“Well all good things must come to a end” (Geoffrey Chaucer 1374) King Island was the last of the 48 mile beaches. As this was the finale, the very last mile beach some special guests join for the special occasion.
| General Location | King Island |
|---|---|
| Aboriginal Tribe/Language Group | The Island has no known Aboriginal occupation. However evidence of human remains located in a cave is dated approximately 14,000 years suggesting that the area was traversed by the ancestors of Aboriginal Tasmanians but not permanently inhabited. It was uninhabited at the time of European discovery. |
| Access to beach | Road access to the beach |
| Beach Classification | Wave Dominated – Intermediate – Traverse Bar & Rip |
| Start Date/Time | 18 March 2025 08:52 |
| Start Location (inc Lat/Log) | S39° 49’ 11.4” E144° 7’ 37.6” |
| End Date/Time | 18 March 2025 12:59 |
| End Location (inc Lat/Log) | S39° 40’ 8.7” E144° 6’ 34.8” |
| Mode of Travel | Walk/Drive |
| Distance Travelled | 17.2km |
| Location of Sand Sample (lat/Long) | S39° 46’ 39.7”’ E144° 6’ 17.04’ |
Introduction
The last mile beach, well… getting to do the final beach; it is way beyond the time I expected it would have taken. Joanne and I have now completed the quest we started back at Seven Mile Beach (NSW) on 28 March 2017, it has taken just 2913 days (7 years, 11 months, 19 days). My original idea was we would complete all the beaches by Mar 2020, well that didn’t happen.
It was always my intention, right from the inception of this quest, that this beach Nine Mile Beach on King Island would be the last. Not exactly sure what my thoughts were at the beginning, but very glad I stayed with that plan. For one I have never been to King Island before and as far as I know no one from my immediate family has either.
One important thing I always wanted to do was include my family in this quest as best I could. Luckily before this last beach the following members of my family had already participated in our quest which included:
- My Mum and Dad, Four Mile Beach VIC 4 May 2017
- Renee, One Mile Beach, Anna Bay NSW 14 May 2017
- Nathan, Three Mile Beach Horrocks WA 3 May 2018
- Matthew, Three and Five Mile Beach, Wilson Promontory National Park VIC 7 August 2019
Having just returned from Western Australia I had set in motion plans to complete this last beach. While invitations had been sent out to many friends of the mile beach club, the participants for the final beach included:
Joanne (Of course)
It is with out a doubt that this hair brain quest would not have been possible without the incredible support, trust and commitment from Joanne. In so many beaches she had provided a invaluable support crew. Joanne has shared so many of the joys, triumphs and sometimes heartaches in this quest. Thanks you so much.
Berenice (My Mother)
Mum had been with us back at Four Mile Beach, Lake Hindmarsh VIC on 4 May 2017 with my late father, however she had never been to King Island for one and second the 18 March was her birthday. So these are very good reason to include her on this final beach adventure.
Anne (Joanne’s Mother)
My dearest mother-in-law had supported Joanne and I in our travel adventures since 2017. Anne had kindly cared for our dog Keli when we left Canberra right up till and including Keli passing in January 2023. Anne had also been a golden supporter to our daughter, Renee in Canberra until she moved to Queensland in February 2022.
Felicity (my cousin)
My dearest cousin Felicity whom I have had a great bond, I was keen for her to come to be part of this quest. Incidentally she and her partner David were travelling with us in the Northern Territory just prior to Joanne and I completing Eight Mile Beach, Groote Eylandt, NT on 8-Aug-2022. Now I must also mention I was very keen for David to also join us on King Island. He had been there on several previous occasions, and I was keen on his local knowledge and frankly company, but he piked out.
David (Non Attendee)
All jokes aside (failure to attend the King Island adventure and party) I really appreciate your advice and information during the final planning of this task, thanks mate.
King Island
Situated in the centre of the western entrance to Bass Strait, King Island has been the location of more than 60 known shipwrecks, involving the loss of more than 2,000 lives. Many King Islanders are descendants of shipwreck survivors.
Wreck of the Cataraqui, Australia’s deadliest which still stands as the worth peacetime maritime accident in Australia history with 400 victims. Three hundred and fourteen recovered bodies lie buried on King Island in five graves.
The island is noted for its production of cheese, lobsters, bottled rain water, kelp and beef. The island’s beef industry was seriously affected by the closure of the island’s only abattoir, owned by Argentinian company J B Swift, in September 2012.
King Island Dairy is currently the largest company on the island but was at risk of closing. It was saved by a couple of Melbourne businessmen and strong support from the Tasmanian Government.
The Quest for the final Mile Beach
On the 17 March 2025 Joanne, Anne and I flew down from Canberra via Melbourne, Felicity and Mum drove to Launceston and flew from there to King Island. We all stayed in a lovely BandB in Currie for the duration of out stay on the Island. Very keen to get the job done we all did a reconnaissance drive to the northern end of Nine Mile Beach late that first afternoon. There is a well-formed unsealed road that leads into Martha Lavinia Beach just 2km from the north end of the adjacent objective Nine Mile Beach.
Having checked out and confirmed our pickup point for the following day we returned to Currie and had an enjoyable dinner at the Currie Hotel.
The following morning Joanne, Felicity and I drove to closest accessible location to the south end of Nine Mie Beach, Sea Elephant Day Use Area. Farewelling Joanne, Felicity and I walked the 1.5km track down to the start of Nine Mile Beach. Expecting to be alone we were greeted by a very inquisitive wallaby who watched us with great interest from the top of the dunes.
At this point I must mention; there had been some suggestions that Felicity was considering swimming the length of Nine Mile Beach, however I very glad that she decided not to follow through with this.
That morning was spectacular for walking along this remote beach. Slightly overcast with a very light south eastly breeze (very unusual for King Island) Felicity and I found the first few hours of trekking along the beach easy going with a low tide helping. Thinking we had the whole beach to ourselves we were surprised when we came across two Tasmanian Park and Wildlife Rangers driving along the beach. We had a good chat and then they proceed north to resume their weed eradication duties.
Just beyond halfway along the beach the incoming tide was gradually pushing us up onto the softer sand. We stopped for a quick well-earned rest and some lunch. After we resumed our trek we were walking through soft sand and the things were not so easy.
Luckily, just at the right time another friendly King Island local couple drove up and offered us a lift which we gladly accepted. We covered about 3.5km in their Landcruiser, we disembarked the Landcruiser about 1.5km from the end of Nine Mile Beach at the location of a visible shipwreck just 10-15 metres from the shoreline. The benefit of accepting this ride, we were able to make the end of Nine Mile Beach and reach our pick-up point at Martha Lavinia Beach Road ahead of our assigned rendezvous time.
After meeting Joanne, Anne and my mum we decided to visit Penny’s Lagoon which is a perched lake, we had a lovely afternoon tea as a celebration to the end of the last mile beach. Felicity and I went for a quick dip, swim in the lake which I found barely tolerable.
After this we decided to return to Currie and our lovely B&B, it was decided that we would have celebrating dinner at our B&B that night. Joanne had purchased the famous local crayfish pies and so with some local vege’s including some picked from the B&B garden we sat down to; first a birthday celebration for mum, second to toast the end of the mile beach quest.
Tourist’s
The following day and a bit involved playing tourist’s on King Island, included in our adventures was getting lost on the way to Grassy Harbour to view the little penguins. Mum losing then finding her hearing aids on the abandoned trip to the Calcified Forest, however we did visit the location of the 1845 shipwreck, Cataraqui, full-rigged ship 802 tons, as previously mentioned 400 lives lost.
Of course visiting King Island we could not be complete without a visit to the famous King Island Dairy and being from a golfing family we went and looked over the two amazing resort courses Cape Wickham and Ocean Dunes. We also had a lovely visit to the Currie Museum which among other things told the story of the unbelievable hardship early settlers had to endure living on the Island and the incredible number of shipwrecks and loss of life around the Island. Our last night on the Island we went out to the famous Oleada Restaurant in Currie.
Conclusion
As previously mentioned “All good things must come to an end” it is without a doubt been an incredible adventure. It would not have been possible without the incredible support of all the people mentioned above.
While Joanne and I are still travelling Australia, in our same caravan but new car, we are mainly travelling from job to job. We are discussing our options on what to planning doing in the next few years. Maybe one options is a new quest WHO KNOWS!
