Well, isn’t the year just flying by, Easter already, yet I’m sure the days will pass more slowly as they become darker and colder. Coming as it does on the crux of autumn, Easter in Australia represents the last opportunity for minibuses of extended families to offload a plethora of camping gear including the kitchen sink at any number of beachside shanty towns. Meanwhile, one intrepid Englishman armed with a camera, a lack of sleep and a sense of fish and chips rides in their wake.
I spent a couple of days on the South Coast. Now that’s hardly specific… the South Coast here represents anything south of Sydney (such is Sydney’s egotistical position at centre of universe). So specifically, far south! So far south, at least half the car number plates said “Victoria – The
Place to be” (well, clearly not, judging by how many there were in the bottom corner of NSW). Eden is the furthest south, perched upon the edge of the world, where whales wail and fish are dished out beside the wharf.
Heading just slightly north, I spent a little while at Pambula Beach on Friday afternoon, one of my favourite spots down here, thanks to the gorgeous river flitting its way through Ben Boyd National Park. It also has possibly the most active and well-funded Lions Clubs in existence, paving the way for numerous bushland walkways and lookouts across ocean and river.
Pambula Beach is like a little suburb of Merimbula, the largest town in the area, fully fitted with all mod cons yet never really being anything but immensely chilled. Conveniently it has a bit of a motel strip, where basic but comfortable brick and brown décor provides a cheap bed for the night. At one such place I dumped my stuff and headed around town before darkness hit. The town itself is situated on a river which, in one direction, winds its way out into the sapphire ocean
while in the other broadens into a lake where men are men and the fish are scared. At Bar Beach, just inside the river mouth, I picked my way along golden sand and red rocks, finding yet more Lions Club activity from which to watch the day fade.
The next day the sporadic sleep patterns I have been experiencing of late kicked in as I awoke just before six. No problemo… pop out for an amble, watch the sun come up and get back to watch an hour or two of The Masters in bed. Magic (though The Masters part was pretty dull in comparison).
With such an early start, coffee was an imperative.
Coffee and a side of breakfast, and why not when you can spend it in the warm sunshine beside the water. This is the kind of thing Australians seem to excel at, still 8/10 for coffee, 7/10 for breakfast and 10/10 for sunny happy relaxing can life get any better vibe.
The coffee injection propelled me back to the Pambula River for the remainder of the morning, this time exploring a section on the south bank, from the headland of Haycock Point looking down to Long Beach and then down probably the narrowiest, bumpiest, sandy road to another slot of sand and shallow sapphire water. Lying beside the water, even reading Ian Holloway’s autobiography couldn’t ruin the atmosphere.
And now it was kind of time to take a very slow, frequently interrupted journey back to Canberra. A distinct change of scenery was provided by a small random detour inland, which led briefly to Switzerland before returning to the Princes Highway and an Australian land of dingoes, potaroos and wackadrongos. Potaroo Palace was billed as a native animal place where they took in stray dingoes and the like, gave them some rehab and then let them go again I think. Possibly. All rather worthy, I suppose altruistically deserving of my $16, despite many of the enclosures being closed for voluntary do-gooding and the presence of non-native species. Good idea, needs better execution. Anyway, here are the not so cuddly native Australian animal shots.
I think I mentioned earlier about this being the last big chance for the bucket and spade brigade, and so the last stop of the trip was fittingly on the wide golden beach at Tathra. The sun was clinging on for dear life and with a water temperature probably around 19C I was able to get my feet wet for one last time before it cools even further. While dips in the water may be put on hold, thankfully we have coffee and caramel slices to console ourselves, and little nana naps to the sound of waves to refresh us ready for long drives over mountains, through tumultuous thunderstorms and back to the bright lights of the capital city. And to add extra comfort, we can finish the day with a nice hot chocolate to warm the heart in the heart of the heart of the nation. Happy Easter y’all.
Anzac Day usually marks the unofficial start of the descent into winter, a time when heating can be rightly justified and soups and stews replace salads and snags. In reality this usually means a drop in temperature to the high teens and fine, sunny, autumnal days for many more weeks to come. Or it has in the past. This year, a rather big dump was deposited upon us.
