SOUTH ALONG THE EAST COAST

12^th November, 2013

We arrived back at our daughter Tina’s home on the Sunshine Coast in time to watch our grandson Josh play his soccer finals and grand finals in Futsal and traditional outdoor soccer.  His teams did well and celebrated with Major Premierships in both disciplines.  We also managed to fit in a calisthenics concert and a school concert in which both our granddaughters (Shakiah and Talia) took part.  Life around Tina and Paul’s place is never dull with three active children and a menagerie of pets.  While there Wok’s sister Gwen and husband Roger called in for a visit with their friends.  It looked like Tina and Paul were starting up a mini caravan park in their front yard with three caravans set up on site.

Mini Caravan Park in Tina and Paul's front yard

With all our medical checkups taken care of we finally hit the road again.  Usually we do not have a set time to be anywhere but this time was different.  We had booked a ferry crossing to Tasmania and needed to be in Port Melbourne by the second Tuesday in November.  On our way south we visited a few relatives and friends and enjoyed catching up with our son Trent at Lake Munmorah in New South Wales.  We arrived just in time to experience an early start to the bushfire season with smoke blanketing the area from raging out of control bushfires.  While there we went for a Sunday drive on the Central Coast and had a walk at Norah Head.

Norah Head Lighthouse

South of Sydney we stopped for a few days in the showground at Berry.

On site at Berry Showground

The showground was a good base to explore the area and a short walk away was the main street where there were quite a few historical buildings.

Historical buildings in Berry

The museum was quite a gem with lots of items on display in a heritage building that was originally built as a bank and residence for its Manager.

Berry Museum - love that roofline

West of the town are some excellent mountain drives which provide wonderful views of the Shoalhaven district.

View of Nowra and the Shoalhaven River

A drive to Kangaroo Valley took us over the picturesque Hampden Bridge

Hampden Bridge

and we visited the blowhole at Kiama.

Kiama Blowhole - Getting ready to perform

Thar she blows ...

We continued south to Narooma where an afternoon shower provided us with the photo opportunity of a rainbow over the caravan park.

Rainbow at Narooma

The caravan park also proved to be a great place to see humpback whales as they passed by on their way south to the Antarctic.  We could see five different whales (some with calves) way out in the passage between the mainland and Montague Island.  Just to the south of Narooma is the village of Tilba.

Wok taking a stroll at Tilba

The main street is littered with heritage buildings

Dromedary Hotel in Tilba

and we loved tasting all the delicious cheeses made on site at the Tilba Cheese Factory

Tilba Cheese Factory

We came away with several varieties of cheese which we enjoyed as an afternoon snack with crackers over the next few days.  Our next camp was at Tathra where we could see whales moving around in the bay from the historical wharf.

Tathra Wharf

At the lookout on the headland we watched a mother whale and calf head out to sea.  The calf did a series of tail slaps as the pair encountered the heavier ocean swell.

Tail slapping at Tathra

Tathra is not far from the cheese making town of Bega – so we paid the factory a visit and did some taste testing.  We were a little disappointed with the cheeses on offer as they were nowhere as good as the Tilba cheeses.  Just goes to show that being bigger is not necessarily better when it comes to making good cheese.  Our next stopover was at Eden.

Eden marina in Twofold Bay

The museum at Eden is well worth a visit.  There’s lots of information on the founding of the town and its relationship with the Killer Whales that once frequented the area when whaling was in full swing.  The skeleton of ‘Old Tom’ (a killer whale) is on display along with many stories about how the killer whales would help herd the whales into the bay for the whalers to kill.

Skeleton of Old Tom in Eden Museum

The Eden annual whale festival was in full swing whilst we were there and the street parade contained lots of whale themed floats – many of which squirted bystanders with streams of water.

Squirty whale float in the parade

We especially liked the walking whales – very cute!

Walking Whales ...

On the southern side of the bay lies Boyd’s Tower. 

Boyd's Tower

Built on the headland by Benjamin Boyd, it was intended to be a lighthouse, but the government of the day rejected Boyd’s application and a light was never installed.  Instead the tower became a lookout for Boyd’s men to spot whales entering the bay.  The lookouts would signal to the men at the whaling camp when a whale was sighted and the boats would be launched.  The tower affords a great view over the bay.

View over the bay from Boyd's Tower

In the south west corner of the bay lies the remains of Davidson’s Whaling Station.  The house in which the Davidson family lived still stands but only a few remnants are left of the whaling station itself.

The remains of Davidson Whaling Station

It is such a pretty little bay that it is hard to imagine the horrific scenes and smell that would have emanated from the station.  Thank goodness that today Australia no longer supports whaling.  We hitch up the van and continue down the coast - leaving New South Wales behind and entering Victoria.  We bypass the touristy town of Lakes Entrance and stop overnight at the sleepy little seaside village of Port Albert.

Camped at Port Albert

This is a dedicated free camp overnight area right beside the water with a dump point and toilets and it was lovely and peaceful as well as being picturesque.  On our way again and as we drive along the esplanade at Port Melbourne we catch sight of the ferry.

Spirit of Tasmania - our ferry

We join the queue for the boat and an hour later are finally handing our pre-booked ticket details to the check-in booth.  We receive our vehicle pass and cabin key and are soon driving up the ramp and entering the vehicle decks on the ferry. 

Entering the ferry

 It has been raining for most of the day and is very windy.  The signs are ominous.  A smooth crossing may not be on the cards - but ready or not –Tasmania, here we come!