Matt Down Under

Route: Aire River — Johanna Beach

It was very calm in the morning. I got up early — I didn’t know what time it was but I had heard campers on the other campsite talking, so I assumed it was time to get up. It was still dark, probably around 7am.

I had heard good things about Johanna Beach, so I was keen to get there early and maybe have a few hours to spare. Before I departed I lectured one of the school kids to not use dishwashing soap in a National Park — I felt so old for saying that…

When I left it was around 8.45am, still very early for my standards. The first hour or so was along the cliff-top from the Aire River westwards, with only few views. The track led through dry bushland and was very easy walking.

Later it slowly descended and continued halfway between the beach and the cliff-top until Castle Cove, where I arrived after about 90min walk. It was very windy and cold at the lookout, so I just had a quick snack and walked on.

From there the track was beautifully aligned along the cliff-tops with views and lookout points, leading through interesting vegetation, until it slowly descended down to Johanna Beach. I could hear the growling of the waves from far away.

I arrived just in time for high tide and the waves were very strong, but the beach was wide, so it didn’t matter that there was no inland route — walking along the beach was still possible.

The waves looked to impressive that it took me a lot of time to get to the other end of the beach — I spent a lot of time trying to get a few artistic photos and catch interesting waves.

Half-way across the beach you need to cross Johanna River. Best was to cross it right where it lead into the sea, however with high tide I needed to be careful not to get caught by some of the waves, so I took my shoes off, watched it a while and then quickly waded through.

From the other end of the beach the track went across a large campground for for cars and camper vans before crossing a private paddock and ascending to the final hill for a couple of hundred metres, of top of which the GOW campsite is located. It is a superb location with fantastic views.

I was the only hiker again. I used the opportunity for an extended wash at the water tank before cooking early dinner. Around 6pm it got dark and I went inside my tent to do a bit of work and blogging on my laptop.