen so not all is lost.
Once I hit the beach, pas tthe turn off sign of the track I realise how sof tthe sand is, how sea weedy it is and how windy a beach walk can be at relatively high tide. Along the way Im looking physically for a campsite and on the phone by sattelite for some tracks going inland and sheltered from the wind. About half way theres a big sand hill and I camp near there right along a sand 4wd track hoping someone is not going to drive along it to the beach. Im tired of walking, its feels like a big day but I can see Ardrossen in the distance.
Its a good sheltered spot and I use some water for dinner and save the rest for breakfast. I hear a harvester in the distance collecting the years harvest of wheat, grain of some sought. i hit the bed and have a relatively good nights sleep.