Light to Light 3 Day Walk
Boyd Tower to Greencape Lighthouse

The Light to Light Walk is a 30 kilometre walking track in the Ben Boyd National Park south of Eden. It starts at Boyd Tower, an expensive folly built by Ben Boyd and originally intended as a lighthouse. Unfortunately he forgot to get prior planning permission, so it ended up being used as a whale spotting tower.

The track ends at Greencape Lighthouse which is still a working light, albeit shining from a new fangled modern structure adjacent to the old lighthouse. Twenty five of us made camp at Bittangabee Bay, a National Parks campsite with long drop toilets, water tanks, and a large camp shelter with gas barbecues. Our walks each day were preceded by car shuffles, so that we didn’t have to retrace our steps.

Day 1 saw us walking 14 kilometres from Boyd Tower to Saltwater Creek. It had bucketed rain the night before, but apart from a couple of light showers along the track, the rain merely served to dampen the dust and sweeten the air. The walking track turns inland for some of its length, breaking out to the coast on the top of headlands, or at small picturesque bays. The most striking feature of the coastline is its curious red coloured siltstones, which have been folded, upended and weathered into the rugged features we saw along the way.

Commencing the walk at Boyd Tower Click on thumbnail to enlarge photo	Rugged coastline with Boyd Tower in distance Click on thumbnail to enlarge photo	Airing the raincapes Click on thumbnail to enlarge photo	Waiting for the cars at Saltwater Creek Click on thumbnail to enlarge photo

Day 2 started at Saltwater Creek, another campsite on the track. National Parks is currently transforming it into a more formal arrangement, much as they have done at Bittangabee. Saltwater is a lovely spot with a large creek winding down to a wide sandy beach. The track stayed close to the coast and we enjoyed a palette of colours, the deep blue sea edged with foaming white and red, pink and mauve rocks fringed by deep green vegetation. The walk was only 9km so many of us reached our destination at Bittangabee Bay by lunchtime.

Morning tea on the cliffs Click on thumbnail to enlarge photo	Track markers over the cliff top Click on thumbnail to enlarge photo	Bob leads the way through a rocky cove Click on thumbnail to enlarge photo	Another rocky cove Click on thumbnail to enlarge photo

Day 3 started at Bittangbee and finished 7km later at Greencape. Bittangabee Bay is a delightful little sheltered indentation in the coast and forms the nearest safe harbour to Greencape. It was here that supplies to build the lighthouse were unloaded and transported to the site via a tramway. Near the ruined storehouse you can still see traces of the jetty and tramway today. Bittangabee is also the site of a house started by the Imlay Brothers on an idyllic spot overlooking the water. The 3 brothers hoped to exploit the area commercially, but all died tragically before the house was completed and they could bring their plans to fruition.

Bittangabee to Greencape traverses forest, and then heathland and bypasses a small cemetery containing graves from the shipwreck of the Ly-ee-Moon on rocks below the light in 1886. National Parks have refurbished two of the old lighthouse keepers cottages for visitors and 12 of us stayed there after the walk to watch the whales round the cape, explore the surrounds and enjoy the solitude. The fraught construction of the lighthouse and the financial ruin and suicide of its builder is yet another interesting chapter in the story of the larger than life characters who sought to settle this area and tame its wilderness.

Flying duck orchid growing beside track Click on thumbnail to enlarge photo	Lunch near Bittangabee Click on thumbnail to enlarge photo	Leaders Barbara & Ron celebrating Melbourne Cup Click on thumbnail to enlarge photo	Below the cliffs at Greencape Click on thumbnail to enlarge photo

Our grateful thanks to Barbara and Ron for all of their time and effort in exploring, organising the considerable logistics, and leading this camp in yet another wonderful part of our backyard.
Karen M  

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