Light to Light walk

PRE TOUR DAY: Drive or fly to this walk. If driving please meet us at the Seahorse Inn, Eden. If flying, flights are available with Rex Airlines from Sydney or Melbourne to Merimbula. These will need to be booked independently. Please arrive the day/evening before the tour starts. Pre-tour accommodation at the Seahorse Inn including dinner and breakfast as well as transfers from Merimbula Airport to the hotel if required. Please select this option when booking if required.

TRAIL NOTES: 13.2km. 4.5 hours walking with breaks. Medium grade. Undulating terrain with short steep hills.

WALK ITINERARY: Meet your guide in the foyer of the Seahorse Inn at 8.00am for transfer to the start of our walk. We begin our coastal trek at the northern end overlooking Twofold Bay from Boyds Tower and admire this historic sandstone building originally intended to be a lighthouse. Boyd’s Tower was constructed in the late 1840s as part of an ambitious plan by Benjamin Boyd to establish Eden as a major commercial port. He was however denied official approval to use the tower as a lighthouse and the main use for this tower came from shore-based whales of the coastline. We pass open grassy areas such as between Mowarry Point and Leather Jacket Bay, you may see eastern grey kangaroos grazing. Between the gently curving rocky landscapes of Leatherjacket Bay and Mowarry Point, we hike through coastal forests and heath and across red-rocked platforms. Marvel how Mowarry point has a direct line of sight to both Boyds Tower and Green Cape. See if you can pick out other headlands along the way from where you might be able to see a lighthouse. We follow the trail and look out for seals and seabirds year-round, or migrating whales in season, particularly between September and November. Finally, we head to the pristine Saltwater Creek Beach to cool down with a swim or surf. After our walk, we transfer to the charming waterfront Seahorse Inn Hotel for our next 2 nights accommodation. Tonight enjoy dinner in the restaurant featuring fine dining served with wine.

TRAIL NOTES: 8.5kms Medium Grade. 3 hours. Elevation 191. Terrain is a combination of gentle hills with occasional steps and short hills. Combination of gentle hills with occasional steps, short steep hills and flat areas.

WALK ITINERARY: After a leisurely breakfast, we set out on our final day towards Green Cape Light station our final destination. Follow a trail that was traditionally travelled by lightkeepers taking supplies that were off-loaded at Bittangabee Bay; look closely for remnants of the old horse-drawn tram track. You’ll find a walkway to the lookout at the tip of Green Cape where you can stop to look for dolphins and take in stunning views across Disaster Bay. Stroll down to the end of the rocky cape and with plenty of good vantage points looking out to the sea, the walk offers an ideal chance to look for whales migrating along the coastline – especially during autumn and spring. Watch out also for seals or seabirds plunging into the ocean waters for a feed of fish. If you’re lucky you may also spot a sea eagle riding the thermal air currents in slow majestic circles, or hovering low over the water before dropping down to catch fish or waterfowl. The Green Cape lighthouse commenced operations in 1883 as part of a plan by Francis Hixson to ‘light the coast like a street with lamps’. This was an especially important development in an age when coastal shipping offered the main communication and supply line between isolated coastal communities and ports such as Sydney and Melbourne. At 29m tall, it was the largest mass concrete structure built in NSW up until that time. Today the light’s operation is fully automated and the NPWS manages the site. Afterwards, our guides will drop you at Merimbula airport at 2.45 pm for your return flight to Sydney.