MCG - SCG Yatra, Day 45

Yerrinbool - Bargo

We checked in at this caravan park and the owner was very helpful. Everything was great except we couldn’t work out how to unlock the door to the toilets and showers. Shekhar and I both tried to enter the code, but it wouldn’t work. Another caravan resident saw what was happening and he came over to help. He showed us the correct way of using the code. We had no trouble after that.

After a good night sleep, I was not planning to walk today. I had slightly sprained my left foot during the walk yesterday when I was walking on the right hand side of the road. There was a large truck approaching and there was no shoulder to walk on. I had to walk on the grass to avoid any mishap. Unfortunately, the surface beneath the grass was uneven and I twisted my left foot. I didn’t fall or anything like that and didn’t have any pain either. However, I began feeling the pain the next day.

We thought we would spend the day resting and visit the Australian Wildlife Sanctuary just a few minutes drive from the caravan park. We had our breakfast in the van and around 9:30 AM we drove to the sanctuary that was located on the old Hume hwy. At the entrance, a sign read, “Booked tours only”. We were told that this was how the sanctuary operated now. Unfortunately, they were fully booked out for the day. If we wanted to come back tomorrow, we would need to book it online. Shekhar opened their website and we both were shocked to see their price structure. The best package was the Ultimate Tour, a 90 minute tour at a cost of $69 per person with no rebate or discount for seniors. Shekhar and I didn’t think, it was worth spending $138 for the two of us to see the native animals, which we had been seeing almost every day. However, coming to the sanctuary and their refusal to allow walk-in visitors turned out to be a blessing in disguise for me. The brief walk at the sanctuary tested my ability to walk without limping and pain-free.

Without further delay, we drove back to Yerrinbool. I got off, touched my forehead to the ground and started the walk outside the railway station. It was a hot day with a clear sky and bright sunshine. It was already 27 degrees. Normally, I would be sweating like a pig under these conditions. But God was very kind to me. Despite the heat, a cool breeze started blowing to bring down the air temperature and make the walk a comfortable experience. I was losing fluid to sweating but kept rehydrating. We came across beautiful flowers along the way. We also met some young people who were potential supporters of the walk. We took photos with them and they felt so proud. Finally, we made back to the shops in Bargo. No coffee shop or bakery was open. We drove back to the caravan park, had late lunch, and went to sleep. I was glad that my foot didn’t give me any trouble. I was back to being normal me. Thank you very much God!