A sea eagle’s nest made of sea grass, high on the cliff’s edge 

Kristy helped me launching that early Sunday morning, driving my gear and carrying my kayak the long way to the water. Actually, it was just acrosss the road…she was happy to go back to sleep after waving me good bye! Thanks for taking so good care of me, Kristy!

I was passing three beautiful slow dugongs on the easy crossing over first to Cape Herrisson. I then had to paddle around Cape Bellefin into the Blind Strait. The water was mostly quite shallow and flat. Close to the capes I had to stay out enough not to run on ground! I could have probably *walked* Blind Strait as well, it was mostly that shallow! Sometimes I had to jump out to pull out my rudder again which got lifted up by running over the shallow sand flats.

An easy wind was pushing me across, and it was not much bothering me when I turned south into Blind Strait. A really easy day! Little did I know this may be the last one for long…?

I was heading across Blind Strait for Cape Ransonnet. One boat was anchoring in a beautiful sandy bay, another bigger one came just off Shelter Bay, where obviously some civilisation with few houses and campsites was put up.

I had agreed on a date with Terry Bolland on Steep Point, actually on the last sheltered beach before the point – we should better have exactly pointed out the GPS coordinates! A look at my 1:250.000 map showed no road access further west than that lovely beach before Sandy Point. This is where I soon saw across South Passage a car parked on the beach, with my old spare kayak on the roof!

Approaching Sandy Point, I’m the little dot on the water above my old kayak!

It feels soooooo nice when there is someone waiting for you at the end of the day! Terry was volunteering to take care of me here, as well as checking on my landing and launching in False Entrance/ Dulverton Bay, which may be a bit tricky. He would take all my gear in his car and will meet me then in Kalbarri, that I can paddle the long cliff section as light as possible. It would be the first time on this trip that I paddle an empty boat!!!

Landing easy on a lovely beach at Sandy Point

Terry is an experienced and adventurous paddler himself, and was the only one to paddle the Zytdorp Cliffs besides Paul Caffyn 27 years ago and me now, through an exciting night, in a group of three men, starting from Kalbarri, going north. His exciting trip report is well worth reading! Paul Caffyn and I had to do it “the other (harder?) way” against prevailing wind and current, going south.

Terry has booked a campsite with the local ranger, as camping on that beach was “organized” with pre-booking the dune sites. If you are camping with a car, there is sometimes no other choice on popular spots! Thanks, Terry, for being there, and to organize things!

(Last three pictures by Terry Bolland)

Text message from Freya via satellite phone:

26.10 113.11, Sandy Point. 7:00 am  to 3:30 pm, 50km. An easy paddle with mostly following wind. Terry Bolland is here!