Twenty-seven kilometres was the target for today, which I would have reached, except as I got closer to the town of Port Fairy I realised that there weren't any good camping spots. Before I knew it I realised I was in the centre of town, which is where I am currently writing this post from!
The morning was uneventful really. A warm and strong northerly was incessant all day until I reached Yambuk, where I had a bite to eat, wrote some postcards, made some phone calls and generally attended to business. What a high-flyer I am!
Then almost as soon as I got on the road again, the wind flipped and became a cool southeasterly, bringing incessant rain with it. Although quickly saturated, my spirits were only dampened a little, plus the rain provided a good reason not to stop. As a result, the kilometres seemed to fly by once more and before I knew it, I'd covered 30 km and arrived in Port Fairy!
On the edge of town I was stopped three times in the space of 100 m to chat to passers-by. Beeth even gave me an electrolyte drink and chocolate bar before blessing my shin to heal. This was very kind of her, especially as I had been feeling my shin all day. It hasn't really been painful at all, but I can feel it lingering there, like some beast ready to rear it's head and strike again. Let's hope that this slower start gives it some time to adapt and hopefully, thrive.
I found myself at The Hub Cafe, hot drink in hand and chatting away with Craig, who was able to give me some great advice about where to spend the night. Not only that, but he sent me away with a contribution to my cause: he shouted me a hot dinner at the local take away! The generosity of complete strangers in these communities continues to astound me. On a night like this (the rain seems to just get heavier) such a gift could not be more appreciated. Thank you Craig!
So here I sit, with a hot dinner in front of me, waiting until the rain subsides enough to head off to my secret camp for the night. A bit damp on the outside, but warm, so warm on the inside.
