Voted best NYE!

A gruelling hiking New Year's weekend. My aching muscles!!! But it was all worth it, and character building to boot.

NYE 01

The plan: 10 of us hiking and bush camping at Wilson's Prom. 35 kms in 3 days. Bush camping. Too much grog.

What were we thinking? Jack, Shelby, Donnie, & I had weighed our packs the night before, and we each came in over 20 kilos. Including basic necessities, gourmet food, not-so-gourmet food (ie 2 minute noodles and protein bars), and more booze than we were ever going to drink. But it just proved our mettle on the long bushwalks. Spent the first night at Tidal River, admiring the sunset and drinking bubbly as we tried not to think of the long day ahead.

nye 02

Day 1 was an 11 km trek to Little Waterloo. Got there with bruised shoulders, sore muscles, and a big smile to see the beautiful beach. Who knew Victoria could look like that? Blown away, I could've been in the tropics. Clear, blue ocean, fine white sand, and hot hot sun. We soaked off a day's worth of sweat, napped on the sand, then got ready for an evening of blackjack, curries, and lighting candles in the sand. I was so knackered, I declared it midnight at 10:30, but most of the others stayed up, and Rhys even brought sparklers so they could run around like idiots (someone else's words).

Our loads the next day were much lighter after NYE drinking, but no one had gone too crazy. I gave a bunch of wine to a couple I met at the water tap and considered that my good deed for the day (they were very thankful!). We got to the next campsite, at Refuge Bay, just before the rain did. Went swimming in the cold water, then back to our tents to wait out the rain. Took me hours to get warm again. Donnie taught me how to play gin rummy (I won), and we tried vodka with alternately gatorade (ick) / apple juice (ick) / orange mango juice (good). Drove people crazy by playing the tetris game on my mobile, which doesn't have a volume control. Finally the rain stopped -- and about time, too, I was starving. Rhys & Nomes put on a massive feast, and we all sat on the beach late(ish) into the night.

nye 03

The next morning the sky had cleared, and the beach was so gorgeous, I didn't want to leave. But we pushed on to Sealer's Cove for lunch and a dip, and then back to Tidal River and the car. Oh joy. It was a 16 km day, and I decided I deserved the next day off from the gym. Also the nap on the drive home...

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