Broulee Holiday Inn

... a novelty to have one.

Sherree warned us there is nothing interesting north of Narooma, which may be a bit harsh! She also said we weren't to tell anyone about her fantastic part of the coast, (Mimosa Rocks) so as to keep it unspoilt. So we said we wouldn't, and you mustn't. But we'll be back, bcs there is so much we haven't time to see, so many tracks A hasn't been allowed to drive and loads inland we haven't even glanced at. And this is ...

... Highway, in search of a suitable campsite. We pulled into a few but they looked busy. So, fabulous sounding sites on Merry Beach, Pretty Beach and Pebbly Beach each got the heave ho and we ended up at the terribly named, Depot Beach.
There were some v friendly kangaroos at the site - and one helped A set up our camp. He actually let A stroke him, (see photos coming later) it was like being at Pets Corner.
So that brings us full circle. We're now sitting on a ...

... schnapps being passed around!! The next day Ewan went fishing and had to watch everyone else around him haul in salmon while he got nothing except one that was way too small!! Poor boy! Anyway he came back and we went for a swim in the sea, well I got fireman lifted and chucked into the water as I wasn't getting in quick enough!!! Luckily I love this man.... We would like to have stayed longer but need to keep moving south as time is ticking!

... Dinner at the villa (Australian cheeses and wine, including an excellent Tasmanian cheddar with Tasmanian pepper), as close as possible to the log fire. Went outside to take a picture of the villa... came face to face with a possum!  Spent the next 30 minutes possum-spotting with the outside lamp... a bit like being on a night  safari! Re-filled the log fire and went to bed. 

... very nice drive between Murrumbateman and Bungendore in the middle of eucalyptus, gum trees, etc. - a more arid landscape contrasting with the rural areas of Orange/Cowra) Braidwood (nice little town with historic buildings) Bateman's Bay Broulee Arrived at The Bower around 6pm. The Bower: Fantastic place with individual villas spread in the middle of the bush and ...

... and Jonah had to go back home. After they left, we decided to take Travis to Mogo and Tilba-we skipped Tilba Tilba altogether. He found neat stuff for folks there too. We also had some delicious fish and chips-fresh caught fish battered and fried very crisp and then lovely fries. We almost caused a sea gull riot when we started giving some bits to some young gulls that were following their frustrated mothers around trying to get fed and peeping a lot. I ...

After our cold trip inland to Katoomba in the Blue Mountains we decided to come back on ourselves and head straight back out to the coast. We ended up at a place called Windang after 4 hours of driving. Not through choice but necessity. Driving can be really tough over here, especially when there is so much of ....erm ... nothing ! Windang was a really small seaside village with the ocean on one side and a lake on the other. We spent that evening ...

... After a hot walk for an hour or so we arrived on the most beautiful beach which was pretty much ours besides 1 or 2 fishermen. It was truly a gorgaous place which we didn't really want to leave when the time came. In the evening we got ready for hitting the road again the next day. Wanderung durch den BUSH an dessen Ende wir den wunderschoensten Strand fanden. Wir waren die einzigen Menschen am Strand und das Ganze war wie im Film.

... massive hailstones (May, Australia, hailstones - huh!) and driving down a very long, dark and foggy road with Thriller playing (on our fancy cd player of course) we stopped off at Merry beach to see the kangaroos. Managed to get very up close and personal with a few of them which was great. Arrived that evening at Shady Willows Holiday Park where we got a free upgrade to our own private cabin which was mighty gid as it had a tv, free tea and 7 beds!!

... rosellas and lorikeets. The beach is spectacular, an arch of sand giving way to rugged rocks. There were plenty of tidal pools where you could find all kinds of interesting ocean life. It was a cool day so no dipping our toes in. It is winter after all! We found a nice picnic table and had a visit from a monitor lizard and two kookaburras while having lunch. Other people ...