The Deep South

We seem to be getting a few more cockatoos stopping by the house these days. They are pretty but the noise is probably the sqwawkiest of all the noisy birds out here…not good for the morning unless you need to get up early.

An early morning was a good thing on Saturday however, as it was a good day to escape the heat of Canberra and head to the coast. Once again it was onto the Monaro Highway southbound to Cooma, where a road stop in McDonalds brought about a surreal situation. Sweltering in shorts, armed with a frozen coke and avoiding the flies, the background music felt a bit wrong… “Oh the weather outside is frightful, and the fire is so delightful…” clearly needs to be rearranged for the Australian market… “Oh the weather outside is delightful, but the bush fires are pretty frightful”

After Cooma, the drive took us through barren sunburnt plains and hills before leading to the more easy on the eye environment of South East Forests National Park. This was a blissful stop, with lush succulent smelling forests and overlooks to the hazy fields and hills heading to the coast. Like every road to the coast, this one was no different, zig-zagging down from 2500 feet to near sea level in the space of a few kilometres.

A lunch stop followed in Bega, home of one of the most famous brands of cheese in Australia, where I had a cheese-less bacon and egg roll and iced coffee. Finally after what seemed ages, we hit the coastline of the far south of New South Wales. I'll say now, this has been my favourite place I have been on the South Coast…beautiful beaches, lagoons, lakes, stunning bushland, mountains and rolling pastoral fields.

We were staying at a place called Merimbula, were there was another YHA for a cheap sleep…this one only 150 metres from the surf beach. Just down the road from Merimbula is a small town called Pambula and Pambula Beach, where a walk along the river was beautiful. I think the pictures tell the story.

Just across from Pambula is Ben Boyd National Park, one of the many coastal parks in this part of the world which encompass pristine bushland, secluded beaches, meandering creeks and rocky headlands. Taking a short walk out through some of the bush to a coastal overlook, an echidna was busily rooting around on the side of the path. He got scared a little, but not as much as I did when a wallaby or something leapt out of the bushes, crossed the path and disappeared into the undergrowth. So I was watching an echidna in the bush when a wallaby jumped out … how Australian does that sound?!

Just a hundred yards from where the echidna was curling up were these rocks which are called The Pinnacles.

Ben Boyd National Park surrounds the most southerly NSW coastal town of Eden, which is a haven for whales in the winter and at 6pm on a Saturday night in December a haven for very little else. It was pretty dead, but there was a nice overlook over Twofold Bay and the coastal mountains, which, in the smoky haze and cloud which had bubbled up gave an end-of-the-world type feel.

Back in Merimbula, the good times continued with a fine meal of crispy pork belly and roasted vegetables before a few games of pool and beers…


…fried breakfast was the order of Sunday morning, sat by the sea overlooking the beaches and estuary of Merimbula. It was shaping up into a beautiful day and Merimbula was sparkling. It’s called the Sapphire Coast down here, pretty apt name really.

From Merimbula, the Sapphire Coast Drive takes you to Bournda National Park, which features more bushland and beaches and, after a bit of a drive along a dirt track, a lagoon. This was one of those pure natural places, an oasis surrounding by golden sand, rocky eucalyptus covered hills backed by the roar of the sea over the dunes. It was a wonderful stop for a bit of a dip.

It was tough to leave and a long drive waited up the coast and back across the mountains to Canberra. There were a few stops along the way, including Mimosa Rocks National Park, where I

decided to sit (and nearly fall off) a tree!

Luckily I wasn’t sat on the tree that must have fallen over after we had gone past it, as, on the way back out of the park it was partially blocking the dirt road and we had to squeeze through!

The landscape alternated between hilly bush and national park, golden farmland and windswept beaches and the pretty tourist village of Mogo until reaching Batemans Bay and turning back inland towards Canberra. The drive over Clyde Mountain was as spectacular and ever so slightly hairy as ever and then followed the drag back across the tablelands to the promised land of Queanbeyan and finally the ACT.

Canberra was feeling steamy and decidedly smoky. There are big bushfires in Victoria at the moment and a few other smaller ones closer to home, creating a smoky and hazy atmosphere and a doomsday red sky as the sun goes down. It sure is gonna be a different Christmas!