5th & 6th May 2012
OBERON
Leaving Dubbo it seemed prudent to stop at Big W and purchase a wind jacket for Greg as his is in the Boat and maybe a couple of electric blankets to go with our beds after the last couple of cold nights! So saying, we parked after much ado in the very end of the parking lot in the large centre just outside of Dubbo (because Greg said we couldn't & I said we could do just like that guy over there is doing!) and went into Big W. We found the wind jacket for Greg, and a pair of flanellette 'jamies (with cute fairies on them) for me, AND an egg-shell piece of foam for Greg, AND a wool underlay for me. (As you always do when you go into "the Big Doub" :) oops! and a clothes dryer stand for both of us so we don't have to use the dryers all the time at $3 each time.
Travelling onward we took a detour to Wellington Caves with a carving of the the Leptodocas (our Wombat's cousin) which was found in this area in 1840 and found to be living around 13,000 to 12,000 years ago. That was one major wombat - good job they only eat roots and leaves (Imagine coming face to face with an 8 foot high wombat - Sorry no pic as camera battery died right at that moment - as THEY do).
The tour of the caves was not due to leave for about another 2 hours, so we decided that we couldn't do the tour as we would be too late arriving at Karen and John's place in Oberon.
Lunch in Molong and fuelled up in Bathurst. The fuel seems to indicate we are averaging about 6.78 K/ltr (or 14.74 Lts per 100kms) pulling the van in a bit of hilly country now.
Arriving at Oberon we headed out to Kaz and John's for a couple of days R&R with our long time friends from Sydney. They have a lovely farm block just on the outskirts of Oberon.
With magic views from where their home is planned on the block we can imagine the tranquillity they will eventually have all to themselves. Lucky-ducks!
Temperatures here each night have made 0*C with that cute little white frosting evident on everything early in the morn. Cheeky wind has a way of sneaking up on you here late in the afternoon also we notice. With that low night temp approaching, while waiting on the roast lamb, time for the fire box to be loaded and the warmth encompassed passionately !!!!! or something like that was the thoughts I'm sure *lol*
Monday 7th May 2012
OBERON to BATEMAN'S BAY
Leaving Oberon today, we travelled past the large lake built by the Pulp Mill for it's requirements, so as not to deplete the town's water supply. This man-made lake/water supply has also been given to supply the town when needed, serving a two-fold purpose.
Huge expanses of pine forest can be seen around this area and was the backbone of the building of Oberon.
On Kaz's recommendation, we had morning tea in Taralga which was very nice I must say. This town first was founded in 1819 settled not long afterwards. It has some lovely buildings restored and looked after nicely.
..........................................................................................................................................................
OMG! THIS JUST HAD TO HAPPEN DIDN'T IT .....................
LEFT to BATEMAN'S BAY OR RIGHT to CANBERRA
Which way to go; which way to go;
GREG: Quck - I have to put a blinker on. *slight panic in the voice*
ME: I don't mind - You're the driver so you choose *hehehe oblivious to the vehicle on our tail*
GREG: Make up your mind quick. *changing down through the gears, less panicky*
ME: Whichever you like Honey *still unaware of the traffic behind*
GREG: 2nd Gear and around to the left
Obviously Bateman's Bay, which was the original plan, changed many times in recent weeks, but now back onto the "coastal way" *lol* Life can be full of unexpected turns can't it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lunching in Braidwood, at a nice & cosy bakery set in an old Bank Building. Great pastries! Wonder what the waist measurements will be like if we keep this up?
We arrived at Bateman's Bay this afternoon and checked into our Caravan Park on the waterfront -
Late Afternoon Evening from the caravan
If you have never been to Bateman's Bay, it is well worth making the effort to get there. It would be a great place for holidays and would imagine a really nice place to live as well.
Nearby areas surrounding Bateman's
Bay include:-
Bay include:-
Surfside Beach & Cullendulla Creek
Lillipilli Beach
Mosquito Bay
& Jimmies Island
Melville Pt
and Tomakin River
An interesting restaurant I spotted too late in Moruya, so didn't actually get to savour the cuisine but would have loved to :-
No, not the barber shop guys!
Wednesday 9th May
Now, I'm sure you all are aware that Greg is not a great lover of the Animal Kingdom and we had not long ago just been to Dubbo Zoo, so when we realised that Mogo Private Zoo was quite nearby (only 12kms actually), I thought we might head out that way. Overnight though I had a few quiet thinking moments to myself and mentioned to Greg in the morning that he really didn't have to come if he didn't really want to.
Well, gee wiz: anyone would have thought that I had just come up the the best idea in history and he proceeded to announce that he would do a few things around the van. Guy stuff and all that..... maybe a little rock-walking after a little sleeping, you know!
Anyway, I headed off to MOGO to see their breeding group of Snow Leopards which have helped
increase the numbers of these extremely endangered cats.
Some of you may have seen several pics I loaded on facebook of the animals at MOGO, but here a few for those of you who missed them:-
Oh! I just want one of these :)
Mogo's breeding program with the white lions has resulted with young being re-leased back into Africa which now carry the rare recessive 2 genes that produce them. Hunted almost to extinction for their beautiful pelts, hopefully they will be able to regenerate in their homeland again.
I also had the opportunity to go with Marie on the lunch feeding of the Lemurs. This was unexpectedly fantastic (I really do know where my genes come from now *lol*) What a treat and Marie was wonderful in sharing her knowledge and thoughts in this specialised field. Normally with the small primates, Marie is also finding lots of fun and trials with these larger ones, particularly the black-handed spider monkeys who are quite challenging, even to the point of pinching to get your attention just like little pre-school kids. These are smart guys and they know it too.
With Jack
 |
Ratatoulie and Steph |
Stephanie
Enjoing a scratch - This guy was just phenomenal: a full 30 minutes undisturbed with him and he just kept asking for more pats, scratched (and sultanas & peanuts but please hold the puffed rice*lol*)
MOGO Private Zoo is an absolute credit to it's owners, staff and volunteers. The animals are truly cared for and their breeding programmes with endangered animals is world standard - very impressive and totally privately funded.
Thursday 10th May 2012
Bateman's Bay to Merimbula
We headed south today towards Merimbula, via Tuross Heads. This pic for you Julie *lol* (thought we had come further than this)-
On the way we saw Pambula Bay -
Narooma
Tilba where I got the Cheese and
Camel Rock
Bermagui, Cudugee Creek and Boddarra Bay.
We booked into our Park today in Merimbula and went for a bit of look around. The Jetty at the Aquarium has great views of Bar Beach and Mitchies Jetty is a quaint spot to leave on fishing trips
Water was a tad cold (about 14*C) so I thought I'd give the scuba diving a miss today.
Under the jetty just near here were several very large stingrays and there were also a few people donning wet-suits to brave the water and see the cold water reefs.
Pambula Beach is a much larger area than first percived and appears to have been the initial area of settlement prior to Merimbula.
A little drive into Ben Boyd National Park between Pambula and Eden with a short walk to the cliff edge showed the remarkable colours of "the Pinnacles" rock formations and if the trees were Mopane instead of Eucalypts one could almost imagine the cyclonic damage to the trees as being the result of elephant grazing!
Dinner tonight at Merimbula Bowls Clubwas very nice, with Greg having a Scotch Fillet/Mushroom Sauce and me a Veal Billabong with Pineapple & Tomato Salsa. This was Greg's turn to cook so I guess I can't complain about his choice *lol*
A trip into Bega and the Bega Cheese Factory was interesting and the countryside around Bega on the North is lush & green, where as it is completely different on the southern side. The Cheese Factory unfortunately doesn't have tours, so we didn't get to see how they make that yummy Colby but the museum sections had some very old and restored items of interest to see.
Saturday 12th May 2012
Merimbula
Today we visited the Merimbula Aquarium which has superb exhibits of Octopai, Squid and Pot-belly Seahorses & 11 legged Sea Stars among some of the more unusual displays, along with a 17,000 gal OceanTank sporting many of the larger Reef Fish.
Interestingly, the Lakes around this area are home to many young reef fish off our Great Barrier Reef in the north that get washed down in the Summer currents. They mature here in the relatively gentle conditions of the shallow lakes and then make their way back up to the reef. Quite astounding considering their smallish sizes and the distance to cover to get back home.
Yey! Tomorrow is Mother's Day Whoo-Hoo! (Hope I get brekky in bed)
Sunday, 13th May 2012 (MOTHER'S DAY)
Nope, no brekky in bed, but Bacon, Eggs & Tomato before: wait for it.....................................
It rained all night last night and during some strange hour I woke and asked Greg if he could hear someone at our caravan's boot. Since he didn't answer and was obviously not too concerned because he would have locked the boot before going to bed, I did (as all good wives would do), go back to sleep.
Ah ha! Upon casually mentioning it to Greg the next morning he said he knew it rained and "thanks very much for helping me put the chairs away in the boot during all that rain". Ah well, at least I wasn't dreaming I heard someone at the front of the van.............
Now, in his generous mood this morning Greg also seemed to think it was time for me to learn how to hook the van up. Yep, very generous of him (and trusting too, I might add).
Well, he tells me to connect the camera up in the cab so I can see the tow-bar and the draw bar and know where to reverse to and when to stop. "Don't forget to watch the camera, Deb"
Well sure Honey! I can do that, but what if the camera doesn't work ----- Greg waves, 3 times forward, 3 times back and finally hooked up and he say's "Why did you keep going forward when I told you to stop and brake? Everytime I went to put the pin in you went and moved forward". Oh dear, and I only got on 3 times in a row even though the camera wouldn't work - all it was showing me was the driveway out of the park!
But wait, there's more generosity to come yet! Yes, I was allowed (on Mother's Day mind you, so I guess that this was really my present, not the Bacon & Eggs) to drive us and the van all the 30 kms to Eden, in the rain and the wind. Wow! And I even got to reverse park the van on our new site in Eden Tourist Park. Gosh I hate to think what the other van residents thought of Greg at that moment *lol*
Well, this afternoon we had a tour of the "ENDEAVOUR" which was in port before leaving next Tuesday for Sydney. The pics following show some of the splendour of Capt Cook's ship.
Stay tuned for the tour & the Killer Whale Museum trip...............
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