We were walking in bright sunshine with clear blues skies with small cottonwool ball clouds, but with a nice breeze coming off the water. The temperature was forecast to be in the middle eighties. After a further mile or so along the pedestrian walkway that borders the Widewater Lagoon Nature Reserve, Jon and Jan reluctantly took their leave of me to return to their home in Portslade, just ever so envious of the journey I had in front of me. The plan was that I would return to spend another night with them at the end of my adventure.
Eventually the tide was out far enough that I could settle down beside the water's edge and just put in the miles, stopping a couple of times just to sit on the beach and to cool my feet in the cold waters. Apart from when I was passing through one of the settlements, there was nothing to break what became the monotony of the beach; there are only so many photogrpahs you can take! It was a long, hard slog in almost perfect summer weather, perhaps a tad too hot for carrying a heavy rucksack.
I had a walk up through the town to my campsite and promptly set up the tent for the night. The campsite was quiet and, apart from the owners, I never spoke to another person there, everyone keeping to their own little space. After seventeen miles I was pretty pooped anyway and after a shower and a quick snack and cup of coffee, I bedded down early, hopeful of a bright start the next day, which was to be equally as long as this one.