In a few days trime, Child Number Two and I will be flying to Adelaide, notwithstanding the Scattered Spider hack that resulted in all my Qantas data being leaked to the Houthis, or whatever.
We will hustle down to Victor Harbor and lunch with relatives before grabbing last minute supplies (read: steak and booze), then a friendly local will transport us to Cape Jervis so that we can walk all the way back.
The first leg of the Hans Henysen Track (1200km) is called the Wild South Coast Way (74km). For perspective, ‘south coast’ reminds us that Antarctica is as close to Victor Harbor as Victor Harbor is to Darwin, while ‘wild’ just relates to weather:
And that’s just the first half of the week.
The forecast doesn’t factor in wind-chill (calculator here) meaning if we catch the katabatics from Antarctica, then we’ll be in single-digits every day and very sub-zero at night.
Unfortunately, we not allowed to select the safest, most sheltered camping site we find each day. Instead, we must use the designated eco-friendly campgrounds and pay $31 per night for the privilege of not camping where we like!
While solid shelters, real toilets, and clean drinking water is alright for you softcock city-slickers, I’d still prefer bunyips, bull-ants, and bog-water strained through a sock!
That’s right kids, the older I get the harder I was. Just ask my wife.
And, because failing to plan means planning to fail, I’ve done preparatory walks to get some miles in the legs and to break in my Kaha 2 GTX which, until recently, I thought were a $400 mistake but now think will be okay.
In three days time, I’ll know for sure!
I mean, what could go wrong, I read all the reviews !!! …
Anyway, adventures don’t happening unless you make them happen.
But best of all is that I get to bushwalk with my son. He’s a busy young man with life happening all around him, so the fact he found a window to do this with me is very special, and I am very grateful.
Let the adventure begin!