Marathon walk 2013

Well, we did it! Actually, we blitzed it! We covered the 37 km in 8 hrs 12 mins, which is a lot faster than last years' 9 hrs 40 mins (last year's photos here and here). I was not particularly sore afterwards and felt that my training walks had well prepared my for the day. I loved it and am eager to walk again next year.

You can see our full route in zoom-able detail here (especially nice if you click on "satellite" view). And here below are a series of photos (click for larger).

The start: human being no's 888 - 891

890 Betty, 891 Mieke, 888 Kathryn and 889 Brenda set out to do the full 37 km from Ballina to Byron.

This is the cause we were supporting

Quite a crowd at the beginning

 About 1200 people took part but many stop at the 12km mark (Lennox) and 25 km (Broken Head)

Start of first headland: lovely old-world Pandanus

Looking towards Lennox

After Lennox, Seven Mile beach, the crowd well thinned

After Seven Mile Beach we headed through the serene and welcoming cool of the littoral rainforest fringing the several kilometres of Broken Head. Easy walking for me, on stones and hard-packed gravel tracks. For some reason I didn't take any photos on that stretch!

Kathryn opted for the barefoot option on the next section

We found a wee little butterfly

For Betty and myself, the Tallow's beach section was in retrospect the most tiring, with high tide driving us up into the soft sand, mulling under our feet. Kathryn wasn't looking forward to the strenuous and steep climb up Cape Byron. However, once she got there it went fine.

Tallows beach: soft sand, a hard slog!

Resting up just before climbing the Cape

I had no trouble climbing up the bush track of Cape Byron ... fairly zoomed up it. My legs like steady grip underfoot, it seems. Brenda was not far behind me and once there we waited for Betty and Kathryn.

Brenda and I wait for the others at the top

A willing tourist took a rather artistic photo of us at the top.

Woo hoo! The four of us at the top of Cape Byron. 6 km to go.

Looking down at Little Wategoe's from the Cape

Brenda on the boardwalk along the Cape Byron cliffs

Looking from Clarke's towards Byron Main Beach in the afternoon sunlight

 Around 4pm we crossed the finish line all together. Go girls!!

By then Betty's barefoot too

We did it!!!

 Thanks team. I look forward to next year!

Walking in the Northern Rivers: Ballina to Lennox Heads

I've been so active and busy doing nice things that there has hardly been time to blog about them. One of the things I've been doing is walking, training for the upcoming walking marathon from Ballina to Byron (38 km along the coastal headlands and beaches).

Last weekend several family members joined in a walk from Ballina to Lennox Head (10 km). John, Claudia, Ian (Claudia's partner), our Briony, and myself, accompanied by our super-excited young dog (Radha). The latter was maybe not a brilliant idea (managing her bouncy energy was a bit exhausting in itself).  Briony is one of Claudia's two lovely daughters; and at the same time she is one of my step-daughters. (Yes yes, I know, we have a complicated family.  At least we all get on very well! )

John, Claudia and Ian

The day was sunny (UV!) and required sunscreen. In the photo below John is tending to Bri.

Slip slop slap: Briony being tended by her Dad, and flanked by Radha

We could see that recent storms and heavy tides had taken their toll on the dunes and beaches. Here, a pandanus palm has lost grip ...

Pandanus having lost grip on reality, has a lie-down on the sand.

Briony was great, dealing with Radha's indefatigable energy ...

Being bounced on by a Radha in full flight is like being hit by a B57 bomber.

Boundless joy of a young dog :-) Four-paw drive, covering at least six times what us paltry humans do!

Radha the Rocket Dog

The advantage of walking with a plant biologist (Dr Claudia, PhD) is that one's attention is drawn to the wonderful biodiversity of the area. Claudia told me the name of these lovely native coastal wildflowers, and explained how they developed resistance to the salty air and exposed conditions. It would be even nicer if I had a better memory and could actually *remember* the name ... but there you go. Sorry!

Pretty yellow native

Pretty purple non-native

And the pretty purple flower above is actually an invasive species. Sad that some of the pretty ones are actually unwelcome.

It was a very pleasant walk and we ambled into Lennox Head about two hours after setting off. Having taken *heaps* of photos of the view of the headlands on previous walks, I didn't this time (but you can see some of those photos here).  A yummy (but slightly greasy) lunch of fish and chips followed, and then back to base.

Thanks Catterall / McAdam family for a lovely walk!  Oh, and Radha wasn't tired after all that. Sheesh!

Training for the marathon walk

I've signed up to do the marathon walk from Ballina to Byron again, with (most of) the team from last year. My friend and colleague Betty and I decided to do a 10 km training walk from Ballina to Lennox Head, accompanied by Betty's partner Brian. The plan was to leave a car at Lennox so we could drive back.

It being a lovely morning, I set off at about 7.30 on the motorcycle for Betty's and Brian's house. When I got there, Betty told me that Brian had already left, driven to Lennox and was jogging back. We could meet him en route and walk back to Lennox with him. Man, that's one fit man, I thought. Here was me feeling virtuous about a ten km walk!! We left the house at 9.45 and sure enough, by the time we got to the beach, Brian was already there, having run the whole thing in about 50 minutes.

And so we set off. (Click photos for bigger).

A lovely track to walk along

Looking back Southwards towards Ballina

A pandanus palm. They are plentiful around here.

It was just a glorious day for a walk though going up the first headland was a bit hot and I was wondering whether I should have brought a hat after all.

Me 'n Betty

Boulders Beach, looking South. Love the pines.

Near the top of the first headland

Brian gazing out to sea to see what he can see

I could see how the headlands had eroded after the heavy storms of this year. This area below, used to have sand.

That tussock there is going to fall in and get wet :-)

Looking out towards lovely Lennox

Once in Lennox (10.30) we treated ourselves to an icecreamy thing each :-) and Brian drove us back.
Thank you Betty and Brian for an absolutely lovely and companionable morning! Looking forward to more walks in the near future.

Walking without Chicco ...

This morning, for the first time ever, I went for a 'round walk' without Chicco..

The round walk takes us eastwards, steeply down the valley, across the creek, northwards up the spur of a similarly steep hill - first brightly grassed meadows, then rocky,  along a densely wooded glade, and finally across the tops through long grass to come westwards back to The Grange. It takes about 35 minutes and involves some quite puffing and climbing. The last few times we did this one, I noticed Chicco lagging behind, hugging the easier slopes and panting heavily in any sunshine. She liked to lie in the creek, and was reticent about coming out to walk up the hill... Towards the end of the walk she was labouring, panting, and uncomfortable. She had to stop, and sometimes she had to just lie down. It was just getting too much for her.

She's nearly 13. That's 91 in Dog Years, which is old ... especially for such a large breed. Also, it's a long and loving time to have a fairly constant companion animal in your life.

So, this morning, even though Chicco's ears pricked when I picked up my walking boots, I pretended I was just brushing some dirt off them. I snuck out the back, whispering for Radha to come, so as not to hurt Chicco's feelings.We left her behind in her day bed and went on the walk, just Radha and me. Tears bit at the back of my eyes.

Walking down the first grassy slope to the creek, it just didn't feel the same. Radha kept looking for Chicco, and was unusually reticent and "un-playful". At the creek, where Chicco would flop blissfully in the stream, and Radha would scamper around and dip paws in and out with tail wagging hugely (she's not keen on streams is Radha, but she likes to play with Chicco in the water) ... this time Radha bent to sniff the stream intensely, and eventually left it to walk across the bridge, without any tail wags.

Coming up the hill Radha was startled by some strange sudden sounds coming from the glade: maybe a wallaby, or a lost heifer. She wasn't feeling brave.  She stuck by my side, frequently looking back, maybe to see where Chicco was.

At the top of the hill, it started to rain softly. I thought, maybe I could have taken Chicco: the rain would have cooled her, kept her from overheating. She might have coped better in the cool. Maybe.

Walking along the ridge through the very tall grass back to the Grange, Radha and I decided that even though Chicco slowed us down so much, it wasn't anywhere near as nice without her...

Even so, I don't know I can take Chicco on this walk again.

When I got back, I looked with love on my old dog and apologised for not taking her with us. I stroked her black ears and her greying muzzle and promised some short interesting walks in the days to come. Her tail thumped, but then she looked away. She did, of course, know she'd been left behind. I'm not prone to anthropomorphism, but she's not daft, is Chicco.

Here are some photos from this morning. Of course, they don't contain any of Chicco.

On the hill leading down to the creek, deep in paspalum grass

Sniffing for a friend in the river meadows

Coming along the ridge slope towards the Grange I can see the faint track ahead of us, left over from Chicco's walk last week in the long grass. Can you see it too?

Here is the route:


View Round walk in a larger map

This morning's walk

Just some random photos taken this morning while walking the dogs...

Taken from the old pig paddock, looking East to the distant horizon over the hills

Romany Ruby Smudge is now a two-year old. And limber :-). Standing near the western side of the farm which borders the village.

Mama Nova glowing in the early morning sun. She's a sweet and kind mare.

The deciduous fig, a lovely landmark ...

Ballina to Byron marathon: some more photos

These lovely photos were taken by our team member Catherine during our walk.

Just after sunrise, just north of Ballina ... despite the cool look, it was lovely weather.

Coming over the headland from Flat Rock towards Angels and Boulders Beach. Lennox headland ahead.

This striking view of Lennox headland ... just stunning. It's a delight to walk in such surroundings. Lovely photo, Catherine!

Willa and myself striding along Seven Mile Beach (erm, it isn't seven miles long actually, it's a bit shorter).

Looking back on Broken Head... this is just past the 25 km mark. It was *very* tempting to go for a swim!

Coming up to Byron Lighthouse, about 32 km into our walk. These last 5 km were quite tough ... very steep and rocky in places and quite a lot of uphill work. After the lighthouse there was only one small headland to go (Watego's Beach headland). Once up there we had a bit of a breather at the lighthouse, in any case, and we were fortunate to see a whale breaching as well. I found that seeing the whale drove all thoughts of tiredness out of my head! We also saw rays and turtles, as the water was crystal clear.

It was a wonderful experience and I'm surely signing up for the marathon next year!

We did it! The Ballina to Byron Marathon Walk

I survived the marathon walk! In our team of five ("SCUrriers"), we hiked the whole marathon distance from Ballina to Byron Bay, crossing five(ish) headlands along the way. It was challenging, but great (I was hindered by laryngitis and bronchitis; Willa ended up with a trapped nerve).

Catherine, Kathryn, Betty and Willa at the start

Our beneficiary: our local Rescue Helicopter swinging over the Bay.

A closer image of our rescue helicopter who accompanied our start.

Boulder beach coming up to Lennox

A closer view of the lovely Lennox headland

 At the 20km mark we stopped for a break and some lunch. On my sandwich packet (delectable roast beef, salad and beetroot sandwich), made by Tess Hayley Mol), was written "xoxoxo I LOVE YOU! xoxo ♥ POWER ON!! xoxo YOU CAN DO IT!" ... and inside that on the interior wrapping, written in ink "I ♥ U" and "STERKTE" .... Others looked on and one of our team said "my sandwich is nowhere near as special and wonderful as yours..." (I must say, I agreed ....).

Footprints in the sand: this was about halfway

Until the 25km mark we were well up on time, but after that we slowed a little: Willa's trapped nerve was really slowing her up...  The last headland, at the 32 km mark, was "a killer" as one of our team put it...

Coming up to Byron headland

Looking back southwards, from whence we had come: our starting point is in the far far distance (I think ... it might be out of sight)

The gorgeous Little Wategoes headland: a special Aboriginal sacred women's site

 

SCUrriers at the Byron lighthouse

I don't have a photo that I can upload of us crossing the finish line (when we did, I had tears in my eyes anyway) but the one above was taken at the Byron lighthouse, about 2km before the finish.

We finished the 37 km walk in 8 hours 41 minutes...  I admire our team!! Thank you Betty, Willa, Catherine and Kathryn, for a walk of a lifetime.

And we are so so lucky to be able to live and walk along one of the most beautiful and pristine coastlines in the world ...