With only one day of work to go before I start 7 1/2 weeks away, I have gathered together almost all of the stuff I need for a 6 week walk down the remote southern half of the west coast of Tasmania. I will be walking from Macquarie Harbour (near Strahan) down to Bathurst Harbour (over 200km away) and then maybe a further 80-90 km to Cockle Creek (with some side trips). The first section doesn't have tracks and I will basically be following the coast. It will get tricky when I have to cross rivers. I am carrying a small inflatable boat for this.
Before the walk I am going to paddle my sea kayak down the coast to drop of some food supplies so I won't have to carry 6 weeks of food in my pack. The sea kayak section could be quite challenging by itself. It involves about 450km south to Port Davey and back. I hope to do that in a week - wind permitting.
I expect to leave Macquarie Harbour between 1st to 3rd of December.
My father (Tony Watton) will be updating this blog as I send messages from my satellite phone.
Merry Christmas everyone. I expect to be spending Christmas & New Year lying on a beach, gazing up at billions of stars, watching them streak across the sky (and probably wondering what the hell I have got myself into and wishing my feet didn't hurt so much).
Bye,
from Matthew Watton.
