The CrossingNorth Of Port Macquarie
Thunderstorms And Roadworks
Thunderstorms soaked the first 15 kilometres, then major Pacific Highway roadworks made the rest of Day 111 even more tiring.
The first 15 kilometres came with thunderstorms.
I started near Herons Creek at 4:31 am. Low cloud sat over the paddocks, mist hung above the water and the rain kept coming. By the end of the first session, I needed a complete change of kit.
Once the worst of it passed, the morning looked completely different. Blue sky appeared over the highway, the sun came through the trees and I crossed one waterway after another.
At the Oxley Highway turn-off, Port Macquarie was off to my right. I kept heading north, past another Port Macquarie exit and across the bridges around Telegraph Point. One sign had Kempsey at 40 kilometres, Macksville at 93, Coffs Harbour at 151 and Brisbane at 553.
After that, the roadworks took over.
For most of the rest of the day I was walking through a huge Pacific Highway upgrade. There were temporary lanes, heavy machinery, half-built bridges, excavated hillsides and concrete barriers everywhere. One sign identified the 14-kilometre Kundabung to Kempsey section.
The verges were narrow and the barriers often blocked the space where I would normally have walked. Where I could, I hopped over them and used sections of the new highway. With trucks and cars still moving past, it demanded even more awareness than usual.
The light was fading by the time I began the sixth and final session. I stopped on Old Coast Road near Kundabung just after 7 pm, with another 55 kilometres of forward progress locked in. The six sessions recorded 57.9 kilometres in total.
The next supply of shoes was already being sorted. The Valors were incredibly comfortable, like wearing cushioned slippers. The only downside was that their soles weren’t as durable as the Stinson Lites, so I was chewing through them. That was why I needed another couple of pairs to see out the adventure.
I had sent a message to Roger at Hoka OneOne Australia. A quick reply became a phone call to Trudy, and fresh shoes should be with me early the following week. They should see me through to Brisbane.
We spent the night a few kilometres further north at Tall Timbers Caravan Park in South Kempsey. My Mum had noticed there had been no early-morning post and thought something wasn’t right. She told me to get some rest and, hopefully, some warmth.
It was a tiring day, and I was glad to have got through it. A proper “grind it out” kind of day.
Images From The Day
