The Big Swing and Herring Pools - Local Knowledge Needed!

Morning exercise involved running through the middle part of LH - up Transit hill for great 360° views of the island to Blinky Beach then back on Lagoon Road meeting up at the main lagoon beach for a refreshing dip. 

By late morning after breakfast, coffee and reading, our feet were getting itchy and we had a few spots still to visit. Katy, Andy and I left Ella at the accommodation and rode the short distance to a trail head of the big swing (thanks for the inside knowledge Grant!), The Clear Place and Valley of the Shadows.

Katy was happy to stay on the big swing deciding not to walk to the other spots! Andy and I ran into Curly the bio security dog and her handler who were checking out the area for rats. The Valley of the Shadows was a lovely steep gully full of lush palm trees and gave us a nice break from the hot sun.

The afternoon had us on another adventure. We'd heard from locals about the Herring Pools - rock pools that are only accessible at low tide by wandering around the rocky ledge of Old Gulch. Although the walk to the Old Gulch was only 2kms form the Old Settlement Beach, it involved hiking up and over a steep ridge! Hot sweaty work.

On the way over we checked out North Beach which in low tide looked very uninviting with lots of seagrass but probably a perfect spot for turtles. There are a few facilities here namely picnic shelter and toilets used mostly (I'd say) by the tourists who get boated in and dropped off for a few hours. 

A short boardwalk away was the Old Gulch, a rocky cove bounded by steep cliffs. Our mission involved negotiating the southern rocky cliff ledge. We picked our way carefully along the rocky edge wondering if we were going to be able to find the pools. It took ages to cover the short distance but our hopes were buoyed when we discovered the first of the Herring Pools! 

 

  

Continuing on we were looking for the last and deepest one. Eventually it came into view. Katy and Andy were eager to explore it so quickly stripped down to their bathers. The water was clear and surprisingly deep and very refreshing! We played around taking videos with the go pro. 

Our idyllic playground was short lived when over the rocky horizontal several faces emerged. It seemed another family group had the same idea as us. By this stage though we were content and ready to leave this special place. We dressed and made our way back to the rocky beach of the Old Gulch where we cooled off again in the turquoise waters before consuming some snacks. The walk back was no easier - lots of stairs, rocks and roots and it wasn't long before we were hot and sweaty again!