Now well into the second week of our BT. Camping life has its moments! We have done some washing and I noted the following - 6 pairs of undies hung up for me ( after washing a week previously), Mark 3. Either he is doing some secret washing on the side, or he is re-using even inside out perhaps, or even worse going without!! Words were exchanged over the clothes line. Also as soon as it is nice weather (hard to come by lately) everyone washes so the machines and line space are in high demand. We had to walk to another amenity block to hang our washing- and who says caravan life is not hard!!!We have learnt from previous trips to have $2 coins handy for the machines - they can't fool us more than about 10 times!! And every campground has codes for the boom gate and for the amenity blocks ie the shower and loos! The best are codes made up of the last 6 digits of our phone number as I can remember that! Otherwise I make it to the door and have forgotten the code - unless someone else comes along I have to go back to the van and ask Mark or look at the code AGAIN! Finally after driving in Arvi for a while the message that Mark is finding hard to remember (and me occasionally) is "when opening overhead cupboards or fridge/freezer take care as contents may have moved"! As the frozen meat lands on your feet or the bottle of oil on your head.
We arrived in our camp site at Seven Mile Beach Gerroa just in time for a thunderstorm with lightening overhead and then the rain! Dinner indoors! Thankfully awoke to clear skies but still very windy. That should be Mark's middle name- wherever we go where beaches or potential surf is concerned we have WIND. I have become fixated on doing 10,000 steps at least a day and we have a tracking device on our phones. Big walk at Gerroa along the deserted beach except for a few people on horseback was helpful.
Next day we drove further south stopping at Berry for a walk along this pretty but touristy town where we indulged in a donut from the infamous Berry Donut Van. More steps needed!!! Onto Nowra where Jim Wild's Oysters are found- of course as we were getting close I discovered that they are shut on Monday's - so close but so far- about 24 hrs later we would have been in heaven eating freshly shucked oysters! Another stop at Hyam's Beach which has very squeaky white sand due to its quartz content- apparently locals thought the best in Australia and promoted it as such. Tiny main street which then became so full of traffic they had to have traffic control. That all seems to be forgotten now and it was a rather sleepy but pretty beachside town. Even Arvi got a park near the beach.
Motored on to Jervis Bay and headed to the Booderee National Park. Stayed in a campground where there was difficulty parking Arvi in the allotted spot due to its rather large turning circle. Plenty of spots further along so No 9 it was, Mark reassuring me that this late in the day we were safe. Shared our dinner with a curious wallaby. Of course as we were getting ready for bed a foreign fellow with limited English was telling Mark No 9 was his!! Somehow Mark convinced him to take no 1 explaining with hand gestures how we couldn't fit!! Had a great walk the next day along the clifftops and then explored the Australian National Botanic Gardens found in Booderee NP. Jervis Bay is actually part of the Australian Capital Territories having been surrendered by NSW to the ACT in
1915 so that ACT would have access to the sea! Fun fact!
Onto Ulladulla a picturesque fishing town where we stayed 2 nights. Rode our bikes around the town and to a beach and walked to the marina for battered fish and chips (Mark) and grilled whiting and a salad (Me). I also got out the yoga mat etc and did some moves - the kookaburras in the nearby tree weren't inspiring me with their laughing! Next stop Batemans Bay a short drive south. These towns and Mollymook were places where my family stayed when we were children. I remember Batemans Bay having an outdoor picture theatre and also being able to pick oysters off the rock, open them and then eat them with the lemon and Worcestershire sauce we brought along. We have my Mum's ashes with us (in a pretty box) as we are scattering them in Robe which we also did with Dad's ashes so have taken pictures of places along the way of me with Mum - her final road trip! She loved travel of all sorts. So oysters and prawns in Batemans Bay -local oysters prawns from Exmouth WA!! Called into Rosedale Beach where my friend Jenny's Dad died and another photo for her introducing Mum to Noel whom she hadn't met. Somehow Mark got the idea I was trying to hook the two of them up rather than making sure Mum could introduce herself and Dad to Jenny's parents wherever they are!
Also drove past Bodalla dairy shed making and selling cheeses and ice cream fresh from the cows!! Well had to stop and sample everything then buy up big on their produce!! Onto Tilba Tilba a gold mining town from the 19th century which has remained unchanged with a tiny main street lined on both sides by beautiful buildings now cafes and gift shops. Arvi emerged unscathed as was the town!! Another stop at Foxglove Gardens and it was like we had stepped back in time to the English countryside. Very beautiful.
Heading to Merimbula our stop for 2 nights but stopped at Bermagui because I had heard about a bakery there (food is always on my mind). Sadly they were sold out of their famous Swedish buns and everything else but had 2 croissants! Wandered down to the wine shop and found a tasting in progress - who could resist that. Several tastes and a few bought bottles later we headed onto Merimbula. This coastal town along with its neighbour Pambula are famous for guess what - oysters!! Lovely camp site on a cliff overlooking the ocean and 35 knot winds. I went to a yoga class while Mark mooched about and due to the weather being very beach unfriendly we played 9 holes of golf in drizzling rain!! Kangaroos on the course, birds in the trees dodging Mark's wayward shots!!
And then off again. Drove into the Ben Boyd National Park and had a nice walk to the Pinnacles; a cliff face with red ochre rock cliffs contrasting with the white sands and azure blue ocean fringe (thank you Mark for that description). Stopped at Eden to see the Killer Whale Museum which details the history of whaling in this town from the late 1800's until the 1930's.
And hello, it's Mark again. I just wanted to put my 2 bobs worth in here because of all the museums we have been to, this one was very interesting. Well, it held my attention for 20 minutes. It told the amazing story of the whalers, the hump back whales and......those killer whales. The ORCAS. I think they are the scariest thing on the planet. I have seen the David Attenborough shows with them beaching themselves to get a sun baking seal.
Well in Eden there is a beautiful natural double shaped harbour set back inside the coastline. The story goes that the orcas were arranged in 3 groups.
Group 1: found the humpys going past and herded one, into the "harbours of death". And then formed a line to stop any attempt of escape.
Group 2: led by the main boy "TOM," went close to where the whalers were sleeping and caused water commotion to wake them up and get them into their boats to hunt the humpy.
Group 3: after the hump back was killed the rest of the orcas came to get their spoils which were the lips and tongue of the whale.
That was the basis of the entire relationship with the orcas. And it lasted for about 50 years. Until 1932. And then whaling stopped. Now people go to Eden to watch the whales come past to breed and not be slaughtered. They even have a Whale Festival.
After Eden we headed to Victoria - that will be the subject of the next blog.
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