Snowy Mountains

Day 61   Bermagui to Cooma

Another travelling day scheduled today, but before we left Bermagui, we had a good look around.  Firstly a view from the headland...

...the blue pools...

and beach.  All spectacular.  Our last stop was the fisherman's wharf and although we were hoping for prawns, we were totally in the wrong area.  This was BIG fish territory and we were lucky to arrive when several boats had come in from their overnight fishing adventures.  We got to see some yellow fin tuna being weighed before it was heading up north...

As we walked along the jetty, we also got to see fish being unloaded from one of the boats and as always, Maggie wanted to touch the fish...

The marlin and tuna were enormous.  I think the kids (and us) could have stayed and watched all day.  But it was time to start heading south to see some more of the coastline before heading inland. 

We travelled through Tathra, Merimbula (lunch stop)...

...Pambula Beach and finally Eden which is officially the southern most point we will travel to this trip.  All were a bit different and all very beautiful.

From Eden we headed into Bega to buy some groceries and a few extra warm clothes for the expected colder weather ahead.  We also had a quick stop at the Bega cheese factory and picked up a few bargains...

Cooma was our final destination for the day and we arrived well after dark.

Day 62   Cooma to Jindabyne

After a cold and noisy night (the van park was right on the highway) we decided to push on to Jindabyne today.

It wasn't a long drive so we took our time picking a park and setting up.  We picked a spot right on Lake Jindabyne so we can walk straight down the front to fish.  With the afternoon in front of us, we decided to go in (very hopeful) search of snow and travelled up to Thredbo.  We caught the chairlift up to the top of Mt Kosciuszko...

As we went up and up it of course got colder and colder.  Unfortunately not everyone had selected the appropriate footwear, with one child opting for thongs (which I had to sit on during the chairlift ride), so his feet were freezing...

It was quite a long way up and once at the top, we felt every bit like Queenslanders...

Unfortunately there was no snow to be found at the top so we rode back down...

The scenery is quite different with lots of stark, grey trees just waiting for the snow fall...

We might not have seen snow, but we all got a real sense of 'snow country' and it was a great trip.

Day 63

We woke to a freezing cold morning and the kids in particular found it difficult to cope with until around mid morning when the day started to heat up.  Until then they had socks on their hands and several layers of clothing on...

Stewie still hasn't quite got the footwear right, but it's an improvement...

There was also a wonderful mist over the lake that slowly lifted with the cold...

Today it was time to try our hand at freshwater fishing (again), so out came the rods and bait...

No luck, but we know we'll catch that elusive freshwater fish before leaving Jindabyne.

Day 64

It wasn't as cold this morning, but the kids did get to see some real frost on the grass.  That was as good as snow for them.

After breakfast, we took our chairs and fishing gear to the lake for a morning of fishing.  And guess what... WE CAUGHT A TROUT!  Not one, but two - one for Steve...

and one for me...

Sure, they weren't big but that didn't matter to us, we'd finally caught a freshwater fish on this trip!

Later in the day, Maggie and Mitch went fishing again...

...and this time Mitch was rewarded with a nice little trout...

Unfortunately he was so excited and ran all the way up to the van with the fish dangling on the end of his line, so we don't think that one made it.


While they were busy fishing, Stewie got serious with his trains...

It was a milestone day for us.

Day 65  Jindabyne to Darlington Point

Time to leave Jindabyne today and give the fish a chance to grow up a bit for our next visit!  Today marks the start of our trek to the outback.  We travelled through more of the Snowy Mountains country for a while...

and then the landscape started to change.  The roads also started to became flatter and straighter.

We had hoped to reach Darlington Point before dark but it didn't happen, the sunset was too quick for us...

So it was a quick, minimal setup as we'll be gone first thing tomorrow.

Moruya Heads

Day 55

Steve got an early start to fishing this morning and was well rewarded with our first ever Australian Salmon...

He also caught a wobegong shark and after the kids had a good look at it, it was put back.

It was a pretty low key day finishing with a 'family fish' this afternoon - except Stewie who happily lounged around on the sand...

Not much joy this time except for a couple of small salmon and a crab for Maggie...

We stayed at the beach and watched the sun go down before heading back to the van.  The beauty of this caravan park is it's proximity to the beach - just a stroll away.  We cooked up the salmon for dinner and it was great, even though they're not renowned as a great table fish.

Day 56

Woke to an overcast morning but that didn't deter us from having another fish (even Stewie).  None biting this morning.

After breakfast, Maggie and I went into the Moruya Markets for a look and change of scenery.  We sampled a few local morsels and bought a few bits and pieces before heading back for lunch.

Since the weather wasn't great, we decided to go for a drive north with the final destination being Bendelong (Red Head) where Mum and Dad used to take us for holidays when we were kids.  Along the way we stopped at Bateman's Bay for a look and saw a school of dolphins having a play at Surf Beach (hope you can see them)...

we also went to a lookout for a better vantage of the area...

We passed through lots of beautiful scenery and towns before arriving at Bendelong, a beautiful spot tucked away from the main road.  I'm pretty sure it's not much bigger than when we used to visit except the tourist park is a little flasher these days.  The beach is  perfect for families and I know Dad used to enjoy fishing and catching lobsters here.  It's beautiful (although a bit gloomy on this visit)...

On the way home we passed through Kioloa where there were kangaroos everywhere, including people's back yards...

It ended up being a longer drive than expected, but well worth it.

Day 57

Today was a special day in many ways.  Not only was it Anzac Day, but Steve and I were expecting the arrival of some special friends from home.  The kids had no idea this was happening and we acted like it was a normal day so they would get a real surprise.

In the morning there was a massive downpour of rain (right on parade time), but once it cleared we went to explore some other fishing options around the area.  As it's covered in oyster leases we thought we'd try our luck off the banks around a few of those.  The yabby pump also got its first work out for the trip... 

No fish or yabbies, all we achieved was exceptionally muddy feet.

Another place we tried was Shelly Beach, a gorgeous little spot over the headland from our van park.  The kids enjoyed a splash in the water while we kept the line wet.  No fish were biting but it was nice to just sit and enjoy the outlook...

Finally it was time to head back and await our imminent arrival.  The kids still had no idea of what was coming and once we got word (or rather text) that they had arrived, Steve and I managed to get them all outside just as the car drove up.  The Thomas Family had arrived and there was much hugging, kissing and lots of happy little faces.  Our kids have really missed all their friends and were so glad to see Hannah, Gemma and Charlie.  For the rest of the day it was non-stop talk as we all caught up with each other.

Day 58

Today we took the Thomas family exploring with us.  First of all we drove around the local headland where we were lucky to see some more dolphins.  We also got a good view back along the beach where we have been fishing...

The kids were all happy to just be together and find their 'best friends' again.  There was Hannah and Mitch...

Maggie and Gemma...

...and Stewie and Charlie.

Once we'd explored a few other local spots, we all headed towards Tuross Heads (hi Pete) for a look.  Another gorgeous spot and we stopped for a group shot, right across the road from where my friend Pete grew up...

As it was a public holiday there was not a lot going on so we headed back to Moruya heads for some fishing, swimming...

spa bath...

...bush exploring...

and go karts...

Steve and Steve.T headed down for a fish at dusk and came back with a good haul - a big Australian Salmon for Steve.T and a small tailor for Steve.  A great finish to the day.

Day 59

Everyone was up early this morning as we were off on a boating adventure for the day.  We had organised a BBQ boat hire in Bateman's Bay - with 10 of us, a party size boat was required.  It was very cold, but we managed to arrive on time.  A pity the boat hire staff didn't!  We were supposed to be on the boat at around 8 a.m. but didn't get underway until 9 o'clock.  Oh well, it gave us a chance to thaw out a little!

Once on board, everyone had a turn driving the boat...

...and we headed out around the oyster leases...

It must have been too cold for the fish as well as the action was very poor.  In fact non-existent.  We persisted and the kids were enjoying themselves...

Some preferred to draw and play trains when the fish weren't biting...

At times we saw a lot of fish in the water, and some of quite a good size, but we just couldn't get their interest.  Right towards the end of our time on the boat, the tide turned (literally) and we started to get some bites.  Steve.T. pulled in a leather jacket, I got a flounder (which was trying to show off its skinny side for the photo)...

and Hannah got a little perch...

Better than nothing.

We had a seafood feast for dinner using the eating sized fish we caught yesterday and today.  Wendy and I bought some local oysters to try as well.  The surprise was the flounder - absolutely delicious.

Day 60  Moruya Heads to Bermagui

Time to say goodbye to our friends today as they were heading off to Sydney for a few extra days holiday, and we were venturing further south.  It was great to see the Thomas's and get a little dose of home, thanks for visiting guys!

Once we left Moruya Heads we wound our way through Narooma, then headed to Tilba Tilba in search of cheese.  There is a lot of dairy in this area and you can't go past a good cheese factory (well I can't anyway).

Tilba Tilba is a quaint little village with a main street full of old buildings that have been maintained and have great character.  There are plenty of art and craft shops plus the cheese factory.  Once we'd tasted all the cheeses and made our selection, it was time to move on.  

Bermagui was our lunch stop and we enjoyed the best fish and chips we'd had in a long time.  They even crumbed the fish for us!  We decided to stay here for the night and pulled into the van park with a great view overlooking Horseshoe Bay..