Hotel at Berry…you probably cant see it, but the guys at the corner are holding their beer up for him to see….remember that it is 10:30 in the morning!!

Blow Hole Point

Eve’s family

Today was a fairly uneventful day as we traveled from Tuross Heads to Sydney, following the Coastal Highway for much of the day. Our first stop was in the town of Berry where we had morning tea (scones, jam and cream) and then did a small amount of shopping.

We had always loved the look and feel of the small towns of Australia. They have one main street, with old architectural style buildings on each side, with wonderful shops and cafes inside them. There is always at least one Hotel which is the formal name for the Pub. The reason for this is that in the old days, you couldn’t sell alcohol unless you had a place that people could sleep, so most of the hotels had a pub under them.

After our huge morning tea, we drove for about 20 minutes further and stopped in the town of Kiama at “Blow Hole Point”. This was a huge tourist attraction and the place was filled with cars and people. The Blow Hole itself is quite spectacular, especially when the waves have built and a large one comes roaring out of the hole in the rock. We watched for about 10 minutes, but it was cold and starting to sprinkle so we jumped back in the car and continued our journey.

We saw two things along the road that were noteworthy. The first was that McDonald’s is about the only nationwide food chain and people call it Macca’s. We had heard the term used and thought that it was just a common name, but today we saw several stores that were actually called Macca’s. Also we saw a cute Mitsubishi RUV and written across the back window was “Miss-a-bitchy”….I will never be able to say the name again without thinking of that.

We arrived in Sydney about 2:30 and spent the afternoon relaxing around the Eve’s house. At 6:30, we drove to their daughter, Linda’s, house for dinner with the Eve’s family. Linda outdid herself, making 3 different types of pizza, including one that was Cajun Prawn and was wonderful. All of Danny and Ruth’s kids were there…..Matthew, Ben and his wife Melissa and Linda with her husband Tim. Ben spent much of the evening explaining the rules of Rugby League which was being played on TV.

They were celebrating Danny’s birthday so Linda made a chocolate cake for him, Vanilla Slice for me and a White Chocolate Cheesecake as well. It was hard to decide what to have for dessert!!

We had a wonderful time with all of the family and returned to Danny and Ruth’s home about 11:30. Matthew came home with us and we sat and talked to him until after midnight…..we are really TOO old for this!!!!

Mystery Bay

Note the lacy effect of the rock and the 3 flies on my back!!!!

All Saints Church

Dinner at Malibu Mex

Michael and I began our day once again with a walk. As we left he asked if I wanted to take a camera with us. I said no because “we were JUST going for a walk”. Well it was a bad decision because we had opportunities to take up close photos of a Kookaburra and also some Rainbow Lorikeet. I was SO frustrated!!!!

After breakfast, we took out driving with our first stop being at a local market in Moruya. It was a small parking lot filled with tents and other structures and each selling something of interest, from fresh prawns to jams, to leather goods. I did succumb and purchase a small bag of “Anzac Bickies”. I remembered these from our previous days and they were exactly as I remembered. They are a type of oatmeal cookie but they have “Golden Syrup” in them and I haven’t found a American substitute for it yet.

As we were heading to our next stop, we passed the “All Saints Church” in Bodalla. It is an impressive granite church that was built in 1880. As it was open, we enjoyed poking around inside and photographing various aspects of the building. It was interesting to see that there was a wedding taking place there at 3:00 and I was extremely surprised to not see a flurry of activity taking place only 5 hours before the wedding. Apparently they got everything done because we drove past again just after 3:00 and the photographer’s were outside waiting for the Bride to arrive.

Our next stop was the town of Cobargo (pronounced Co-bog-o — no “r” sound). We were looking for a place to check email and were excited to see a sign indicating that there was an Internet Café. The building was called the “Whistle Stop Café” was attached to an old City of Sydney railway car and the “internet café” was the cab of the train car. It had an OLD computer in it and the girl in charge couldn’t get the internet to work so we finally gave up and decided to sit down for lunch instead. We enjoyed the potato and leek soup and Devonshire tea immensely, but found it paled in the wake of watching a small field mouse run around the train car and then watching a fly that landed in Michael’s uneaten whipped cream and got stuck there!! Obviously the café was not big in the hygiene department!!!

We went shopping again, this time to a really fun pottery shop. We could have spent tons of money, but were good and only bought a couple of items…..AT FIRST. However, after thinking about it for a few more shops, Michael went back in and bought a granite mortar and pestle that was not expensive, but weighs about TWENTY pounds. It will be interesting to figure out how to pack it!!!

We then drove to the Eurobodella National Park and visited Mystery Bay. This had a very craggy shoreline with all types of rock outcrops on it. Michael spent a fair time photographing the various types of rocks and pools formed by the water moving in and out of them. It was a beautiful place, but certainly no place for a swim.

As we were driving back to the caravan park, we passed a group of people doing a dog training course and Ruth suggested that we stop and watch for a while. We were all enamored with a little white dog who was undoubtedly the smartest of all of them…..when they were off of the leash and following their master, he would only go about half of the way down the track and then turn around and wait for them to come back to him. He knew that they were coming back and that there was NO reason for him to go all of that way!!!

When we got back to the cabin, there was a note on the door that a friend from Canberra, Brenton Honeyman, had stopped by for a visit and was currently out on the lake in his Kayak. Ruth called him and he paddled over for afternoon tea and a wonderful chat. He also stayed and went to dinner with us. Dinner was a wonderful experience at a place called “Malibu Mex”. According to the menu, it was a mixture of the owner’s two favorite things…..surfing and mexican food. The decor was entirely 1960’s California beach and the food was excellent. Michael and I shared a platter that included a Beef Enchilada, Chicken Enchilada, Tostada, Taquito, Taco, Beans and Rice. When he learned that we liked hot food, he brought out two other forms of hot sauce….one was a medium sauce and the other was very hot….both tasted great. We especially enjoyed one item on the menu. It said Tea – English Breakfast, Earl Gray or Herbal Hippy Crap!!!!

“Avo” Tea

Oysters!!!

Boat Captain Charlie

Pasture land around Tilba

This morning Michael and I started the day with a short walk. It felt really good to get our heart rates up a bit since we are sitting so much of the time.

For breakfast, we drove to “O’Brien’s Boat Shed” and enjoyed a full English Breakfast, complete with eggs, bacon, grilled tomatoes and toast. We sat at a table on the dock and ate while looking out at the lake. At one point the dolphins danced in front of us, daring us to try to photograph them. The shop not only had a kitchen, but also tons of boat and fishing supplies and an area where they work on boat motors. I loved seeing a wall of Fish Bait called “Gulp”.

We then drove about 30 minutes and stopped in a little town called Central Tilba. It was a quaint little town with tons of shops and small cafes. We enjoyed stopping into several of the shops, spending most of our time and money in a leather shop and a woodturning shop. This shop had some wonderful wooden kitchen gadgets, beautiful hand-worked tables and chairs and really neat mirrors with carved Aussie animals on them. We spent FAR too much money!!!

We then drove to the town of Narooma (Aboriginal word that means “clear blue water”) and ended up at Taylor’s Wharf. After enjoying a cup of tea and watching Michael take photos of a particularly photogenic pelican, we boarded the “Wagonga Princess” for a three hour tour of the estuary. Our guide, Charlie, had lived in Narooma all of his life and had been doing this particular tour for 18 years. He was a wealth of information about the local history, geography and animals. As we started the trip, he said that we were taking a bit of a detour because he had noticed a seal (New Zealand Fur Seal) in the harbor and wanted to give us the opportunity to see it. We enjoyed watching it cavorting in the water, and sprawling on his back as he floated along.

The boat was built in 1905 and was originally used at Lakes Entrance in the state of Victoria. Charlie is the third owner of the boat and he has made some major modifications to the boat, changing it from a diesel engine to an electric one. This made the boat very efficient and quiet.

Charlie talked the entire time that we were cruising the bay area, telling us stories and pointing out places of interest. He then docked the boat at Paradise Point and took us on a short bush walk, once again pointing out tons of interesting things. The area was inundated with Bell Birds whose call sounded just like a tinkling bell….it was cool to listen to them as we walked along. Charlie also showed us a Spotted Gum Tree whose bark looks like a green/brown camouflage, a Stinging Tree whose leaves are covered with fine white hairs that will stick to you and cause welts on your skin, a “Sandpaper Fig” whose leaves feel like sandpaper, and a tree called a Lilly Dilly (cant remember what it looked like, but I loved the name).

We returned to the boat jetty and were met by Jeremy who provided us with homemade scones with cream and jam and Billy Tea. The tea had been made over a wood fire and you could taste a slight smoky flavor in it……it was wonderful.

As we were eating and looking out over the estuary, a flock of about 30 Crested Terns flew in and started diving into the water to catch fish. It was great fun to watch them dive-bombing into the water and then fly back out with a small fish in their mouths. The water was churning with the ripples from their splashes. It is amazing that they don’t knock themselves out as hard as they hit. At one point they all flew quickly in the other direction and we soon realized the reason….a Sea Eagle had flown into the area and taken roost in a tree across the river. The birds soon forgot about him and resumed their dinner time ritual.

Charlie then brought out a bucket of fresh oysters that had come from a local oyster bed and proceeded to show us how to open and eat them. Michael and Danny both had several each, and I finally managed to try one. It was very salty since it was fresh out of the ocean and tasted OK, but I was not THAT impressed.

As we returned to Taylor’s Wharf, it began raining so we changed our plans of walking along one of the jetty’s and instead retreated to the Narooma Golf Club for a drink. While drinking Lemon Lime and Bitters we watched the huge cloud fronts move in and out of the area. It was fun to watch the golfers come running up the hill when the weather took a particularly nasty turn. As they all hurried into the club, you could see 10 to 15 flies on each of their backs. They tried to brush them off as they entered, but it was impossible to keep all of them out of the building. We also watched a group of golfers trying out a new type of golf clubs. They were VERY focused on what they were doing and didn’t seem to notice the weather at all.

At one point, a “Golf Cart Train” came thru the club, with one cart pulling 5 others. I would not have wanted to be driving it. The golf courses here are all on the side of hills and would be amazing to play. I am sure that the balls take some interesting turns when hit.

We enjoyed listening to all of the golfers talking to each other over a VB (Victoria Bitter beer) and calling each other “Mate”. We decided that they couldn’t remember each other’s name so they just used the generic term!!!

We moved into the dining room for dinner where Michael had Veal Schnitzel and I chose the Roast Beef. In each case we were given the main meat and then allowed to fill the plate with roasted and steamed vegetables, including roast potatoes, corn, carrots, and baked pumpkin.

This club’s members were a bit younger than last nights and seemed to be a bit more active. The club had several things going, including an Asian woman singing “Patsy Cline-ish” music using a karaoke machine, a young woman walking around with a “chicken hat” on (this was her “hen’s night” before her wedding), and a wonderful raffle whose prizes were legs of lamb, filet steaks, seafood platters, fruit platters and vegetable plates!!

We pulled ourselves away from all of the excitement and returned to our cabin to watch a bit of cricket on TV before an early bed time.

Photos from the “Dry” part of the trip!!!!!

Michael woke me up this morning to see that the Magpie had entered the living room and was waiting for him to get a cracker. Later in the morning, he came in a grabbed a bug out of the corner of the room….guess he was tired of crackers!!

After breakfast we rented a small motor boat and went out for a two hour ride. About 15 minutes into the trip, we spotted three dolphins that have been trapped inside the lake and cant get out because the water levels are too low to allow them to return to the ocean. They seemed to love the sound of the motor and swam very close to us, cutting under the boat several times. After trying to photograph them, I finally decided to just watch and enjoy!!

As the trip progressed, the wind (and waves) became stronger and stronger so that at the end of the trip, Michael and I were both drenched, even though we were wearing our water proof wind breakers. Danny and Ruth were sitting at the back of the boat and stayed dryer, but we all ran for the house to change clothes.

After lunch we drove into the town of Moruya (pronounced More…ooo..ya) and did a bit of shopping and had afternoon tea.

For dinner we went to the Tuross Head Country Club. This is a typical Aussie sport club where we can go in as temporary members and eat, drink or play slot machines. We were surprised by the age of the people in the club, realizing that we reduced the average age greatly when we entered. It was “roast night” at the club and they specialized in roast pork and chicken with lots of different kinds of vegetables. Michael and I chose to skip the roast, but to have Chicken Schnitzel with chips and gravy. The food was wonderful!!! While we were waiting for our food, we watched a group of people playing lawn bowls. Danny and Ruth have promised to teach us later this week.

We returned to the caravan park and enjoyed sitting on the front porch for a while. We watched one of the young men fish out of his boat and hook a small Sting Ray. They could not safely get the hook out so they cut the line and encouraged the sting ray to swim back into the lake.

As we went to bed, there were a group of guys next door to us who were trying to play a Didgeridoo. A couple of them were pretty good.

Sundown at Lake Tuross

Beautiful gum on the drive from Canberra to Tuross

Scene on the beach

Pelicans!!!!

Today was another travel day with us leaving Canberra about 10:00, heading Southeast to the South Coast of New South Wales. The trip was punctuated with many stops for photos and stops to look at the small towns. We particularly enjoyed seeing Bungendore, Braidwood and Bateman’s Bay. During the trip we had to cross the Great Dividing Range which are a series of mountains that parallel the coast thru much of Eastern Australia. The roads were typically curvy and speed limits were low but it was still a wonderful trip.

As we drove into Bateman’s Bay, we were stopped while they worked on a draw bridge over the river. It was different from any other that I have seen in that it didn’t split in the middle and go up, but instead a whole section was lifted upward by a series of pullys.

We stopped n Bateman’s Bay to have lunch and decided to go to the Bayview Hotel and have a “Pub Lunch”. The guys in front of us ordered a steak sandwich so we decided that we would split a sandwich, but order some additional chips (fries). We were amazed when the plate came out covered with chips and THEN she brought out a huge bowl filled with chips as well. We soldiered thru the ones on the plate and then had a go at the ones in the bowl, determined not to leave them uneaten. The biggest surprise of the meal was that the sandwich had sliced beetroot (picked beets) on it which we quickly removed before it had time to soak the bread with a red juice!! While we were eating, we were watching a sports channel that was televising competition Darts!!! We never did quite get the gist of the game, but there were hundreds of fans watching the competition and they even had slow-motion replays of the throws!!!

We have noticed several other road related items of interest. The first is that a passing lane is called an “overtaking” lane. Also, there are lots of mini road-trains……one large truck (about half the size of an 18-wheeler) with another trailer attached to the back of it.

I have also remembered several sayings that I thought were cute. When someone was describing a person who was not quite with it mentally she said that the woman had “lost the plot!!”. Our favorite term was “Grey Nomads”. This refers to retirees who have bought caravans (trailers) and spend their time traveling the country. It reminds us of a song on our John Williamson CD called “Old Farts in Caravan Parks”, which in turn reminds us of our friends Danny and Ruth Eves who we are heading to visit again.

We met Danny and Ruth at a caravan park in Tuross Heads, but we are staying in a small cabin just on the lake. This is an estuary river system coming from the mountains, but feeding into the ocean so that the water is salty and contains many of the ocean fish. D&R spend several weeks here in their caravan each summer.

We took a drive around the lakes and enjoyed photographing the ocean from “One Tree Point” and were even able to see a whale jumping out of the water in the far distance.

Upon returning to our house, we had dinner and sat outside watching the local life….both wild and human. We watched a young guy catching yabbies (crayfish) to use as bait. He would stick a long pipe into a yabby hole and then suction up a section of dirt and water. He would pour this into a sieve and look to see if any yabbies were there. It seemed a VERY slow process.

There is an abundance of bird life here, including pelicans and seagulls who show up whenever a fisherman comes in with fish to clean. There is also a female Magpie who comes on the deck to be fed crackers.