The tides were not favourable for an early morning start so I spent a leisurely morning in Nelson before getting back on the trail.
Judy’s leech bite inflammation had reduced overnight and she decided to keep walking. We walked out of town towards the beach together as we had both been waiting for the tide to start going out. We tried to time it to get mostly outgoing tide while walking, starting at high tide. Trying to stay on firm sand I misjudged an incoming wave and got my feet soaked. They spent the rest of the day slowly drying out while my shoes filled with sand. The gaiters helped but my trail runners have mostly mesh uppers so the sand just gets in.
There were a couple of sections that went behind the sand dunes and along some rocky outcrops which made the walking a bit more varied and interesting. Some bright flowers added some colour too.
The inland route to Lake Monibeong was along grassy track and easy walking. Camp was reached around 4pm. Rain showers had been mostly absent during the walk but they came and went for the next few hours while at camp.
The walkers campsite had no suitable trees to hang from. There is a car camping area nearby and I scouted around for a suitable site. As it is mostly wide open area with a little coastal scrub I had a bit of trouble but eventually found a spot. I had been thinking I might have to spend a couple of nights on the ground on the coastal sections so we’ll see how it is at the other camps.
I had dinner at the walkers shelter then made my way a few hundred metres to my hammock spot and got set up. The wind was quite gusty and then the rain came making set up a bit tricky. The tarp was like a kite wanting to take off but I managed to get it pegged down.
The wind continued through the night, whipping the tarp around and into the hammock quite a bit. I tried Max Richter sleep music but that didn’t do it for me. Eventually I put in my earplugs and drifted off to sleep. Wind + DCF tarp = noisy.
Nugget Walks 
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