TIME ON THE ROAD: 13 weeks (arrival in Canberra)
DISTANCE TRAVELLED: 7133 kms
The Nation’s Capital. We never intended to visit Canberra during ‘Our Great Rotation’ but neither of us had an issue doing it as we have both enjoyed previous visits. I really like Canberra. (Sooz: Me too!) It’s wide avenues, lovely tree-lined streets, glorious parks, wide verges, pathways and walkways are so appealing and so different to any other Australian city. It’s green and inviting. It is unique in world terms as being a Capital City that was designed to embrace it’s surrounds and be a low-density living city that includes National memorials, galleries, museums and places of recreation (including the lake that was once a river) that are presented in such a tasteful and peaceful way. And during the seven days we had there we visited Parliament House and attended Question Time. It did not disappoint in providing the theatre that we have all seen on TV. Loved it. (Sooz: Whilst there, we visited the Australian War Memorial and were there for the Last Post Ceremony they conduct daily. This ceremony honours a random fallen serviceman, and is often attended by visiting dignitaries and family members. It was very well done and touching. We spent a couple of hours touring the areas that have many of the embassies. The American embassy is the size of a small suburb. Quite unbelievable! )
A big shout out to my good mate Chris who drove down from the Southern Highlands to spend a night with us.’
From Canberra we crossed the Great Divide and hit the coast and it was nice to see the ocean again. However, towing more than 3 tonnes down the extremely steep decline on the Kings Highway before you get to Batemans Bay was nerve-wracking. When the caravan is trying to push you off the road on a sharp & steep hairpin bend and you can smell the heated metal of your brakes, you start to feel a bit uneasy. And there are a number of sharp bends on a very windy road that has an angle of decline that is as steep as any I have seen.
Tuross Head is 12km off the Princes Highway and we had 5 relaxing days next to one of the two vast lakes that the town is sandwiched between. Took this opportunity to rinse outback dust off the kayak but the weather was pretty ordinary at times while we explored the area. Tuross is a nice spot and about 20 or more kilometres from another town, but there is a distinct lack of shops. There are 2000 people there and only a small group of maybe a dozen shops (and a great little bar/pub) but given the size of the place, it seems that there should be more. It’s got a good golf club! (Sooz: Whilst exploring the area, we did encounter some interesting wildlife. During one walk, we sighted three separate red-bellied black snakes! Glad they had no interest in us.) We are going to head south from here and we now have 6 weeks to get to Wilsons Promontory. This route will/should allow us to avoid the floods.
We had another 5 days on the shores of Wallaga Lake, just north of Bermagui. Great setting, but it was blowing a gale the entire time making activities on the water nigh impossible. The wind has not backed off for 7 or 8 days but I understand that it has been like that for the entire NSW coast for a couple of weeks before we arrived. We discovered the “Blue Pool” at Bermagui – a really good typical rock pool for the locals to swim laps in. Just 100 meters offshore from the pool are a few rocky outcrops where a dozen or more seals were hanging out. Nice. Then a pod of dolphins swept by and at the same time several birds were hitting the water at full speed to grab a feed of school fish. It was easy to sit there for several hours to watch it all. (Sooz: We took a few drives in the area and the scenery is lovely. The view from the front porch of the pub at Bermagui is well worth a visit. As is a visit to historic Central Tilba – the views in all directions are spectacular!)
Pambula I have always wanted to visited Merimbula. But we chose to stay in Pambula – which is only 6 km south and at the other end of the main beach – after speaking to a person at Wallaga Lake who lived in the area. He recommended the Pambula Beach caravan park and it was a good tip. (Sooz: Actually a GREAT tip!) A great spot and has all the trappings of a classic Aussie holiday with a top-shelf caravan park, by a great beach, loaded with kangaroos and just a good feel about the whole place. (Sooz: Loaded with Kangaroos is an understatement. One evening as we re-entered the park around dusk, we counted 34 roos in one area, then passed the deserted area of the park and there was another mob just as big!) The Pambula River is one of the prettiest I have ever seen and its estuary is to die for. Upstream lies a nice lake with oyster leases and I spent about 5 hours paddling around it. Couldn’t catch a fish, though. We spent the 8 days exploring Merimbula, Tathra and Eden. Both Tathra and Merimbula have serious deep-water piers where some serious fishing occurs. These guys were using high-end game-fishing rods & reels and were chasing big prizes like marlin and kingfish. We saw a big Wobbegong caught at Tathra. Susan & I cannot agree on its size, so let’s say it was between 2 & 3 metres. Regardless, it was ugly. If a 70cm Australian salmon was caught, it was immediately returned to the Big Blue, but with a large hook in its back to be used as live bait for something much bigger! I wanted to get involved but this was way out of my league. It was great theatre. (Sooz: We also encountered the resident goanna who lives in the rocks surrounding the pier. It was HUGE! (over 1m). Some of the locals knew it well and one bloke was teasing it with a fish, making it chase him around.) One day, Susan (who reads all the tourist publications) exclaimed that a friend’s band was playing while we were in town. Sure enough – Rohan who is the lead singer for the cover band MicRo – was playing at the Merimbula Raging Bull surf classic Saturday night bash. I rocked up and caught up with our mate Richo who travelled with Rohan and the band for the event. He must be their groupie! Was good to catch up with familiar faces.
Sooz and I had a lovely walk along a great boardwalk around the northern shore of Merimbula lake and were lucky enough to have a 20 minute intimate encounter with an Echidna. The little fella dug and foraged and sniffed around us while we sat and watched and he couldn’t care less. CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW TO HAVE A LOOK
It’s difficult to describe how lovely the whole Merimbula/Pambula area is. The only downside is the fickle weather and the cold ocean water compared to what we are used to. But if the water temperature was 3 or 4 degrees warmer and the weather milder, the area would have a million people living there. Having said that, real estate prices are the equivalent of a large metropolis!
Mallacoota, Vic. Not really sure why we would celebrate crossing the NSW border in a southerly direction as it normally means even colder water and weather 
. Nonetheless, this seaside hamlet which is 30 km off the Princes Hwy features a large estuary amidst a large National Park. It is a beautiful environment that was devastated in the 2018 bushfires to the point that the entire town and tourists were evacuated by the Navy. Some 2000 people were shuttled out of there onto a naval vessel which sailed to Melbourne. Evidence of the fires still exist in the form of blackened tree trunks everywhere and new (replacement) houses being built.
Down the coast a bit is Point Hicks. I did not know that this rugged, rocky headland was the first bit of Australia that Captain Cook spotted in 1770 and he named it after one of his officers. And just offshore and a bit north lies Gabo Island that has one of the tallest lighthouses in Australia.
I have been giving the kayak a good go on the waters here but frustratingly I cannot catch dinner. But it has been nice to be out paddling in what is a pristine environment. This very large estuary has islands and many sandbanks with a nice backdrop of the foothills of the Great Divide.
The enormous caravan park we are in runs along the estuary foreshore and offers a lovely view across the waters. The park comes complete with resident koalas and I am not sure how they would deal with the masses in peak periods – the caravan park has more than 700 sites and is fully booked at Xmas! It is only at maybe 10% capacity while we are here. Had a nice swim in the cold ocean waters of the Tasman Sea on one warm day but I had to cheat by donning my spring wetsuit. (Yeah yeah, I am not an all-conquering, mid-twenties wild animal any longer – if I am going to swim in cold water, I want to be comfortable, so bugger off!) (Sooz: FYI – I am a warm water swimmer ONLY, so I won’t be getting back in the water for some time.)
The weather has not been great since we hit the coast – a lot more ‘ordinary’ days than pleasant ones, and it took a dive to new depths in the Gippsland Lakes region. Fair dinkum, we are getting tired of days where the temp struggles to hit 17 degrees and the damn wind continues to blow like crazy, making it feel colder. We are wondering if we should abandon the whole Victoria/Tasmania thing and head back north! (Sooz: I keep voting for this option, but someone keeps vetoing me.)
The Gippsland Lakes are the largest lake system in the Southern Hemisphere (who knew?) These are a string of lakes that are tied together by narrow channels and rivers that stretch for about 90 kilometres along the Victorian coast. There is only one entrance to the ocean at the thoughtfully named ‘Lakes Entrance’ and it’s a very narrow (150 metres?) and treacherous opening. There is a lot of water trying to go in and out with the tides and to stand and watch the water heave and boil and fight against itself is quite something. We are staying near Paynesville which is a nice village on the shores of King Lake. To be sure, it is a far nicer spot than the head-scratchingly popular and better known but rather shabby and non-descript town of Lakes Entrance (where the aforementioned entrance is!) Having said that, a magnificent gem of a spot is another village situated at the end of a peninsula between two lakes, called Metung. Complete with its own village green lined with cafes and delis, a lovely marina, idyllic surrounds and ripping pub, Metung is a place a man could retire to (except for the weather!) There is a brand new upmarket hot-springs spa that has just opened, some lovely properties in the area and a good-looking golf course. (Sooz: Disappointingly, we did not get to enjoy the hot springs. It is avery nice outdoor facility, but the wind and rains just would not let up!) Metung is well-to-do and nice! Back to Paynesville, and just across a narrow channel lies Raymond Island. There is a punt to take you across and amongst the few residents is a koala colony. We strolled along the Koala Walk and Susan won the competition of who could spot the most. The score was 10 – 3 with another one that was jointly spotted. The see 14 koalas over a 700-metre walk was a joy and given they can be so difficult to see, we wondered how many we missed and how many exist away from the defined area. Oh, and there were also 100,000 mosquitos thrown in as part of the experience.
ALIVIO TOURIST PARK. 7.5/10 (Great facilities, only 7km from the CBD, needs a few more trees/grass) Sooz: 7/10 (Great facilities, BUT way too sterile for me.)
TUROSS LAKESIDE TOURIST
PARK. 6.5/10 (Sooz: 6/10 | Sites were VERY small – luckily, it was not busy while
we were there, so we were not crowded, but it would be a nightmare at peak
times!)
REGATTA POINT HOLIDAY PARK, WALLAGA LAKE 6/10
DISCOVERY PARKS, PAMBULA
BEACH. 9/10 (Loved
it! The best so far) Sooz: Maybe even a 9.5/10! (In
addition to two swimming pools, kids play area, putt putt, games room, great showers, toilets, huge camp kitchen it
also has an adults only lounge with a view.
Not bad!)
MALLACOOTA FORESHORE PARK
: 8/10 Sooz: 8/10 ??
LAKE KING WATERFRONT
CARAVAN PARK : 7.5/10 (Sooz: 8/10 – Small but
very well done – another park that has an adults lounge – this one was done up like
a proper bar, had a huge screen TV, good sound system, lounges, pool table, bar
tables the works. It was great!)
So nice to read about your adventures! Have a very merry Christmas and happy New Year! Love and hugs to both of you!
Thanks for the update, guys! Great to hear about your adventures… just sorry the weather has been so crap 😟 hopefully you’ll get a bit nicer weather over the next few weeks, but I’m not sure that’ll be the case as my experience of Melbourne & Tassie is that it NEVER warms up 😂
Merry Christmas & hope you have a wonderful Festive Season 🎅🏼
Another great update of your travels – writers for The Lonely Planet next ..
Have a great Festive Season!
Continue to keep well and safe.
Shaz & James xx
I love your writing Leigh (and the Sooz interjections!). It makes me want to hit the road, that’s for sure. I’ll be saving all you recommendations for the day when we can do just that. Have a lovely Christmas you guys,
Trace (+ Richo aka the groupie) xxx
Merry Christmas Sooz and Leigh thank you for the updates you both write so well good to see you soaking up nature and embracing each experience. Safe travels and I look forward to your next post Nx
What a great read Leigh and Sooz! Loved the koalas of Raymond Island and how cool that you caught up with Rohan and Richo. My family used to visit Tuross Heads at Christmas time when I was very small. I remember the beautiful white sand and almost deserted beaches. Beautiful. How did you spend Christmas Day? Wishing you both a great NYE wherever you might be! Lots of love Mairin and Angus xx
Happy New Year and bons voyages for 2023!
Great to ready your blog – keep it up. Happy travels.
SO many great photos
Looks like a trip of a lifetime
Will you ever come back??