Beyond Beacon 19

We set off to follow a friend's directions for a walk near Goolwa. We were instructed, rather like spies in a World War II movie, to 'Go to Beacon 19'. We discovered that this was the name of the last boat ramp on the River Murray before the river reaches the great Southern Ocean. We drove alongside the Murray ...

... past a sign that told us we were in the Coorong National Park, until we came to a sign that comfortingly said 'Beacon 19 Road'. This ended at an enormous parking area that no doubt is filled to capacity come summer.

We spotted the walking track and set off.

The boardwalk continued all the way to the ocean, making it a very easy 20-minute walk. 

Lots of spring flowers and plants were out.

The walk gradually wound  uphill over sand dunes. 

 

We were nearly there. Only a few more dunes and we would be at the Southern Ocean.

And there it was.

 We scrambled down the last bit of boardwalk and the ocean lay in front of us. The splash of the waves endlessly rolling in was the only sound we could hear. There was not another soul to be seen.

The golden sand stretched as far as the eye could see to the right...

...and to the left. The sand is so hard that cars are allowed to drive on the beach. This was the only sign of anyone else we saw the whole time we were there, and they were gone in the blink of an eye.

After a stroll along the shore we settled in to have our picnic sandwiches.

It was sublime: munching on our sandwiches, listening to the surging surf, gazing at the ever-changing clouds, watching the seabirds hop along the shoreline, and simply soaking up the sense of peace.

I got out my camera to capture the pied oystercatchers that were seeking their own lunch in the shallows.

It was time to go.

We passed one of several Aboriginal middens.

At the car park, we could see the sun glinting off the River Murray in the late afternoon light.

It was the end to another lovely walk on the Fleurieu Peninsula.