The beauty of camping at Lake Mackenzie meant that until the first group of tours turned up at about 8.30am, we had the entire tranquil place to ourselves. It was well worth the walk and an early start.
It had been a windy, wet and pretty cold night, spent in woefully inadequate hired sleeping bags. I lay my jacket over me in the night and was instantly three times warmer (thanks Mountain Equipment). They were just thicker than newspaper. I even had to employ the sleeping hat. However, once day had broken, all that was forgotten.
We got up just before seven and went straight down to the waters edge where the warmth of the sun was already considerable. There was no one around, not a sound or a ripple. Until we made the first ones!
An unbelievable hour or so of private swimming and snorkelling ensued. A morning that is firmly etched in my memory banks. We felt very lucky, happy and privileged to be there alone.
Once the tour buses and the crowds began to arrive, we returned back to the quiet of our campsite and enjoyed a big breakfast.
We been told about another lake (Basin Lake), which was a 4 kilometre hike away, but apparently another secluded beautiful swimming spot. Leaving the tent and equipment where it was, we set off in search of Basin Lake.
We found it easily enough after following an undulating trail for about an hour. There is no road leading to it, so you have to hike at least a few kilometres to get there. However, it's nowhere near as spectacular as Lake Mackenzie. The water is clear, but there is weeds and plants on the floor and without the white sands, the water looks darks and uninviting.
There was one clear strip of sand that we dared to enter by; having walked this far we decided that we at least ought to have another quick swim. While drying off, we watched an eagle type bird catching something from the high branches of a tree. It would swoop in, grab the branch then hang upside down for a while before dropping off and flying away. It was an unusual manoeuvre that we'd never seen before. Must research it later...
We retraced our steps and struck camp, by which time it was gone midday and we were both tired and hungry. While we sat eating our lunch, a massive lizard thing (which turned out to be a Sand Gouana), walked through the camp. It was over a meter long! I didn't dare get too close, but you can see it in the photo behind the tent! Glad we didn't see him last night before bed!
It was a long and tiring hike out to Kingfisher Bay. The path was easy to follow, but I suspect the distances were a bit on the optimistic side. The last few kilometres felt like they went on through the forest forever.
Including the Basin Lake detour (which I probably wouldn't recommend!), we'd hiked over 16km and all on sand, which I found quite tiring. We made it to the jetty, both shattered, but in time to get a cold drink and a bowl of chips before the ferry arrived. While we were munching and Echinda walked out for under the building, providing another good wildlife tick!
Collapsed onto a seat in the ferry and headed off towards the sunset, tired but happy...
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