12 of 12, February 2017

It’s the 12th again, and this month I was on the second day of a Scout hike on Freycinet Peninsula. By the time I remembered it was 12 of 12 I had emptied the tent, although I hadn’t yet started to take it down.

The Scouts had planned to be underway by 8:15; I was not surprised that it was actually 8:45 by the time the two groups set off. To give them credit, they’d done a pretty good job of getting things packed away.

Despite having sent the two groups off about 5 minutes apart, I was a bit bemused to hear voices — sounding like pretty much all of them — completely failing to get further from camp. It turned out that the high tide had caused the lagoon mouth to widen markedly from its low tide trickle, and some of the more cautious Scouts decided to remove their boots for the crossing (the water was only about 5cm deep). The kayaks on the beach were from another group; I’m not sure when they were able to leave since the incoming waves would have made life interesting for the less experienced.

Our groups headed along Hazards Beach, with Mt Mayson at the end.

About three-quarters of the way along the beach, where the Isthmus Track comes out from Wineglass Bay, we all met up, and some of the more foolhardy went in for a swim (it was quite a bit cooler than yesterday had been). They caught a few waves and generally had fun, while the other half of the group relaxed on the beach and buried one of their number.

They then set off to the end of the beach and into the bush for the last undulating few kilometres through the bush around the point and back to our cars. I think a few of them found this section a little interminable, although they actually made quite reasonable time.

A nice big grasshopper was found along the way.

We were welcomed back at the car park by a wallaby or two, optimistically hoping for food (feeding them is discouraged, however, as it fosters aggressive scavenging behaviour and also results in disease from eating the wrong food).

It was then time for the journey home. During a break in the drive, the ten Scouts found ten convenient poles and managed to balance simultaneously.

(The oddly named “12 of 12” project involves taking 12 photos on the 12th of the month, resulting in the opportunity to get snapshots of different aspects of your life, historically, personally, or artistically. I have been doing this since 2009.)