I didn't really know much about this place before heading out on the train, besides that there was a beach and a coastal walk, but I was sold. I downloaded a couple new books on my kindle, and I was off! The view alone to The Entrance was incredible..lots of water and hills. I stayed at The Entrance Backpackers, which was a really, really, nice hostel. Small, but very friendly and you get free breakfast (took full advantage of that both days).
I got there later on Wednesday night but decided to take a look around as the sun was setting. I was blown away as soon as I got to the beach. It's truly beautiful there...puts Cronulla to shame. The Entrance has a channel because it links the sea and a lake (to the best of my knowledge lol). There would be shallow pools of water, then sand pits, then more water, then more sand, and it just kept going forever! Not to mention all the rock cliffs and intense splashing waves. It was seriously so pretty! I was occupied taking pictures, wondering if the flash going off was bothering the fishermen or scaring away the fish. This area did not have a lot of backpackers or travelers, it seemed much more like a summer getaway place for Australians. For everyone who knows the charm of Northern Michigan, picture that. Families doing cute activities together in their summer, enjoying one another's company and just hanging out and having the best time in a small, cute, town. Fishing seemed to be a big part of their culture as there were people fishing every couple of steps! I sat on the rocks for a while listening to my music and thinking about UD and everything that's happened in the past year..I can't believe it's nearly been a year since graduating..I simply don't understand how time could pass so quickly! It was super relaxing just hanging out, and then I noticed I wasn't alone down by the water. Around ten at night the water became FILLED with people. I'm talking like hundreds of people. I left my rock to go up to the pier to investigate. People of all ages were in the water with head lights and flash lights and giant nets. I finally asked someone what in the world they were looking for and found out they were prawn hunting. It was truly a sight to see, never seen something quite like it before! It seemed so normal for them too..nothing out of the ordinary. Some people take their kids putt putt golfing..others take them prawn hunting. Go figure. There was also a carnival in town to just top off the cuteness of this place.
Thursday I walked up and down the beaches, read my book, laid out (with sun cream, no worries) and then went to the Pelican Feeding at 3:30. The Entrance is apparently the Pelican Capital of Australia...with reason. These pelicans are MASSIVE. Literally up to my waist, if not taller. They're so important to this town's culture they have a feeding show for them every single day. They use this time to not only get the pelicans fish, but also to inspect them to make sure they're healthy and haven't been caught in any rubbish or are hurt. This show attracted dozens of people and I somehow managed to get in the front row. I was sitting, so these pelicans were towering over me at this point. They are very bold and will go right up to you which was quite interesting. May or may not have been slapped by a pelican wing once or twice. If you have me on snap story you saw my over snapping of these birds..but honestly such a cool experience watching them get fed! I even got to throw a fish head to the pelicans!
Afterwards I went and bought groceries aka fruit and successfully figured out kg again! Then headed back to the beach with my kindle and fruit in tow, hoping to catch the sun going down. Being prissy and high maintenance I couldn't settle for having my back facing the sun...I needed to be facing both the water and the sun. So I decided I would get to the other side of the Channel and sit there. Easier said than done. The water looked shallow enough..I had seen babies playing in it earlier, so I thought no problem I'll just cross here and be across. Wrong. Keep in mind I'm wearing a dress and have my giant long champ bag with my phone, kindle, and Nikon camera inside...aka things I can't afford to break. I'm trekking across the water no problems, until the water goes from my ankles to my knees. I try and hike up my dress but then give up. Okay no problem dress will get wet. The water is about waist high now but I'm already half way across, so we will be fine right? Next thing I know the sea floor is suddenly gone and I'm treading water. The only thing is my dress has fallen to my ankles and both my arms are holding my bag above my head so my precious electronics don't get wet. I couldn't exactly use my hands for paddling and I probably was making faces that looked like I was going to die. I somehow managed to swim the rest of the way and did a walk of shame out of the water and plopped on the sand (dress still around ankles). Remember when I said fishermen seemed to be every couple of feet? Oh yeah, they were ALL around..witnessed the whole thing. I've honestly never been quite so embarrassed...but then couldn't stop laughing at myself. I kept picturing how this strange foreigner would look if I saw this all go down and then hoped I at least made a few people laugh at my expense. After finally enjoying my fruit and book (the sun had already set too, of course my luck), I had to figure out how in the world I was going to get back to the hostel. I had two options, to either go back through the unknown, miserable, deceiving water, or to find an alternate route through this random island land I had stumbled upon. I got advice from a local fisherman who told me I should NEVER cross the water where I did because the currents drag you out there, and instead he pointed to a better area to cross. I stared at this area for a good 30 minutes before chickening out. It was dark out now, and I really didn't want to look like a drowning puppy in the water while children went out to prawn hunt. So I tried Google Maps (life saver) and found the alternate route. By taking this way I actually discovered another beach, more land area, and also was able to walk across the big bridge I had seen the day before! Took me about an hour out of my way, but was well worth avoiding the damn Channel.
Friday I went on the Coast to Lake walk ( Coast to Lake Walk ). The entire hike is supposed to take about three hours if you're 'casually strolling'. I don't know how anyone could possibly do it in that time unless they sprinted and never took a break. I consider myself to be a fast walker as well, but I took several breaks- in parks, in the woods, on piers, on beaches, in the city, all over essentially, and it took me about seven hours to do the entire thing. For everyone back home who knows me, I clearly don't exercise so I hope you realize what an accomplishment 7.6k is for me LOL. Quite sad how long it took though. On the bright side though, I managed to not get lost! The walk was actually incredible, took you through all different kinds of nature and really showed you the entire area. I could have spent days in those parks and on those piers..but I had to catch a train home and leave. But before that I finally treated myself to a restaurant experience in The Entrance, and let me just tell you how good that fully loaded jacket potato was. Damn. That's all. Oh and I remembered to pay this time, so that's an improvement.
Caught my bus around 8pm, made it to the train station at 9 and was confused because my train wasn't supposed to be there until 9:40 but a train happened to be there at the time I arrived, so I just hopped on, realizing later I forgot to tap on with my Opal Card (here you have to pre load money onto your Opal Card, then tap on and off as you get on and off public transport). Got called out by the security for not paying but he let it go because I was traveling alone. Not sure how solo traveling versus if I was with someone else makes a difference, but I am quite happy I got away with a warning because the fine for that is a couple hundred of dollars! And then finally made it home around midnight and crashed hard.
The Entrance honestly put Cronulla to shame. It was probably one of my favorite vacations ever. IT WAS JUST SO PRETTY. I'm honestly looking forward to the next time I can revisit.
But as of now, I've planned a solo trip to the woods for a couple days. All I know is they said pack light (HA), don't bring rolling luggage (all I have), and to bring my own food (so two-minute pasta and pb&j). Should be interesting. Also have to get on a couple ferries to get there which I have not yet navigated while being here. Fingers crossed.
ON ANOTHER NOTE I HAVE A BABY BROTHER!!!! Welcome to the world Baby George!!!
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