North East Coast Traverse

On Easter Sunday Ziggy, Bevo and I embarked on a mission to run from Stumpys Bay to Ansons Bay following the coastline. There is little to no trails on this route and it’s mostly beach running and rock hopping. I had been wanting to do this for quite some time and the stars aligned for us giving us beautiful day amongst many bleak ones. It was a great long day out that was fun for some and character building for others.

Planning

Last year Lauren and I spent a week at my family shack at Ansons Bay in the Bay of Fires region. We did a run up Mt William and another run to Eddystone Point. After these runs I had the thought of running from Stumpys Bay back around the coast to Eddystone Point and back to the shack at Ansons Bay. I mapped it out and wrote a note about it and then forgot about it for 6 months.

Plans for an Easter 2022 shack trip started to materialise and the running mission was back on the table. A large portion of the planned shack crew got Covid the week before the trip. So plans changed and I ended up going to the shack with my family and still had Bevan, Ziggy and Miranda keen to come along. Bevo and Ziggy were keen on the run. Miranda wasn’t so keen on such a long beach run but was happy to drive out to Stumpys Bay and do the Mt William walk.

Good Friday and Saturday were rainy and dreary on the East coast but the weather was looking favourable for Easter Sunday. I was already at the shack with the family when Bevan arrived on Saturday afternoon smeared in mud from a day of mountain biking with cold beers ready to be inhaled. We drank a beer and admired the sunset and moonrise as the skies started to clear.

Later in the evening well after dark Ziggy and Miranda arrived. The dog barked as they entered like a creature fearing for its life. Then after a minute of hesitancy he sidled over to receive pats from his tormentors. Ziggy complained about the number of quolls on the road being at near plague proportions. We were left pondering what should be done about the quoll problem. With everyone settled in we had a large family dinner followed by Mum’s sticky date pudding and games of Bananagrams till we got bored of it and invented new rules. The version where only offensive/swear words were allowed was decisively won by Dad who brought out a vast array of obscenities.

The following morning Mum, Dad and Alice (sister) headed off early to go to an Easter lunch in Devonport and left the shack in our capable hands. We spent a fair amount of time faffing around organising our packs and deciding what we should be carrying. A large part of my planning involved the assumption of a water top up at Eddystone Point. Before we had even started Bevan was already expressing hesitancy about a sore ankle but at the same time trying to ignore it.

Finally packed up we left on the drive to Stumpys Bay campsite which took us around 40 minutes. On the drive I marvelled at the grasslands and their suitability as habitat for Forester Kangaroo. I imagined how things could have been if Aboriginals were granted land in this portion of the state. George Augustus Robinson had suggested to the Government rather than sending them to Flinders Island in the 1830’s.

Stumpys Bay to Deep Creek

We parked at the start of the Mt William walk at the final Stumpys Bay campsite. We did our final bag adjustments and said goodbye to Miranda as she headed up the menacing monolith that is Mt William. Mt William is possibly one the smallest mountains to be called a mountain, I’m sure it takes pride in its mountain status even though I still consider it to be a large hill at best.

We began our journey passing through the Stumpys Bay campsite. They were bustling with people. We struggled to find our way through the tents and campchairs to the beach. Initially we were quite jovial. But after a few hundred metres of running on soft sand I knew we were in for a tough slog. The dreams of hard packed sand were not to come true.

The view out towards Boulder Point

We headed along the beach then weaved our way through the shrubbery trying to get to the rocks. This section was a nice combination of beach running and rock hopping. A nice amount of variation. I had already started to feel hesitant about the water situation. It was a hot day and we were completely exposed on the beach. I was sweating profusely within the first kilometre. As we climbed over Cobblers Rocks we were faced with a vast length of beach that is Cod Bay.

Running somewhere along Cod Bay beach

We set off running down the beach passing multiple groups of hikers. I think there was a Bay of Fires group and a Wukalina group, both paid guided trips. I was disappointed to see so many people along the beach. When I mapped it out and looked on the satellite imagery the beaches looked so remote but on the day it was like a highway. We were running in glorious weather on a public holiday so the crowds are probably to be expected. We all fell into a rhythm, it was harder than usual due to the soft sand but we adjusted our pace to make up for that. The kilometres ticked by and the end of the beach hardly felt any closer.

Eventually we reached the end, it was only 4.5km of beach but it certainly felt longer. We stopped at the rocks at the end of Cod Bay to have a break and eat. There was a variety of delectables on the menu, mostly chocolate bars and lollies and the odd energy gel. We checked in with Bevo regarding his ankle and he said it was hurting a fair bit. This did not curb his enthusiasm as he happily continued onwards to further punish the poor joint.

Having a break and looking at how far we have come

After Cod Bay there was some fun granite rock formations for us to jump and climb. We had a good time scrambling up and down the rocks. It was a natural playground for us and it was spectacular.

After we got through the fun rocky section we had one last long beach before getting to Deep Creek. We plodded along still enjoying ourselves and revelling in the wonderful weather. When we reached Deep Creek we found signs of civilisation again and large groups of people on the beaches making the most of the great day.

Deep Creek to Eddystone Point

The next section was a nice combination of beach running and rock hopping. The beaches were shorter and there was the lighthouse out in front as a beacon luring us in. One think I noticed with this type of running is how the distance travelled is quite apparent. We could always see for long distance where we had come from and where we were headed. The lighthouse was a particular landmark that was visible for much of the run and at this stage it was gradually getting closer and closer as we continued along.

There were many shacks in random locations along the coastline between Deep Creek and Eddystone Point. Such idyllic locations to have a shack and I was happy to see that they are still very much shacks and not exuberant holiday houses. It’s nice to see Tasmania’s shack culture still hanging on by a thread. There were many beautiful granite headlands and formations. We were almost complacent to the beauty by this stage after seeing so much of it.

As we got closer to the lighthouse we started to see artefacts amongst the rocks. Some that were likely leftovers from the supply locations for the lighthouse from years gone by. There was even a corroding motor lying in a rock pool. By this stage I was running dangerously low on water and was praying that there was water at Eddystone.

Rusty old davit arm foundation	Rusty old engine

We finally made it to the last beach before the lighthouse and continued up along the path to the carpark for the boat ramp. It was teeming with people and cars and boats. We continued onwards up to the lighthouse keepers cottages in the hope of finding water. I was devastated to find that all of the tap handles on the water tanks had been removed. There was so much water in all of the tanks but I couldn’t access it. Before I had time to get too worried a TWC guided walking group came past and the guide offered me some chocolate, it being Easter afterall.

I accepted the chocolate graciously and asked if they knew where I could get some water. They didn’t know of anywhere nearby but offered to give me some of their water. I filled one of my 500ml flasks but felt guilty because I was getting water while the others were still scrounging around for some. Then I spotted a car parked at the back of one of the cottages and the back door open. I went up to the cottage and found a lady jingling pots and pans inside. She walked out the back door and I asked if there was anywhere I could get some water and she offered to let me fill up from the kitchen tap.

She was working for the Wukalina walk and they use that cottage for the final night of their trip. The interior of the cottage was impeccable, it has had a serious makeover since it’s former days as a lighthouse keepers cottage and being fairly derelict last time I looked inside. Now that I had found the motherload of water I grabbed the others and they gratefully filled up their bottles too. Bevo reckons he drank a whole litre in one go which he later regretted.

As we were chatting to the lady she said, “hey check this out” and opened up a box and inside was a kookaburra just sitting there staring out at us. She said she’d found it sitting on the side of the road unable to fly. She had called Bonorong the wildlife rescue people and they told her to euthanise it. She wanted to save it and they told her to kill it… brutal. After having a chat, refilling our water and looking at the kookaburra we continued on our way leaving her to deal with the kookaburra dilemma.

Lighthouse ahead	Poor old kook

Eddystone Point to Ansons Bay

After all of the beach running we decided that running on the road sounded quite nice so we opted for the main road then the old 4wd track route back to Bayleys Rocks. Myself and Ziggy were cruising along nicely now we had enough water to get us back but Bevo was starting to buckle. When asked how painful the ankle is out of 10 he rated it as a 7. I was surprised he was still able to run at such a high rating and was somewhat sceptical of his rating scale. In the next breath he said that he reckons he could probably run a marathon if he wanted. This gave me hope that he still had some fighting spirit left inside to get him home. We plodded along the main road to the turn off to the 4wd track.

We had a section of walking along the 4wd track while Bevan dealt with his nausea from chugging too much water and rested his dilapidated ankle. I think it is at this stage that Bevan started to experience the rollercoaster of emotions that can be felt when pushing the body to it’s limits and beyond. We slowed down considerably for quite some time. I decided it was time for a caffeine gel and recommended that Bevo did one too. I was hoping that pain numbing and stimulant effects of the caffeine would get us home. Shortly after the caffeine gels were consumed we began our descent towards Bayleys Rocks.

I was surprised to see the carpark was overflowing. It’s especially unusual given you need a 4wd to even access this beach. The beach was bustling with people which felt weird given it’s typically empty. It was absolutely beautiful and the waves were so nice, there people out surfing and paddling in kayaks. The change of scenery gave me an energy boost. We followed the coastal path from Bayleys Rocks that goes along past the front of the Bay of Fires Lodge. I think this was one of the most beautiful sections of the day. Running on single track along such majestic coastline on such a nice day is about as good as it gets.

We finally dropped down the the big beach that I am so familiar with. This was our final stretch of beach. I think we all felt more comfortable now being on such a familiar stretch of beach so close to home. We jogged along close to the waters edge to get some nice hard sand then we turned right and headed up the beach to the path back to the shack. As we climbed over the back of the beach we caught a glimpse of the shack and it looked so close. The final stretch on the run around the bay back to the shack was great with us all looking forward to getting it done.

We arrived back to the shack and were completely stoked with our epic day mission. It took far longer than expected but that was what made it so much more enjoyable. It was still such a beautiful day at the shack so we revelled in the achievement and basked in the sun. Bevo even cracked a beer while we chucked a heap of meat on the barbie and had a massive cook up to fuel our depleted starving bodies.

I had a good time on this run but I don’t think I’d rush to do it again. It was a hard day out and the running wasn’t easy. I think we all enjoyed it, Bevo included. He was able to experience the best part of the rollercoaster of running long distances which is the feeling of fulfillment when it’s all done. Bevo might even write up his account of the day and it may end up getting posted on here in the future. There is a happy ending to this story, the ankle injury wasn’t too serious and Bevo is back running again.