- Waterloo Bay Walking Track - Easy and Straightforward
- Waterloo Bay Walking Track.JPG (239.78 KiB) Viewed 7021 times
We took the easy route which saw us walking down the Telegraph Track. For those who have never been here, the Telegraph Track is basically an unsealed road. It goes down from about 200 metres in elevation, to not much above sea level. The walk is easy and we were fortunate that it was still cloudy in the early morning, as other than the first couple kms, there is no shade. There is a great view of the surroundings though, as you head down to the "lowlands". We were soon at the Telegraph Junction, where we turned left (east) onto the Waterloo Walking Track. The first 1/2 km of this track goes slightly uphill and is on quite loose sand. It soon firms up and you walk on quite a number of boardwalks. Mussolini Rocks was a great place to stop for pictures. I could easily strip away all the greenery in my mind and imagine myself back at Josh.
- Mussolini Rocks
- Mussolini Rocks.JPG (226.42 KiB) Viewed 7021 times
The entire 13 odd km walk is rather easy and straightforward. We were pretty soon at Waterloo Bay. It was so, so stunning, that one could easily just drop one's packs and just sit and soak everything in. After a few quick pics we continued onto Little Waterloo Bay. We were expecting tent city, so we wanted to get there for the "prime" spots. Perhaps a little selfish, but after our experience at Oberon Bay a month ago - selfish it is.
- Paradise Found?
- Waterloo Bay.JPG (145.97 KiB) Viewed 7021 times
At Little Waterloo Bay, we quickly found our "prime" spot. The entire camping area is quite large, and there were many designated areas that were carved out for 4-5 tents. I actually think that it would have been better to have many "little" spots, rather than the few "giant" spots. Anyhow, after a quick cuppa, it was off to the beach! It was only 12 pm! What to do for the next 8 hours??? We spent time soaking in the scenery and reading at both Little Waterloo Bay and Waterloo Bay. Both beaches were absolutely stunning. The skies were a brilliant blue, and the water an amazing turquoise. In the shade, it was actually quite cool, and in the sun, roasting was quick. So we had to constantly move between the shade and sun. There were no flotsam, jetsam, debris of any kind, just white squeaky sand and sea. There were a couple of March Flies but no mozzies at all.
Amazingly evening rolled around, and dinner was had. The water source at Little Waterloo Bay was trickling slowly, taking about 2 minutes to fill 1 L. We had carried enough water to not have to depend on the water source, but it was nice having extra cuppas, and not have to dream of Hungry Jack's Frozen Cokes... Speaking of water source, those depending on this water source on Sunday would have been disappointed. When I tried to fill the kettle up for breakfast, it water source was a very slow drip (not even a trickle). I waited for about 5 minutes and only got maybe 5 tablespoons worth! Only one cuppa each then...
- Rocks at Waterloo Bay
- Rocks at LWB.JPG (221.6 KiB) Viewed 7021 times
By about 8pm, it was tent city. Perhaps 25% coming from the Waterloo Bay direction like us, and 75% coming from the Sealers/Refuge direction. It really was tent city. There was even a tent/hammock Rube Goldberg contraption set up near the beach. A month ago, we took the kids to Oberon Bay (still working on that trip report) where we had to endure 2 yahoos laughing till about 11pm, and 4 euros who rocked up at 930pm and decided to cook dinner right next to our tents. At Little Waterloo Bay, my fears were unfounded, everyone were in their tents by 830 pm. By about 9 pm, there was not a single human sound, bliss.
- Sunrise - Time to Go
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We're both early birds, so after my wife did her taichi on the beach at sunrise, we decamped, packed up and hit the trail (Waterloo Walking Track to Telegraph Track to the car). I tagged the one geocache on the way back and the up hill to the Telegraph Saddle Parking lot was actually quite gradual and easy. Even though it was a tent city weekend, we only really came across a handful of groups. Little Waterloo Bay is highly recommended. I think this is a great overnight walk for beginners or kids. We'll soon do another overnight trip with the kids.
