Day 13 - Mutchilba and south

Thursday 29th April, 2021 12.8km

338.8 / 4760.1km

The phone spent the night in the bag with freeze dried rice. I'm not getting the water warning on the phone so I just have to hope the water didn't worm its way inside. Still afraid to charge it though and have used the camera, although a little sparingly.

I got up fairly early as I needed to get into Mutchilba for a resupply box. Although at the moment I don't really need a resupply. I had packed for 7 days and with a dinner and breakfast at the Brown's and missing the walk through Font Hill station taking off 3 days - I was overloaded.

The night by the river was pleasant, with the sandy bank I camped on providing a soft bed. There's something magical about camping with the sound of running water. The big splashes make your ears prick though.

So it was a quick walk out to the highway and then a bit of a slog along the edge dodging early morning traffic. It would be better when they slash the shoulders. Further down a plantation keeps the grass mowed well and I could get of the bitumen.

I got to the Mutchilba store and Post Office about 7.30am and saw they didn't open to 8.30. But I set the dog off and in the end she opened up early. I got my box and ordered some breakfast and coffee.

I re-adjusted my food pack and had about 3.5kg left which I packed back in the box and sent onto Fred in Hervey Bay.

The bacon and egg burger was delicious, so was the coffee. I could have done with another coffee.

I met Graham who owns Stannery Hils Organics who offered to help get through the to the hills. I have his number but Mutchilba only has Optus Service so I couldn't ring him anyway. However my brother John has digitised each Map in Book 1 (There are 12 books for this trail) using all the updates and notes from Dean Richardson and so far he has got it perfect.

Having the maps in my watch, I can tell it to follow the course and it buzzes on my wrists at changes in directions so I have found the navigation so far easy. Wish I had got him to do the rest of the books! So far I have seen 5 National Trail signs and 3 of those were at Kingsborough. Although with the watch I haven't been looking all that hard.

There is a long walk out of Mutchilba up a bitumen road. I lost the tungsten tip on one of my poles on this stretch. I have had the poles for a long time and quite attached to them. Once when I left them in Perth I bought a cheap pair and felt the weight in my forearms on the Fraser Island Walk I nearly lost the second tip as on a bitumen road the tips get caught between small rocks and as I walk forward the poles pulls in my hand. Once I recognised that I quick checked the end of the pole as it happened. In the end it happened twice more so I put the tip in my pocket till I got off the bitumen.

I headed into a mango farm and the electricity poles have First Nation style paintings on the poles. Couldn't find out why. Only spot I've seen it.

Around the back of the farm as I was walking past the packing shed/pickers quarters 3 dogs bailed me up. A lady kindly called them away. The one who got right up to me was Ruben. Couldn't tell if he wanted to sniff me or eat me so I just stood with the poles crossed in front of me and as he moved to go around me, and I had to swivel with him.

That over, it was onwards and upwards. I got out of the farming area and into bushhland and started climbing into the Stannery Hills. I hit a little wooden bridge across a running creek and sat down and washed my shirt and as I was sitting there I decided I wasn't going any further.

Sometimes on these walks it has to be about location and not kilometres covered.

The phone spent another night in the freeze dried rice just in case and I had a good afternnon of drinking Mocha, reading and soaking my feet in the water.