Yass

Yass 13 – 16 September 2012

On Thursday we struck camp in morning in the rain and the cold, which followed us all the way to Yass. The road was very steep and windy going up the mountain and poor Jimmy struggled up in 2nd or 3rd gear. We stopped at Braidwood for lunch and in spite of the rain and cold, we enjoyed walking around the town. As it is a bit of a backwater, progress has passed it by and all the shops are still in the original buildings. We didn’t get to Yass til after dark, but we knew a spot to camp down by the river, so we soon settled in with the heater full blast! The next morning we settled into the festival camp with a lot of other campers and explored Yass. We enjoy wandering around the town – while it is close to Canberra, it still retains an identity as a farming community. We had some problems with the electronics of the RV but we were soon hooked into a network of blokes, all helping to work out what we can do. On Sunday we went out to Cooma House and enjoyed looking at the historic house and gardens This was the first year the Turning Wave Festival had been held at Yass, so it was a bit small, but it still had lots of great acts. One of the highlights was a show on Henry Lawson presented by Max Cullen. Great script and fantastic acting! Caught up with Rod and Judy over coffee and then back to the music. By the end of the WE, we were very happy to have an early night. We had intended to head south after the festival, however we had problems with our electricity supply and ended up taking our invertor/charger to Sydney and then it was shipped to Brisbane. We stayed with Katie and Carl for a few days and did some work on their house while we were waiting, however in the end we decided to go back to Yass. We went on a few day trips and enjoyed a day walking around Canberra and caught up with the beautiful flowers at Floriade – there were magnificent mass displays of tulips, pansies, jonquils, English daisies, hyacinths all mixed together by colour. On Sunday we drove through green undulating hills to Boorowa, a small town about 50kms north of Yass for the Woolfest Festival. The climax was the running of the sheep – not to be confused with the running of the bulls at Pamplona – no one was gorged or trampled by the rams! We enjoyed walking around the town and admired the mini cathedral – a result of the large number of Irish Catholics who settle there. While only a small town, Boorowa is far enough away from Canberra to survive as a centre for the local farming communities and has enough facilities to be largely self-contained. The festival attracted 1,000’s of people from the region and as well as lots of sheep (but no Kiwis) it had live music, a street parade, stalls and exhibitions. It is now next week and we are still waiting for the part to arrive - very frustrating!!

Batemans Bay 11 – 12 September 2012

Batemans Bay 11 – 12 September 2012 After a lazy morning at the beach, we drove down to BB and set up at a spot we have used a number of times before – right on the beach at Batehaven and very quiet. We did a bit of shopping and then decided to go on a boat ride to Nelligen. It was a warm and sunny day and a lovely trip. We had forgotten how beautiful it is going up the Clyde River. It is all national park, right up to Nelligen and reminded us of the Arthur River in Tasmania. We saw some sea eagles floating above the river, just catching the thermals and rising ever higher.

Hell Beach

Spotted some dolphins at this lovely isolated beach.

Merry Beach 6 – 10 September

Last night, after surviving a horrific wind storm, we decided to head south and look for calmer waters. We stopped at Ulladulla and stocked up on provisions and then headed into the Murramarang National Park to look for a quiet spot to stop. We found Merry Beach, a lovely little spot with camping right on the beach amongst a herd of kangaroos. The camp ground was mostly deserted, so we took our time choosing a spot to get a great view and the allowing the winter sun to come in – mum would have been happy! The next day we explored the area and drove up to Bawley Point, stopping at Pretty Beach, Kioloa Beach, Racecourse Beach, Hell Beach and Bawley Beach, but none were as picturesque as our camp spot. We went for a walk along Hell beach and were lucky enough to see a pod of dolphins swimming among the waves. The next morning we got up early to watch the sunrise over the water, which was spectacular – just a wisp of cloud that changed from a pinkish red to a golden yellow. Heather joked that all we needed was to see a dolphin or a whale, when right on cue, a pod of dolphins swam in front of the rising sun! On Sunday we took a drive on some 4WD tracks down to Pebbly Beach in the Murramarang National Park. Despite the name, it was a beautiful beach and while it had plenty of kangaroos, there was not a pebble in sight. We then headed down to South Durras and then up to North Durras and then Depot Beach. They were all quiet villages with more kangaroos than people, although at Xmas the situation would be reversed I guess. While we enjoyed looking at all the beaches, we were happy we were staying at Merry Beach, with a camp spot right on the beach.

Merry Beach Campsite

Flowers at Abrahams Bosom

Gosang's Tunnel

This is a small tunnel that goes from one side of a cliff to the other. After you crawl through it on your hands and knees, it suddenly spreads out and you fine you are on the sea-side, half way up a cliff!

Honeysuckle Beach, Currarong

Southern Trip Aug – Nov 2012

Jervis Bay August 2012 Well we are on the road again and heading south. Stopped off at Nowra and then headed down to Jervis Bay, spending a few nights at Currarong. This is a sleepy little village with a few hundred people, a general store and a café that opens occasionally. However because it surrounded by national park, as well as some spectacular coastal scenery, the population rises to over 5,000, then empties to become a drowsy hamlet again. The highlight of our stay was the beautiful walks around Abrahams Bosom at Beecroft Peninsula. The wildflowers were just coming out when we went for our walks and the locals said that it will be a riot of colour in a few weeks. Nevertheless, we enjoyed many walks around the headlines. What was amazing was the prolific variety of shrubs and trees that changed as we went closer to the coast or even in and out of basins and hills.