Celebrating an early family Christmas on 13th December enabled us to do a little trip down the south coast of NSW to finish off the year. As luck would have it, that timing also enabled us to leave Sydney before the travel restrictions tightened up again and we were able to celebrate together with family and friends, which would not have been possible on the 25th December due to new Covid restrictions caused by a recent outbreak.
Our family Christmas morning – the present session.The big traditional turkey dinner!
Departed Sydney on the 18th December and spent a few days at Tuross Heads, camped right on the lake. Its a great fishing place which was not the attraction for us. Our initial plan was to be with friends (Chris & Chris), but as they couldn’t be there we spent our time exploring a very nice part of the coast.
Our campsite on the lake (and also next to a busy road).
Our explorations included visiting the Moruya markets, lunch in Moruya, plus lovely beach walks, coffee and lunch stops at Tuross Heads. We decided a good way to support these local communities, who have suffered through the fires and lost most of their tourists due to Covid, would be to eat lunch out as much as possible in addition to caravan park fees, groceries and fuel purchases.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES – same exact place, two photos taken by different bystanders on two very different days. Bright skies and sunshine versus cloudy squalls and wind.These trees are a key feature of the Tuross Heads foreshore. A cairn commemorates Hector McWilliam who planted the 200 Norfolk Island Pines in the town and owned property in the area. Hector McWilliam planted the 200 trees after being told they would not grow in the area. McWilliam, a one-time real estate salesman, acquired the Mylott property in 1924, attempting, with little success, to sell land in the area and make it a tourist spot. Hector was very generous to the community with his donation of the foreshore land and the distinctive Norfolk Island Pines that adorn it.
After more long beach walks, a good uke practice doing Christmas Carols and a pleasant alfresco meal by the lake, we said goodbye to Tuross Lakes. Getting an early start (thats 10am for us), we headed off to Bombala for our catchup with Chris and Chris. Stopped in Bega for lunch and a Zoom medical appointment. Had a pleasant evening with our friends.
The Troopy (Chris & Chris’ vehicle) and Belle side by side, and Dick doing his balance class.Lots of talking and planning future trips…..
Then we headed back to the coast and a new camp on Lake Wonboyn, very near the Victorian border, which was still open so there were quite a few people around. No places were full but it was only a few days before Christmas.
Its pretty quiet in Wonboyn – these guys took their time crossing the road as we drove in to the Holiday ParkOn our evening walk we met Santa and she invited us to a locals Xmas drinks by the lake. Note the burnt out trees.We hired a boat and explored Lake Wonboyn. Dick is plotting our course on his phone.Late afternoon sun ………this picture sums up Lake Wonboyn beautifully for me.This King Parrot seemed to like me. He hung around our camp a lot.Exploring in Eden – a lovely cafe lunch and drives and walks along the scenic Eden coast.
Our Christmas day started with lots of family phone calls before we went off exploring Wonboyn Beach. The 5 km trip on a very rough 4WD track got us to a lovely deserted beach. The south coast has a never-ending stream of hidden lakes and beaches to explore. We’d never heard of this area and initially planned to go to Ben Boyd NP but decided to explore Wonboyn instead.
Had a great beach and bush walk. No one else around. More burnt out forests. There was still an eery feeling in that bush.It was such a beautiful spot we decided to free camp at the beach (instead of returning to the holiday park) before heading off to our next camp in the mountains, Kosciuszko National Park.A scary 15 minutes during the drive to the mountains. Out of nowhere we were caught in the middle of a dreadful hail and snow storm. It felt like the windscreen was going to be smashed in. We had to stop and wait for it to die down. Ten minutes later we were in sunshine.Our campsite for three nights in Kosciusko National Park. Good place for walking but not so good for sitting outside as the March flies were ferocious. Good for quiet nights as no tv or internet.Enjoying the 7km Waterfall walk on a warm 24C day.One of our favorite alpine walks is the Porcupine Trail. Here is the view from the top.Lots of delicate and beautiful wildflowers on this 6km walk.The trees and views are magnificent, and the walk is not strenuous so makes for a pleasant time.To celebrate Dick’s birthday, we went for a nice lunch in a cafe in Jindabyne. He totally indulged himself in an old favorite (the hamburger) and the cafe staff indulged him with a candle on his cake.You never know who you will meet driving along the road. As we left Jindabyne, C&C were driving in so we had a roadside chat before we headed off back to the coast.Our next camp was on Wallaga Lake, between the lake and the ocean. NSW has so many amazing coastal places to visit.We did a stunning walk along the coast. The mountain in the background was called Mount Dromedary by Captain Cook in 1770 because he thought it looked like a dromedary camel. The local Yuin people call it Gulaga, the Mother Mountain.
In the 1970’s aboriginal people campaigned against logging on the mountains. After years of slow progress the whole area was handed over to the Yuin people and is now jointly managed by the aboriginal owners and National Parks and Wildlife Services.
After a 3km walk along this picturesque coast, we hitchhiked a ride back to Belle. Sounds lazy but we had a lunch commitment.Almost looks like we could have been in Paris, but it was La Gallette, a crepe/gallette cafe in Tilba Tilba. Lets call it a second birthday lunch for Dick.
For old times sake we checked out Mystery Bay, then drove around Bermagui and did a scenic drive around the coastline stopping at Blue Pool where we saw seals frolicking in the water. All very scenic and a beautiful part of the world. The next day we got home after another nice lunch out in Berry. It was a relaxing time away.
I’ll finish this blog with a note on our family weekend away in early January. Back to the Berry area where we enjoyed just having some time away together; and had the bonus of beautiful weather, a scenic coastal walk, lots of games, good food, and even stargazing in a very dark sky.
A stunning coastal walk, but Maggie, Helen & Anthony’s new golden retriever puppy, had to be carried most of the way, so they didn’t get to do the whole 5 km walk from Minnamurra to Bone Beach.Lots of inside and outside games, although we all know who the most coordinated ones are. I think the kids were surprised the jenga tower got as high as it did with Dick and I playing.Our place for the weekend had a great view. With the magic of Dick’s phone we got some nice group photos. That weekend was a lovely way to start the new year.This map shows our route.
