Mallacoota,
Australia
Saturday, December 9, 2006
As we drove out the park this morning we passed the events hall place, where they had a carol concert in full swing, a choir singing Ruldolph the Red Nosed Raindeer. It was so funny only because the sun was shining, it was hot and we were driving past kangeroos. It couldn't be further from a UK Christmas if you tried. It was a short drive to a little town called Eden, famed in the olden days for whaling. Apparently you can still see all sorts of whales during the breeding season. We drove to the wharf, not because we'd planned it, just because I couldn't read the map properly and that's where we ended up! We were both a bit peckish and saw a lovely little harbour side café where we caught a quick bite to eat while looking at the boats. We stopped at the information centre to get an update on the fires we are heading towards and to find the nearest supermarket. From Eden we took a turning off the motorway and headed to a place called Gipsy Point, a remote and very quiet fishing village that was comprised of no more than a lake, a boat ramp and a few exclusive apartments overlooking said lake and boat ramp. There was a tiny little jetty from which a boat cruise when three times a week, the next trip being tomorrow. We stopped for a short while to sit in the sun and soak up the tranquillity of our surroundings. It was so quiet, there was no one else around at all. We didn't stop too long before continuing the journey to a small lakeside town called Mallacoota. We drove to the info centre on the whaft and for the sum of 70 cents (28p) we purchased a map that told us all about the little town and a walking map that would take us on a circuit of the whole town, taking in the National Park it was next too. The old guy in the info centre was a proper character, really enthusiastic about the place he lived in, telling us not to tell anyone else about out find. He also spotted our sandal clad feet and warned we might want to put walking boots on or closed shoes because of the snakes - eek! We spotted a lovely campsite along the waters edge, it stretched for ages, right along the sand banks. We enquired about cost then set off for Bastian point, right by the beach section of the walk, parking up, grabbing some water and then setting off for the sand. The beach was gorgeous, everything a beach should be. I'm amazed at how impressed I still am about seeing beachs considering how many I've seen here and how many they have here. But the sand was golden and the sea was turquoise and then sun was shining... we walked for ages, a good 2km up the beach to the huge sand dune at the far end. Lee couldn't resist it, up he went, climbed right to the top, the dune must have been about 40 - 60 foot in height, it took him a while to get up there and just a few minutes to get down, filling every single pocket in his combats with sand, piles of it. I think it took him just as long to empty the sand out of everything. I had a mini dash up it once he'd got down and then we had a race to see who could run up it the furthest. It was good fun, but a bit tiring in the early evening sun and after a long walk. I think we did about 5km round trip before getting back to the car. When we arrived back at the campsite the office was shut, so we drove around for a bit to find a suitable spot near the facilites block. We found a spot right near Captain Stevenson's point, away from most people but with a lovely view of the lake and the sandbanks. I was worried about camping and not paying but Lee assured me it was ok. I thought we should have left the office a note or put a note in our dashboard but he wouldn't have it. Right out on the point was a picnic table so we took our beer and wine down to it to enjoy with a lovely view across the lake. Lee took his binoculars down, only to find they'd got sand in them from his sand dune escapade. While we were drinking we spotted, what looked like, a security truck pull up by our van, it stopped then as we started walking back towards it, it pulled off and headed away. I was a bit worried by this but Lee ignored it and we set off for another walk from the view point of the campsite back to Bastian Point, except when we got to the walk part of a river cut the route off so we couldn't do it. We did stop on the beach for a while, or for as long as the flies would let us, looking at the birds. We spotted a sea eagle, we think, as well as the laughing crows and birds that sound like a monkey. The birds and wildlife are much more interesting over here than in NZ, sorry NZ, but the birds over here are so colourful and there are so many of them. As we walked back to our campervan a police car was pulled up right by it, as we got closer it pulled off and into the car park by the point. I panicked, convinced the security truck had reported us or something, we both walked to the van, luckily the door was away from where the police car had parked, I ducked in to get my purse then snuck off towards the office to see if I could pay my dues before being packed up and slung in the slammer, leaving Lee to deal with PC Plod. Lee thought I was mad, and when I got back I did feel a bit mad really because it turned out that Mr PC was just doing his rounds. He'd had quite a chat with Lee and we found out that our 'Croc' was probably a goanna lizard plus got some tips on a few walks to do tomorrow. He was a really nice bloke and also put my mind at ease about the camp site fees, saying they were pretty relaxed about it all - phew! A night of connect 4 followed along with a dusk display by the pink and white parrot birds.
