Start – John Coull campsite & hut
Finish – Bridge to nowhere lodge & campsite
Daily Distance – 35 km
TA Distance – 1292 km
Today’s departure was something akin to launching an armada. Fully 7 boats launched containing friends
and acquaintances I have met along the way. For me, being part of such a large group often comes with
mixed feelings. Companionship can be great, but too much can detract from the peace that comes from
being in the wilds. Today I was happy to be in the company of many fine people though.
There isn’t too much to say about today’s journey that I haven’t already said in previous posts. The
exception being that the afternoons have a habit of bringing an upsurge in wind. This was particularly the
case today. There were moments when to stop paddling meant to be pushed back upstream and it was a
constant battle to keep the canoe pointing dead into the wind to avoid being blown off course.
Almost by way of compensation for the wind, tonight’s campsite is perhaps the nicest I have stayed at so
far. Sporting a bar, porter service for our bags (a man with a quad bike & trailer) and a beautiful riverside
location, it was already scoring highly. That was before a small goat wandered into the bar. It may have
ventured inside to check on its friend the scowly cat, possibly out of a deep seated desire to explore, or
perhaps just to start a whole new line of “A goat walked into a bar…” jokes. Anyway, my point is that it
was cute and that goats are inscrutable creatures. Other animals that have been found wandering around
site include a dog, 2 Shetland ponies and a small deer with no concept of personal space. Undoubtedly
cute and very nice to stroke, but she does have an awkward love of nibbling tents, rucksacks, hiking
poles; basically any outdoor gear that looks as if it may be expensive. Hopefully I won’t wake up in the
morning spooning a deer who has chewed her way into the tent during the night. Then again, it does get
awful lonely in a one person tent…
