19^th News Letter.

Jinabyne to Canberra.

We have thirteen days before we are due to catch up with my sister and aunty in Canberra, so we have decided to go back to the coast and make our way up the Princes Highway then back track along the Hume Highway to Canberra. The weather is lovely and we are in good spirits having enjoyed our time in the Snowy Mountains.

Saturday 20^th February. Driving down Brown Mountain you realize just how steep the decent is and how far it is to the bottom should the brakes fail, yes forever the optimist that’s me. It is however very beautiful and any glimpse of scenery was savored by me as the passenger, unfortunately Ken as the driver misses out on these occasions. On reaching the outskirts of Bega we turned North and our first town was Cobargo a charming old time working village established in 1829. We then took a detour from the Hwy and headed east to the 19^th century National Trust classified village of Central Tilba, and what a trip down memory lane that place is. The main street is lined with 19^th century weatherboard architecture, that is a treasure–trove of boutique galleries. Our favorite however was the 100 year old historic cheese factory where we were able to sample Tilba Tilba cheeses to our hearts content. We then moved on to the very picturesque town of Narooma and booked in to East Narooma Village Park. After settling in we took a walk along the water front and would you believe fresh Oysters just jumped out at Ken and it was a case of have to have.

Sunday 21^st. It is another beautiful day as we headed along the coast road visiting the town of Dalmeny, which has a great council headland park over looking Lake Mummuga. We then moved on to Toross Head, beautiful beaches and river inlet, however the caravan parks were very unappealing and expensive. Continuing on the coast road we drove through Broulee and Tomakin and then on to Batemans Bay. There was indeed a great many caravan parks to chose from so we did our usual drive by and decided on Batemans Bay Beach Resort, yes you guessed it is on the water. The town of Batemans Bay is situated on the Clyde River, which is dotted with a myriad of boats in all shapes, sizes and types, yes Kenny’s idea of heaven. After we parked the van we decided on a walk along the beach and then backtracked through town, a good hour and half later we made our way home. It ended up being a very hot day and we were both quite sun burnt after our walk.

Monday 22^nd. We have decided to stay another day, what the heck, we are not in a hurry and it is a nice park. Ken caught up with one of his relatives in the morning and was pleased that he had phoned her and found she was still in the area.

Tuesday 23^rd. Before leaving town we both needed haircuts so ask around and found a local lady who could fit us in. She did a nice job on our hair however she attacked my eyebrows with such vigor that I am left with pencil thin high arches. I look as though I am in a constant state of surprise, hopefully they will grow back before long.

We had a great time with her two lovely small dogs sitting in their respective red and black shiny vinyl lounge chairs, very cute.

Heading north again we turned off the highway at Termeil and headed to Bawley Point. A very beautiful coastline was offering but not much else to capture our attention so we moved on to Merry Beach and Murramarang National Park. The campground was very ordinary to say the least, with few powered sites and not all that were offered were working. The amenities block was in short a disgrace really dirty with cobwebs hanging off the ceiling collecting dirt the showers had not been cleaned since god knows when with mud on the floor in all the cubicles. It wasn’t until the next morning when we went to pay that we learned they were charging $32.00 for the privilege of staying there. I think its time they cleaned up their act big time.

A great walk over the headland to Merry Beach was invigorating particularly with the constant presence of the Kangaroos that are everywhere in this part of the world.

Wednesday 24^th. Our big move for the day was just down the road to Merry Beach Caravan Park and a great spot on the beach. It truly doesn’t get a lot better than this view and I slipped on the swimming costume and had a wee sun bake on the lovely beach.

Thursday 25^th. We decided to leave the van and drove to Burrill Lake where Ken had the opportunity to relive some moments from his child hood as he searched the neighborhood for familiar buildings and fishing spots that he and his family used to visit. We then moved on to the town of Ulladulla, which is indeed one of the most picturesque spots in the Shoalhaven area. Its boat Harbour is distinctive because of its rocky breakwater and is well known for its fresh seafood ‘right off the boat’. I must say this was not our experience and when we went to buy FISH & CHIPS from the harbour area we were offered Hoki fresh frozen from New Zealand. Took the opportunity to drive around the headlands while we didn’t have the van in toe and it certainly is a beautiful spot. Back to the van at Merry Beach to discover that a young family with four to six children had moved in (not sure if they were all theirs) and were to put it kindly disheveled. In other words their crap was everywhere including under our awning, not a good look Reg. I did my usual and entered the van as fast as possible, closed all the windows and pulled the blinds. Ken after referring to them as feral proceeded to go over and say hi and ‘oh no he was not put out by their mess, not a problem’ apparently, what kind of Bullshit is that I ask you?

Friday 26^th. We then left that piece of heaven to be enjoyed by the younger campers and their thousand children, (perhaps they have not heard of birth control for goodness sake) and before long arrived at Big 4 Bungalow Park at Burrill Lake. After parking the van in the allotted position Ken set too and got the dingy off the roof of the car for a sail and meanwhile I was able to talk on Skype to No 2 son in Canada and do a lot of reading.

Mid afternoon however an elderly gentleman and his wife arrived in there rather antiquated van, which they preceded to park directly behind us despite they’re being many other spots around available. They then put up a huge awning with uprights and stake’s every foot of the perimeter. I was later to discover they had parked so close to us that I was unable to walk around the back of our van as their stakes were pegged under our van with guy ropes attached. Both their hearing aids must have been left at home as I was the unfortunate precipitant of their entire afternoon conversation spoken at excessive volume, apparently Berryl couldn’t make head nor tail of what ever it was she was suppose to be doing, if she said it once she said it a thousand times ‘its broken Bruce’. Well we all know that Bruce was not listening, in fact he was ignoring pour Berryl so of course she had to say it countless times just so she could feel as though she was being heard. By the time Ken came back I was not a happy camper and of course he had had a lovely relaxing feel good day on the water and had a smile from ear to ear. I need at this point to make a statement I HATE CARAVAN PARKS and all those who dwell within.

Saturday 27^th. Today is the one-year anniversary of us moving into the van to live, or should I say we have been on the road for one year. OH MY GOD and what a year it has been.

We drove to Sussex inlet and then on to Jervis Bay all very pretty places but the parks looked very crowded and I could just feel Berryl and Bruce joining us as soon as we put down anchor so to speak. It struck us that Booderee National Park may offer a nice place to spend a couple of days unfortunately all the camp grounds were full by the time we got there so we turned around and headed north on a mission. We came across a lovely wooded spot with tall pine trees and a sign saying campground, so we strolled up to the OFFICE and knocked on the door. Some time later the door was reluctantly answered by the caretaker, who told us to have a look around and only come back if we wanted to stay. What a lovely spot it was, unfortunately the many millions of resident mosquitoes also agreed as the swarms started attacking us. We actually started hitting each other and ourselves as we made a hasty retreat back to the car. Back to the highway we decided was the best option and on to Nowra. Nowra Ski Park was our home for the evening a pretty place on the outskirts of town on the Shoalhaven River and it was minus mosquitoes.

Sunday 28^th. It rained quite a lot during the night so the ground was a bit muddy underfoot, which is not always good in a caravan traipsing through mud. We moved on to the town of Berry where we stopped to have a look around this quaint village. The main street was very busy with tourists. Sunday brunch seemed obligatory. I found a lovely bakery that sold Sour Dough bread and another nice lunch spot that made wonderful coffee. We then headed down to Shoalhaven Heads, which is such a pretty drive down winding roads through the green hills. More contented cows grazed in the pastures so we should really be looking for another cheese factory that sells yummy cheeses. After much debate we decided on Holiday Haven Coast Park on the Bay at Shoalhaven. A break in the weather allowed us to have a short walk on the beach and a meander through the town looking at the local architecture and foreshore.

Monday 1^st March. It is pouring with rain, which makes it difficult to see let alone appreciate this part of the country. We headed along the coast road through Gerroa and Gerringong, both with stunningly beautiful views of rolling green pastures merging with white sand beaches. Before we knew it we were in Kiama and enjoying its craggy headlands and sheltered coves along with the other natural wonders that make this place so special. Surf Beach Holiday Park sits on top of a beautiful headland surrounded by water on three sides, so we decided this was the place we needed to be. After unhooking the van we embarked on a drive to Shellharbour as we needed to buy a new electrical lead, because a Bush Rat or other unknown rodent had chewed away the insulation. Unfortunately Shellharbour will remain a mystery to us because the rain was so heavy our eyes had to focus on the road not the scenery as we had hoped.

Tuesday 2^nd. As the rain cleared we set off on a walk through town and a visit to the famous Blowhole.

We were very lucky that the Blowhole was at its best and we enjoyed a few of Kiama’s other local attractions which included Collins Street, a myriad of timber terraced houses dating from 1886 selling everything from beauty aids to chocolates and candles. After walking back to the van we drove to Jamberoo Valley a glorious spot settled in 1820. The town of Jamberoo has many century old churches and other beautiful stone buildings, which now contains antique shops and other modern boutiques. Back to the van and it was time for some housecleaning in the form of our awning, which was desperately in need of some TLC so no time like the present.

Wednesday 3^rd. Leaving Kiama with the sun shining it was hard to say good buy. We headed toward Canberra via Kangaroo Valley and I was a little nervous about the road and whether it is suitable for a van. The road is both pretty and dramatic with remnants of rainforest clinging to the steep escarpments.

The township of Kangaroo Valley boasts the oldest surviving suspension bridge in Australia built in 1898 and after looking over the side of the bridge I could only hope that it could take our weight because the drop was amazing. Heading up Barrengarry Mountain we stopped at Manning Lookout to view Fitzroy Falls.

Spectacular is the only word to describe the 81 meter vertical drop, which makes one very insignificant indeed. That night we stayed at the campground in Morton National Park near the town of Bundonoon and were able to enjoy the serenity of the bush at last.

Thursday 4^th . We are headed for Canberra and it is time to finish this blog for the present. I am looking forward to catching up with my family again and being in a city for a while. Hope everyone is enjoying good health and happiness. Hugs Elizabeth.