The most beautiful end of the world (5-8 March): Part I

Have you ever been to the Wilson's Prom? If no, can you imagine a place that reminds you of the rainforests, and the turquoise waters of the tropics? Of the Bretagne, Cinque Terre, the Cape of Good Hope peninsula? Of Scottish highlands, Scandinavian marshes, and the blue color and glaring light of the Aegean Sea? No? Then you should go to the Southeastern end of Australia. If there is one place in the world that is worth seeing, this might well be it. It is, most definitely, the most beautiful end of the world.

Here are some notes on how I got there:

After a long Friday night in the office, I went home, not knowing your plans for the weekend. People were telling me enthusiastically that I should go to the "Prom", as the Wilson's Promontory National Park is commonly called, but I was deterred by the transport problem. Sacha and Anna needed their car themselves. Public transport to the prom is a disaster. Hitchhiking? No experience, so better leave it. Although I wasn't particularly keen on driving through Melbourne on a busy Saturday morning, I decided, finally, to hire a car and to exploit the fine weather. Sacha and Anna gave me their impressive camping gear, I packed some clothes, and off we go.

At first, it seemed that the trip would be a non-starter: although I had reserved online, the guy at the rental car agency told me that he needed a proof of residence. Passport wouldn't work. Bank statement would!!! No mention of that in the online reservation though. Anyway, I talked them into giving me a car (I even got an upgrade), did some shopping at the local market, and headed off.

Since I was, on that Saturday, not a particularly early bird, and had to do packing, booking, shopping, I did not leave before 1 pm. Of course, it took me one hour in frantic traffic to get to Monash freeway (I have to admit, though, that I wanted to avoid the tolls...). But once out of the metropolitan area, driving was fine, and after a 3.5 hour drive, I arrived at Tidal River, the centre of the national park. Basically, this place consists of a camping area + some huts + a visitor centre + a shop + a take-away. But: the camping area is beautiful, and it is a five minute walk to the beach.

Anyway, I set up my tent, got some fish & chips, and went for a sunset walk along the cliffs. I adapted my schedule to the sunlight: going to bed early (9 pm) in order to get up early (6 am). The reward of this shift was that the next morning, I was, after a short hike, standing alone on the top of Mount Oberon, a summit with a wonderful 360 degrees view.

The weather was splendid all the time I was there, without being too warm for strenuous dayhikes. So I did a couple of tours: to Tongue Point, Sealer's Cove, Norman Point, Squeaky Beach to Paradise Beach (merits the name), and so on. I think the grand total was well over 50km in 48 hours, but ever single kilometer was worth it.

Unfortunately, my photo device is now broken (sand!), so I cannot post any pictures. (There are pictures on the memory card, but I don't have a cardreader, so it will take some time before I can post them.) C&P some pics from the web, though:

One of the many sandy beaches with turquoise waters:

A view from the air:

A view of the West coast with the Tidal River "village", from the top of Mt. Oberon:

Coast scenery at the West Coast: