After three trips to Hermit Island and an Alice in Wonderland experience, I finally found Worumbo. I'd already past it once (ok, three times) and had almost given up. Then it appeared, just like that.
When I got home and told Tim the story, his response was, "So you found Worumbo...but you don't really know where it is." Righty-ho.
If you missed my last post about the Hermit Island Loop, I've been on a hunt for the cliffs of Worumbo since discovering the loop about a month ago. If you want the back story behind this treasure hunt, here it is: https://www.outdoormovementproject.com/post/where-s-worumbo
Since sharing this post, several of you have already let me know that you found Worumbo, so kudo's to you brave explorers! If you haven't gone on the search yet, I'm sure your sense of direction is better than mine, and you'll likely find Worumbo no problem. Or your kids will find it, because they are magical little beings.
If you are navigationally challenge, like myself, I will spare you the frustration and attempt to give you the clearest directions I possibly can. Here goes:
From the parking lot in front of the Hermit Island Campground store, head up the dirt road towards the giant anchor. Continue straight onto Lee Side Way, you will have to step over the chain blocking the road. It's ok, I think they are just trying to deter people from the beach on the left? From here, you will mostly stay to the left as you wind past campsites until you've reached the hiking trails. Here are the roads you'll want to take:
1. Lee Side Way
2. Dune Way
3. West Dune Way
4. Western Reach
Finally, you will come to a sign that looks like this:
Head left, then look into the woods to the right and you will see the entrance to the trail, marked by three trail colors.
Enter Alice and Wonderland...
According to my paper map, Worumbo is located off of the red trail, which looks like a short trail that separates from the blue trail, follows the water's edge, then reconnects with blue. What I discovered yesterday, is that the red trail actually goes all over the map. And it's more of a wonky loop than a straight shot. So, here is my advice:
When you get to your first fork in the road and see a red blaze on the trail to the right, DON'T take the bait. This is the trail I took yesterday. It was beautiful, with mossy, quiet forests. But... it did not lead me to Worumbo. It led me all the way to the end of the island.
Instead, head left on the red/blue trail towards the water.
From here, just stay left wherever you can. This will eventually bring you to the red trail, which follows the ocean cliffs...and leads to Worumbo. If you get confused, just follow the trail that runs closest to the water's edge at all points.
Now here's the other tricky part. When you follow the loop clockwise (as we are doing), it's easy to miss Worumbo, just because of the angle of the trail. You'll have to keep looking back so that you don't overlook it. The other thing you could do - just walk backwards. If you were an owl, you could just rotate your head 180 degrees while you walked.
I actually met an older couple on the red trail, shortly after discovering Worumbo. The man told me he had camped at Hermit Island as a kid and that they loved to come to the red trail in the winter months. I asked them if they knew about Worumbo and they had no idea what I was talking about. So, I told them it was just up ahead and that they should look back to see it. Clearly, they'd been hiking the red trail clockwise all along, missing the impressive landmark.
If you use the All Trails GPS feature, you will find Worumbo here, at the blue dot:
I started using GPS once I'd reached the outer point of the loop and realized I needed a little assistance. So if you choose to go all the way to the end and then turn back, Worumbo is about one mile from there.
It was low tide when I finally discovered the magical cliffs. I was able to crawl into the cove and take some pictures of the water coming in between the rocks.
It is a gorgeous sight to behold and I am glad I forged ahead in finding it. I would like to return during high tide, since the pictures I've seen of the cove filled with sea water are stunning.
I hope you find Worumbo without any trouble. Let me know if you do!