Huskisson is Nice

We had a lovely week at the Jervis Bay Caravan Park at Wollamia, right next door to the quite trendy coastal resort of Huskisson. Situated right on the inlet that feeds into Jervis Bay, and which serves as safe harbour to the boat owners of Huskisson, the park was very well maintained, had a fantastic pool area, and was a 1000% step up from Alamein. Thank you God!


Set up at Jervis Bay Caravan Park


Our site was waterfront, and apart from the sand flys that thought I was the all you can eat buffet, it could not have been better. My legs now resemble one of those join the dot puzzles you enjoy as a kid, but don't enjoy as an adult when constructed by sand flies. Aerogard, Rid, you name it, they are all but sauces on the sand flies meal. 

We met some really nice people at this stop, most with join the dot legs! There were retired travellers such as ourselves, couples on fishing trips, a Dutch couple, who were so taken by the spot, that he proposed on the jetty at sunset, and I was asked to be official photographer, and just to show you how small the world really is, an old neighbour from Peakhurst! It was happy hour and I asked one of our visitors where he came from. He answered Peakhurst, where he had lived for the last 30+ years. His name was Warren McCormack and turns out he lives at 8 Dawn Crescent, and knew mum and dad and Joe Cumuglia, as well as the Blains. We had a great old reminisce.

We kayaked up and down the inlet, and did a bit of sight seeing around the district. Found a number of good eating spots, such as the Huskisson RSL, which has prime position on the water, The Stonegrill Steakhouse, which was a novel way to cook your own meal on this red hot volcanic rock. John was sceptical, but again Carol's ability to pick the best food spots shone through.


Stingrays at Jervis Bay Caravan Park



John was even able to fish from the Jetty, and even had some success with some tiddlers and a good flathead. Speaking of fishing, with the boat ramp right beside us, we got a ringside seat to the catches of the returning fisherman. The best thing of all were the resident stingrays, who some how knew when fish were being cleaned. The fish cleaning area, beside the boat ramp, was set up in such a way that the fishermen stood in shallow water to clean the fish. The BIG, and I mean BIG stingrays would come into the shallow water and rub against their legs to let them know they were there!! AMAZING!! They got to eat the leftover bits. There were 4 or 5 of them, and even during the day you could sit on the jetty and watch them cruise by.

Just to prove we still haven't gone very far, Bev and Fred drove down to Huskisson for a nice lunch at the RSL, followed by some girly retail therapy (that seems to be a recurring theme??).

It was lovely to catch up again, and now all we have to determine, is their range for lunch trips! Word has it that Bateman's Bay, our current stop, is still within range. Just have to work out a day, as our time in BB will be busy, with Cheryl and Chris also coming down next weekend for a long weekend visit, and John loves the Catalina Golf Club. Should be a great week ahead.

If anyone tells you they are having a better time than us, tell them they're dreaming!

Tomakin to Huskisson

Well folks, we have well and truly moved on from Tomakin, as the days and weeks race by. Already 2 months on the road, and given current rate of progression, the date for leaving NSW has been pushed out again, and the planned duration of the journey has now become "a long time"!



Geurilla Bay near Tomakin



The main beach at Tomakin

We really liked our time at Tomakin. The coastline is a series of beautiful bays and beaches, and of course there is the $4.00 lunch at the club! Now I know that many of you have been hanging by a thread waiting for news on the lunch, and I can report that it was all we had hoped. The choice was Corned Beef with seeded mustard sauce and vegetables, Flathead and Chips, or Chicken Snitzel with vegies. Every pensioner between Moruya and Bateman's Bay was there, and we found out about all the other budget venues in the area. Carol is so thrilled!! (actually fearful that I will seek them out).



On our second last day, we found an old friend who lives in Tomakin. Joan Duncan, is the wife of John, who worked for John back in the late '70's and '80's, and was Manager of the ACT branch. Sadly, John passed away some years ago, but Joan has continued to send us a Christmas card and hand written letter every year. After a couple of unsuccessful tries, we finally caught her at home, and gave her an enormous surprise. She is now 90, as energetic as ever, and we had a great old reminisce. So we left Tomakin with $4.00 full tummies and a warm fuzzie feeling.

We then moved on to Sussex Inlet, a sleepy fishing community, that stretches around the inlet which is the seaway to St.Georges Basin. Again a beautiful spot. Unfortunately ours was the worst kept caravan park in the area. We should have reversed out the gate on arrival! The park was called Alamein. I thought we won that war! Anyway, we were ambushed well and truly, being literally led to our site, which was in a hollow, and only a patch of dirt, under a tree canopy so thick you couldn't see the sun, and in between old cabins and the entry road. As soon as we got there I could see there was no way out, other than the way we had come in, which meant I would have to back the van out along the same windy, narrow track with all the overhanging trees. AAAAAHHHH! And to top it off, the water pressure was about the same as a 75 year old guy with prostate problems! It took a while to get going and then not very well!!



Pelicans at Sussex Inlet



Anyway, we stuck it out (all the other parks in the area were full), and had a good look around the area. It was pretty, and we did get to pick up the kayak and cruise the Inlet. We definitely did not spend much time at our site, and were thankful that we didn't get much rain, as the site would have flooded in no time.



Real Aussie garden sculpture at Durras Lake.



On our last day we had a real treat, as Neil (John's brother) and wife Adrienne, brought John's mum down for a visit. We drove up to Berry for the day and had a lovely lunch at the Berry Sourdough Cafe.

It also gave us a chance to personally help celebrate Adrienne's 50th birthday, with a little champagne, some good food, and all followed by a little girly retail therapy, along Berry's famous shopping strip.

Lunch with Neil Adrienne & Mum

We headed back to start packing and preparations for the dreaded reverse out of Alamein.

We had prearranged with the neighbours to move their cars from the driveway on Sunday morning, as we would need all the road, and thankfully all the neighbours were great, and obliged. In fact, the people staying in the park were fantastic. They were all fisherman, and we have some nice fresh fish in the freezer, to show their generosity.

So on Sunday morning, after 5 sleepless nights, and while everyone was at church or out fishing, with Carol watching the back and helping with directions, the reverse out began. Drew quite a crowd, and went surprisingly well. Only took about 20minutes to go the 100metres backwards out the gate! Carol was relieved and John now has completely overcome the fear of reversing this big sucker! The reversing camera has now paid for itself.



Sunset at Huskisson behind our van



This is soooo nice!



So up the road we went to Huskisson, which is where we are today, 21st February, and will remain until Friday. The Jervis Bay Caravan Park is very nice. Right on the river, and we have a site backing onto the river. There is a beaut swimming pool area, which was just lovely yesterday, on such a hot day. Neighbours are great. Had a beaut happy hour last night, with the neighbors, and now we feel normal again, back in nice surroundings. April has settled in quickly, after the stressful week at Sussex Inlet. Even she seemed spooked at Alamein.

We are looking forward to a quiet few days here kayaking, fishing and generally just relaxing. It shouldn't be too hard to achieve, if the weather co-operates.

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Hobie Joins the Family

The excitement this week was all about picking up our new Hobie Kayak!!

On Wednesday 17th February, we headed back to Huskisson to collect our new pride and joy. Carol had chosen a nice environmental "olive" colour, rather than the bright yellow, red or blue.  All was ready, including all the necessary safety gear, so with lots of help and encouragement from the boys at "Outdoors and Beyond", Hobie was strapped on the roof, and away we went, back to our not so great camp site at Sussex Inlet. (That's a whole story to come later).

The weather Thursday was lousy, so no launching was possible, but today, in improving weather, Hobie was launched. All 3 of us took the maiden voyage, and after a few minor rudder problems, we were off. The caravan Park is right on Sussex Inlet and has a nice sandy beach which gave us easy access for our first trip.

We were really surprised how much April loved it. She moved around and was very relaxed about the whole thing. We pedalled all the way down to the entrance of Sussex Inlet, then back to the caravan park. It took about an hour and a half. Fantastic fun.

We chose a Hobie Kayak, (almost everyone knows Hobie Cat sailing catamarans - it is the same maker) because they have a pedal version, which is so much easier on us "Recycled Adolescents". And every attention to detail has been met. You get paddles as well, but the main means of propulsion, is pedalling with the unique pedal system. We have a special lever system to easily lift the kayak onto the roof of the car, and there are wheels that let us easily get the kayak to the waters edge, without any carrying. There are so many extras on the kayak, and it is so stable on the water. We absolutely love it, and John can even use it to go fishing with it's built in tackle box and rod holder.

So look out Australia, we are now travelling by land and sea!!

Mogo - Quaint Tourist Stop

Mogo, which in Aboriginal means diminish wealth quickly (only kidding!), is aptly named. On the Princes Hwy only 10kms south of Bateman's Bay, it is a fun place to stop (and shop!).

For those not so fond of the retail therapy, there are other attractions. The Mogo Zoo is quite famous and has one of Australia's best private collections of animals that include a variety of the big cats, as well as other exotic species. Due to bad weather during our stay at Tomakin, we didn't do the zoo, but it is on our list for when we return to Bateman's Bay in a couple of weeks.

Mogo was originally a Gold Rush Town of the 1860's, and much has been done to retain its authenticity. There is the Gold Rush Village, where you can get a pan and look for a fortune in the old creek, or for the less adventurous, there is a Newsagancy where you can buy a lotto ticket. Not the same thrill, I know, but probably the same result - zilch!

The shops are pretty good. An amazing housewares store with a bigger range that David Jones, as well as lots of clothes, souvenirs such as the obligatory "My Nana went to Mogo and all I got was this lousy T-Shirt", "Where the hell is Mogo?" T- Shirt, and many more cliched items that we are all too familiar with. Lots of galleries, locally made jewellery, locally made leather, great Ice Cream shops and Jenny's Lolly Shop, where there is every kind of sugar fix known to mankind, and then some, including a Chuppa Chup so big, I defy any kid to get it in his gob without surgery! Some really nice cafe's. Our favourite was Tyler's Pantry where we had a great gnocchi, with burnt sage butter, for lunch. Yummeeee!

We liked Mogo, and would recommend a stop to anyone travelling these parts.

No To Kioloa Beach

Just goes to show, no matter how much planning you do, something can go wrong.

We have now established as bull dust, the fact that you can get into almost any Caravan Park, outside school holidays. With the school holidays now past, we phoned ahead to book at Huskisson. Sorry full. The same response was had at 3 more locations, so our plans for February and March were looking decidedly shaky. A kind soul (who we will seek revenge on at a later date!) at one of the parks we rang, suggested we call Kioloa Beach caravan park, which we did, and got in no problem. We also booked parks in The Huskisson area, Bateman's Bay and Narooma, and will now plan to be booked about 3 - 4 weeks ahead. So off we headed, comfortable in the knowledge that we had the next few weeks booked up.

The alarm bells should have rung when we arrived at the entry to Kioloa caravan park, to be greeted by a grand entrance archway under which our caravan would not fit! Undaunted John bounded up to the office door which needed the strength of 10 men to open, due to the rollers on the door needing replacement sometime in the last century! "Sorry about the door" came the reply. "You girls must have been in here for some time" John joked. Went straight through to the keeper. I paid the money, was given directions to our site, and told I would have to go through the side chain gate and ignore all the "no entry" and "go back you are going the wrong way" signs, until we found our site. There was little signage as regards site numbers, and we thought we had found our site, but we could not find any water or power connections. So back to the office, through that confounded door again, to ask where is the power and water. The power is on the next building and we don't have water. Speechless!! I explained that extension leads don't come by the kilometre, and that no water would give us a few problems when it came to washing and cooking, so I suggested I just get my money back and we would move on. At least we left going down the road the right way!! Oh and I didn't close that confounded door again!!



Tomaga Caravan Park Tomakin NSW



So at 3.00pm on the hottest Sunday in years, we started our ring around. Again we found a lot of "sorry we are full" answers, and we were getting further down the coast. Eventually we found a Pet Friendly Park at Tomakin. Where the Hell is Tomakin, I hear you asking. Well, it is a small coastal holiday area, about 15 minutes drive past Bateman's Bay. It is full of retirees and holiday makers, mostly from Canberra looking for a coastal escape. The Tomaga River Caravan Park is lovely. It is right on the river, as you can see from the photos. John can fish almost from the back of our site. It is peaceful, and there is hardly anyone else around. The Tomakin Sports and Social Club is right next door, home of the $4.00 lunch. Yes that's right, the $4.00 lunch, and the locals say it is great, and you even get a choice! We haven't tried it just yet. There is a little something about Carol and a $4.00 lunch to be worked out. A good coffee costs $4.00 she claims, and with her experience, who am I to question!



Tomaga River behind our site

This is a nice spot for a rest, and we are sure giving it our best shot.

We have found the best coffee spot in town. It is called the Tomakin General Store, and they bake their own sourdough bread daily, as well as lots of exotic pies (Kangaroo sausage in filo pastry!! yet to be road tested) and cakes, and a jam scone that is pretty dam good. Yes the coffee is $4.00, and it's good. We take long walks along the dog friendly beach and the river side, and in between John throws a line in to amuse the fish. The delights of Bateman's Bay, Mogo (a story all of its own) and Moruya, are all only minutes away. John has already found the Catalina Golf & Country Club at Bateman's Bay, to his liking, and is playing in their member's comp on Saturday. The Golf Course at Moruya also looks great, so that will get a testing soon as well. Will report on the delights of Mogo once it has been suitably surveyed.

The weather has not been great here, with showers on and off, but then you don't need great weather to simply veg out. Besides Carol has to keep up with Desperate Housewives, The Good Wife, My Kithchen Rules etc. etc. so Foxtel is working overtime.

SHELLHARBOUR, FRIENDS & FISHING

Well anxious ones, the wait is over. You have to remember that being retired is busy work. We are at a loss to figure out how we fitted work in!

Since we last communicated we have been at Shellharbour, still only 1.5 hours from Sydney and home to our friends Bev and Fred. It is quite an amazing little jewel on the coast. Standing on the breakwater at the quaint harbour, looking north are the smoke belching stacks of the Port Kembla steel works, looking south are the mountains of gravel and ship loading gantry of Hansen's Quarry, and in between are beautiful sandy beaches, and an ever increasing urban sprawl. The Shellharbour Village itself, seems to have stood still, and is your usual coastal seaside village full of Fish & Chip shops, Ice Cream Shops, Cafes, a Beachfront Pub, General Store & Touristy Shops.

Our caravan park is seaside, as the photo shows, and we are right on the beach, being the first caravan from the right in the photo. We sit at the back of the van and at high tide could literally spit into the ocean (except if the nor easter is blowing!) There is a beautiful saltwater pool next door, and it is only 250 metres to the shops and the pub.

We have quickly learnt that being this close to the sea, whilst being scenic, presents problems with the salt spray, and we are constantly washing down cars and exposed metal caravan parts, as the rust can start to appear within 2-3 days. You should see our bikes, even with being diligent!

Our great friends Bev & Fred live just up the road, and much of our time has been spent with them, as fellow retirees, they too have the time. There has been much lunching, much dinnering, much shopping and much fishing, and the odd cleansing ale and glass of wine has been taken.

Our first major celebration, was Australia Day, and what better way to celebrate the day, than at the beach. The flag was raised, and the celebrations began. It was a crazy weather day. We started with a thick sea fog, which when it lifted revealed a large Tongan community, that had set up camp next door, between us and the pool. Thre must have been a hundred or more! They had the charcoal BBQ's going, which from the smoke, had me second guessing about the sea fog, and they partied hard all day. A lot of chooks died that day. Boy can they party!! Still it was a lot of fun, and they certainly kept us entertained. We stuck with tradition, and BBQ'd our lamb chops and snags, never once surrendering our tongs! The sea fog returned mid afternoon, and quickly left us again, for a beautiful balmy evening at the beach. All in all, a great day.

Even though the wind tried to interfere with our plans, John & Fred still managed to get out on the water to do some fishing. And I can add with some success, as the freezer is now stocked up with a plentiful supply of flathead fillets. I can confirm that when you are standing by the sea side, and the sea looks quite calm, it isn't! It is a lumpy teeming mess that never keeps

still! Thank God for sea sick pills. They didn't fail us once.

Fred is really keen about his fishing and boating, and as an active member of the local volunteer Marine Rescue unit, is extremely safety conscious. We have all the safety gear, and login and logout with Marine Rescue Port Kembla, every time we go to sea. He has a number of "favourite spots" in his GPS, so we usually find fish. We have caught so many varieties, some you can eat, some you can't or wouldn't bother. We have caught Red Rock Cod, small and large. The big ones have a huge mouth, and when you are reeling them in, it is like hauling up a big bucket of water. Needless to say they go back. We have caught snapper, morwong, flathead, sargent baker, boneto, kingfish, a variety of colourful reef fish and a wirra. Now fred has a recipe for wirra. You take a large pot and fill it with water, seasoning and an old boot. You throw in the wirra, and bring to the boil. Simmer until the boot is tender, then throw away the wirra and eat the boot!!!! John also caught the ugliest looking thing, which after much research we decided was some kind of catfish. We certainly didn't want that in the boat, so it went staright back, hook line and sinker.
The biggest fish I caught was a kingfish. Boy was that fun. They really fight. The sad thing was, that at 50cm it was undersize for this species, so back it went.

I really enjoyed the opportunity to get out on the water with Fred, who everyday packed us our picnic lunch and cold drinks.
Carol and Bev also enjoyed our fishing trips as they got to eat the rewards, and had time for girly things like hairdressing appointments, shopping, lunch, girly movies and much much more.

Another  couple of people we caught up with, were Cheryl and Phil Wall, who live nearby at Figtree. Cheryl and Carol became friends when working at Warner Bros. at a time long ago, when music was recorded on black discs that looked like dinner plates. We've kept in touch through Xmas cards and the odd lunch. They are now also retired, and share our passion for caravanning, now the proud owners of their second van. They have seen a lot of Australia, so it was fantastic to catch up over morning tea (great cake Cheryl), and a lazy lunch at the pub. We will now work on meeting up somewhere along the road.

Sadly out time at Shellharbour came to an end on Saturday 5th February 2010. We farewelled in style, with a few drinks at the Shellharbour Pub, followed by a terrific Thai feed at the Harbourview Thai Restaurant. A fitting end to a fantastic 10 days. Bev and Fred even turned up to see us off. Making sure we left town???

For the foodies among you, if you are ever in Shellharbour, try Relish. It is a classy spot upstairs halfway down the hill on the left, as you head to the water. Very nice for lunch or dinner.

We headed down the road for Kioloa Beach, but never made it. Stay tuned for the reasons why in our next update coming soon.