Five-minute read: Emma Quick discovers the hard way there's more to Wilsons Prom than she thought.
Every time I walked Southern Prom circuit of Victoria's Wilson's Prom my eyes strayed north on the map with curiosity as to what the Northern circuit would be like. When you hear it discussed words like rugged, wild, overgrown are often thrown around. So it was with great excitement that myself and two of my old university friends headed off to tackle the circuit. We joked that it was over 10 years since we had conquered one of our first bushwalks, carrying rump steak and packs half our body weight.
Thankfully we were a little older and wiser now, with dehydrated meals, lightweight gear and emergency equipment, but with the addition of a reclining chair each to rest our aches and pains that never used to exist.
The first day’s walk along the road seemed to go forever, and as you rounded each bend you couldn’t believe that you couldn’t yet see the eastern beach and campsite for the night at Five Mile Beach. When we finally arrived the rain started, and with a brief look around the tea tree campsite it was decided that we’d push on to Johnny Souey Cove in hope of a nicer campsite.
The sign indicating we’d arrived at the campsite was vague to say the least, which should have been a warning for the next day.
Dinner was enjoyed on the secluded beach, watching thousands of crabs scamper around as the sun set over the hills.
I’m not sure how to describe day two, except to say we travelled a little over 1km in two hours! If there was a track over to 3 Mile Beach, it is now long gone.
We pushed, bashed, climbed, rolled and struggled our way through the thickest overgrowth I have ever seen. The worst part was the fact you could actually see where we wanted to go, there was just no easy way to get there with high tide lapping at the rocks below.
The remainder of the day involved a long beach walk, and then an overgrown foot pad to cross the Prom. An encounter with two sleepy snakes reinforced our decision to wear gaiters. After a couple of kays we were overjoyed to find some hard-working track workers had cleared the track all the way to Tin Mine Cove, which made for happy hikers as we entered camp.
Day three involved returning to the car via the notorious Chinamans Swamp . We were hopeful the track clearing would continue; with chest high growth and very little features to navigate off, we were very thankful for the fresh pink tape guiding the way. The swamp was relatively easy to sidestep, but the thousands of mosquitoes were not. With no chance to even stop for a pee without an onslaught of the bloodthirsty creatures, it was a quick march all the way to lunch. A footsore road walk back to the car and we were all done.
Was it spectacular? Yes. Was it less crowded that the South? Definitely. Will we return? Probably. Will it be in the near future? Ask me in a couple of months!"