K'gari Great Walk Day 6

 Saturday 27 June

K'gari Great Walk

We were awake at 5:30am. There was a lot of birdsong and kookaburra sounds from 6am. Overnight there had been showers on and off all night with a couple of very heavy downpours. We had breakfast and again spread things out to dry, this time using the shelter in the day use area. We set off a bit before 7:30am.

Wanggoolba Creek

The trail followed the creek for about 1.5km and then ascended steeply up steps. There were a few fallen trees down along Wanggoolba Creek.  Wanggoolba Creek 

Pile Valley

Pile Valley is picturesque and has remnants of towering Satinay forest.  Pile Valley  The trail followed an old tramline through the Kauri forest. We stopped for morning tea at the junction of the Lake McKenzie and Lake Wabby tracks.

We arrived at Lake McKenzie about 11am. We took the opportunity to look at the beautiful lake with the sun on it. We had a relaxing lunch, a refreshing swim and read our books.

Lake McKenzie

Lake McKenzie at Lunchtime

Watching some internationals, we realised the pool gate latch is an Australian thing that has international tourists struggling to operate it. Some of the tour guides were chatty while their tourists were off exploring the lake, while others chose to rest.

When all the day trippers left, we went back down to the lake- it was very pretty although not turquoise at this time of day, the sand was almost a soft pink. 

Lake McKenzie in the Late Afternoon

There were a lot of small birds and birdsong. It turned out to be a lovely clear evening, with few clouds - the forecast had been increasing rain from lunchtime. This was a very welcome change after the last two very wet nights. We set our alarm for 4:30am tomorrow morning to ensure we have plenty of time to make it to the ferry.