Anna Bay, Ulladulla & Mallacoota

2 weeks since we’ve been on the road…. Woo hoo!!!  We’ve essentially been in each other’s company 24/7 and there have been no major death threats or injuries… win/win!!

Last week we left Minnie Waters and reached our next destination, Anna Bay (Port Stephens).  When we arrived at the caravan park, it was just starting to spit with rain and we could see the clouds rolling in. I think we did a P.B. getting the camper trailer set up and functional, we were VERY focused. There was a bit of thunder and lightning whilst the annexe was being erected. Thankfully, the poles are plastic and not metal, so I was very enthusiastic with my help, otherwise Dave would have been a sole lightning rod.

We did a day trip driving around all of the Port Stephens region and through the little towns along the coast. They’re pretty much like any other seaside coastal holiday towns and a lot like the areas we both grew up in. One Mile Beach and Boat Harbour were the places we both liked the most and the landscape of Boat Harbour with its’ rocky outcrops were the most interesting.

Blue Bottles washed up on beach at One Mile Beach 

Looking back to Boat Harbour from One Mile Beach

 On Australia Day we went into Nelson Bay and walked along the foreshore. It was bit of a happening place, lots of people set up along the waters edge, vintage cars on display, live music playing and a market humming with people. We bought some organic Ginger Beer (yum) and I bought myself a second hand book (can’t help myself, the book stalls always get me in). As we were leaving the foreshore for the car park, there was a flyover by the air force in some very loud and fast aircraft….. it was coooooool!

some of our neighbours at Anna Bay

Wednesday 27^th Jan, we left Anna Bay and made our way south around Sydney and stopped at the Info Centre in Mittagong. What a lovely town, we had a proper pie from the local bakery for lunch (yum) and then continued our way south and east to reach the coast at Ulladulla. This was an unexpectedly beautiful drive through some very lush farming country.

We reached Ulladulla in mid afternoon, and lo and behold, it was starting to rain again…… so camper was set up rather swiftly. It did stop raining though and we drove out to the local lighthouse at twilight and had an ice cream looking out over the water, noice.

Next day we drove north along the coast to Kiama and viewed the Blow Hole and had some lunch at Gerringong and continued the tourist drive south along the coast through Jervis Bay and back to Ulladulla. It is a very pretty region.

Blow Hole at Kiama

Lighthouse at Kiama

more views of the coast from Kiama

View from our lunch spot at Gerringong

Following day we drove to Batemans Bay and stopped at the Eurobodalla Regional Botanic Gardens. Walking around the gardens we came across some locals having some morning tea, so we thought we’d do the same and we had a Devonshire tea at the Café, except we had a flat white instead of earl grey. 

close up of moss

We continued south along the Princes Hwy to Moruya and then took the Tourist Drive (7) back up north along the coast through those coastal towns and stopped for lunch at Batemans Bay.

Saturday 30^th Jan, we left Ulladulla and headed south on the Princes Hwy for our next destination, Mallacoota. The drive, again, was absolutely beautiful (I need to find another descriptive word). It is such a rich and lush region with mountains close to the coast and forests line the highway full of eucalypts, ferns and cycads. The smell of the area is hypnotic, a combination of fresh eucalypt and musky forest - worth bottling!!

We stopped at Bega for lunch and continued to Eden to visit the Killer Whale Museum. If you ever have a chance to visit Eden, I would highly recommend this Museum (definitely not like the ye olde worlde ones we’ve previously visited, this was about nature & animals and was Cool!!) It tells the story of “Old Tom”, a killer whale who, with his pack of killer whales, worked with the local whaleman of Twofold Bay for decades during the later 1800’s and early 1900’s.

The killer whales would herd baleen whales into Twofold Bay and they would then alert the whalemen by thrashing the water with their tails, the whalemen would then chase the whale and harpoon it. Some of the killer whales in the pack would speed up the death of the whale by rolling over its blowhole to stop it breathing. Once the whale was dead, the killer whales would take the tongue and lips of the whale and leave the rest of the carcass for the whalemen to bring ashore for processing. 

http://killerwhalemuseum.com.au

It might sound a bit macabre, but it is really fascinating and there is a skeleton of the killer whale “Old Tom” preserved in the museum and it’s amazing to see the size of these animals close up.

So, onto Mallacoota. No rain setting up camp this time and we had plenty of time left over to walk around the waters edge and look over the inlet. Pelicans gliding just over the water everywhere and the potential for flat head to be caught gleaming in Dave’s eyes.  And he did, he got 2 just before an almighty storm came in and we were hit with copious amounts of water, lightning and thunder. This was worse than any other rain we’ve had so far whilst in the camper trailer and once again, it held up. We had a few little leaks inside along the zips, but realistically, with the amount of rain and wind that was thrashing around out there, we were very comfortable and dry. Woo Hoo for our camper trailer!

storm coming in at Mallacoota

This morning, we walked around the waters edge again and came across a seal lying on the rocks, drying out from the storm last night.

 Dave continued fishing today and caught another flat head, with documentary proof this time!!

A bit of reading and general relaxation today for me, and all is good.

Packed up and off to Minnie Waters

Wow!!! We’re finally on our way…. Monday 18^th January 2016 and we’re off (like a frog in a sock).

We spent all of Sunday and most of Monday morning packing up our worldly possessions, chucking out the un-travel-worthy stuff and cleaning up the unit we’ve been renting.

Even though we haven’t really bought that much over the past 2 years, it is amazing the amount of “stuff” you accumulate – especially papers!!!!! Grrrrr.

Anyhoo, Dave (the Tetris master) packed it all away in the camper trailer and the car and we set off about 12pm (QLD time) on Monday for our first stop – Minnie Waters.

We arrived about 5:30pm (NSW time), thankfully it was still quite light and we set up the camper trailer with no fighting despite the exhaustion!!  (maybe with a little bit of niggle, but I thought we were very well behaved).

We love our Camper Trailer (Cub Camper Brumby), it is so easy to tow and nowhere near as stressful as the caravan was, especially when trying to reverse it into a spot and unhitch.  There is not as much room or storage space, but we didn’t use half the stuff we brought with us in the caravan and I think we’ll probably end up getting rid of some more superfluous stuff in the future anyway.

The bed is really comfortable and the pull out kitchen is great. Tetris master strikes again with organising the dry goods into the kitchen compartments (he seriously is good at that shit). 

 

Minnie Waters is on the coast of NSW, East of Grafton. We’re in the one and only caravan park here (easing our way out of civilisation) and it’s in a lovely bush setting. The Beach is only a 5 minute walk away and there’s not really a lot of people around (yippee!!). Although, we have had some visitors walking through our campsite

 

 

Camp Ground at Minnie Waters Caravan Park

Wooli is the next town down from Minnie Waters and is a little bit bigger, we had a visit and spent some time at the mouth of the river, Dave fishing and me walking in the water watching the little fish swim past. The tide was on it’s way in and it was cool watching the new water come in, it was beautifully clear and there were pockets of warm and cool water swirling together (and no, it was not wees you rude people J).

Wednesday we did a day trip and drove into Grafton. We visited the Regional Gallery, which was in a lovely building surrounding a courtyard in the middle. There were not only the usual suspects (ie. Paintings) but also sculptures of varying sizes, video installations and a display of artwork from the local high school.

"sculpture" on the side of the road on the way to Grafton from Minnie Waters.
That is a cool Letterbox.

Just down the road from the Gallery is the Schaeffer House Museum and the house was built in 1900. It is full of ye olde worlde stuff from around the region and memorabilia donated by past & present locals. We were greeted at the door by a very enthusiastic volunteer and she was lovely, telling us about the history of the house etc. The Antiques Road Show would have had a field day in that place.

We left Grafton driving through some of the most beautifully tree lined streets and admiring the old cottages that have been kept in really good nick. A very pretty place. We drove north from Grafton to Lawrence and took the Car Ferry across to Woodford Island crossing the Clarence River. Continuing through Woodford Island we arrived at the Scottish town MacLean, who have painted their power poles in all different tartans. We visited their Museum complex, which included a Stone Cottage built in 1889, and after that we were about done with the smell of old stuff.

Back at the campsite (Thursday) and we’re generally pottering around and relaxing. Walked along the beach early this morning and require an afternoon nap due to the excess amount of fresh air.

On the Road Again...........

As sung by Mr. "Mary-Jane" Willie Nelson, we will be on the road again mid January 2016..... and we can't wait!!

A lot has occurred in the past 2 years, I believe point form is the best option here :)

• 2014
• Easter - went to Vic to see family and friends and drove around like blue arsed flies
• May - went to the Dooben 10,000 with friends from work
• May - Dave went to New Zealand for work to show unsuspecting English backpackers how to "harass with purpose"
• July - Dave became the mono-kidney dude (good times!!)
• June - my contract at QBE got extended to October 2014
• August - Dave went back to work and became supervisor of the afternoon shift
• September - went to another Swell Festival in Currumbin
• November - contract at QBE got extended for 1 month, started looking for work
• December - I started work at BCB on the Gold Coast, bought a $2,000 piece of crap car, quiet Christmas with Aunt Jane and friends, New Years Eve in Tyagarah

• 2015
• February - uncomfortable 2 weeks of recovery at home for Dave
• Easter - we spent a relaxing weekend up in Mount Tamborine being pampered (much deserved by Dave)
• April - moved down the hall to a larger unit (no more cabin fever)
• plenty of socializing with friends and family on the Gold Coast and in Brisbane - lifestyle up here is awesome!!
• Car has had the following added :  Dobinson Suspension, Transmission Cooler, Safari Snorkel, 3" Exhaust, Outback 2 Drawer System, Polyair Springs (she's ready to go baby!!)
• August - sold our caravan and bought a Cub Camper trailer
• September - camped at Cabarita Beach and Beaudesert to try the camper trailer out (Dave made an instructional video on how to clean up spilt wine).
• October - attended Hens and Bucks parties and the stunning wedding of said Hen and Buck (should have got shares in Berroca)
• December - resigned from our jobs, Christmas work parties, drove to Vic to spend Christmas with family - twas noice!!

• January 2016 - leave our rental unit in Varsity Lakes, pack up the car & camper trailer and we're off...............

A big two years for us up here on the Gold Coast. We have met some truly wonderful people and enjoyed our respective work places. When the proverbial crap hits the fan, your true friends certainly shine through. Not only did we receive support from family and friends in Vic but also from people we've only recently met, who provided a kind word, genuine concern and interest in our welfare and a comforting hug. Thanks to you all.

BIG thank you to Aunt Jane, Michael and Bec (and Mia, Bugsy, Paris & Choccie) for their love and friendship, which has only increased in the past couple of years. I cannot convey the depth of our gratitude for your unconditional love and support (well, maybe I just did :)). Wherever we stop, there will always be a room for you guys.

So, onto our travels...... full on travelling for 12 months! no working as we go this time, just all out travel and exploring. Finish what we started.... stay tuned.