Rock Pooling

We have spent a few days surfing some of the most beautiful beaches we have ever seen. One in particular called North Durras. It's right on the edge of a rainforest. We have camped nearby in another beauty spot called Bawley Point. We are right behind the sand dunes. We had a terrific thunderstorm one night. It was spectacular. Other evenings we explored the rock pools where we found all sorts of creatures including octopus, starfish and giant crabs.

Cassey Bay Campsite

After the stinger fiasco we decided we should get on a proper campsite for the night, with John's stings being around his face and neck they were difficult to soak in hot water so hot showers were needed (it had been nearly a month since our last hot shower so we were very excited). It was a nice campsite with loads of giant orbe spiders, they're amazing looking and don't bite, yay. Again this campsite came with it's super friendly regulars. Jack and Karen, or Gum Nut and Chuck as known by friends, were a lovely couple with two young girls. They were both sheep sheerer from the bush. A cup of coffee lead to a few beers and chatting until the early hours. We were exhausted the next day as we normally go to bed when the sun sets (so we were a good 5 hours past our bed time).The next day we returned to the forest to recover.

Snorkelling and Friendly Drunks

We had considered buying either a guitar (we are having withdrawl symptoms from not playing), or snorkelling gear. The snorkelling won and we now have a mask, snorkel and set of fins each. I (John) even had to shave off my beard, as advised, to give the mask a tighter seal and Ruth was so excited she wore her gear around the camp ground. Armed with our new toys we headed for some beautiful rocky bays, the first Lilly Pillys (this is where we called you from Penny, it was great to speak to you on your birthday). There was still a bit too much chop in the water here which churned up the sand making the visibility a bit unclear.. Our second attempt was the most fun. We went to a place a few bays down called Garden Bay. The water was clear and we saw lots of fish and urchins. After swimming beside the rocks on one side we decided to cross the bay to look at the rocks on the other side. Less than 10 metres across we were suddenly surrounded by jelly fish including Blue bottles AGAIN. There were hundreds and they were all around us, it happened so fast. Ruth noticed them first and shouted over to warn me but it was too late. I was stung across the chin, lip and one had wrapped around my neck. We were both stung around the ankles. The pain is quite intense and gets gradually stronger. We managed to peel them away from my throat and I must admit I did feel a little panicked for a while. Ruth went into lifeguard mode and found us a safe route back close into the rocks trying to avoid more jellies. After a good soaking in hot water the pain quickly subsided along with the swelling. There were a few other snorkellers in too who also got taken by suprise by the jellies sudden mass arrival. Thankfully we at least had our wetsuits on otherwise we'd have been covered in the stingers. We got so much advice on what to do: “hot waters what you need”,
“No that's not right it's cold water”,
“Nah mate, put some vinegar on it”,
“Lavender oil works best”.
In the end we found hot water to be as good as anything. Whilst nursing our stings we got chatting to some very drunk but incredibly friendly Aussies. Everyone offers you a place to stay. Or insists you at least pop round for a cuppa and a Yarn, but we never like to take up the offers when they've been given drunk as they might not remember making the offer.

Moruya Breakwall

We have headed up to a lovely little town called Moruya. It's just south of a place called Batemans Bay (near ish to Canberra). We found a great wave breaking off a man made break wall just at the river mouth. The waves were usually busy but one morning the two of us had it to ourselves, it was great!. A long right hander (great fun). As usual we were not far from the marine life again. We witnessed a male dolphin in full attack mode. A local told us it was 'smacking' the fish. Chasing them and then breaching out of the water in attack. It was very impressive. We later found out that for the past few weeks there has been a Tiger shark hanging out by the breakwall eating the fish that come out of the river. We didn't see it and were told not to worry as it's got plenty of food. We were still a bit spooked though.

Forest Walks

With each national park camping area there is normally some great hiking trails too. Mummuga Lake was a lovely walk. Glad we're not in the croc territory yet.

Hello Possums

We have been using our tent, Codling, when it's a hot but dry night, it's a lot cooler being able to have the through draft. When you're in the tent you obviously hear so much more than when in the van. One night when we were sleeping in the forest we heard noises coming from the van area, we had a look through the tent netting but couldn't see anything. The next day some people who had been camping next to us commented on the noisy possums hanging around the vehicles last night. That explained it. Apparently they like to rub themselves up against the van, including the vents which can result in a real smell of wet dog when you start up the engine the next morning. We were pleased to hear that the smell wasn't us.

The Stingers Return

We had our final days surf at Camel Rock before heading further up the coast. Unfortunately the north easterly winds brought in our little floating buddies again; the Blue Bottle Jellyfish. I (Ruth) became the first victim, one wrapped around my ankle. I had to pull it off in the water, there seemed to be loads of it, and also stung my hand in doing so. Hot water soon took away the pain, it just left a mark for a few days.

Shark nets

We couldn't decide if the shark nets surrounding the swimming zone in Narooma should be settling as you could have a swim without the chance of a finned friend or unsettling because they feel there's a need for the net and we're normally surfing on the other side of it.

John Verses the Cockroach.

It was dark and a giant cockroach was trying to battle it's way through the curtains into the van. I (John) aimed the torch at the little blighter to try and catch it and it decided to attack. After it flew into my chest I stumbled backwards over a big log behind the van and did a full backwards somersault over the log. Very funny. If only we'd had it on tape!

New digs.

It can get a little warm in the van at night so we've invested in a cheap tent. It does the business although you can get get wet in heavy rain. We have named it Codling.

Rain, rain, rain

It's a WET summer in Oz this year. There has been lots of floods although not where we have been but we have seen a lot of rain. The last couple of days have been very wet. Although we are not complaining as we know how the weather's been at home.

Camel Rock

We have spend a good few nights camping at a place called Bermegui and at a great free site further north in the Narooma. In between these places is a good surfing beach named Camel Rock (there is a rock that looks like a camel). The waves have been good, we've surfed alongside dolphins again. One day a strong north-easterly wind brought hundreds of blue bottle jellyfish into the bay. They are only small but have long blue stingers up to a meter in length that can give a painful sting as they rap around you. Luckily they float so are easier to spot than other jelly fish so we've managed to avoid them so far.

Fix it Tuesday

We have been spending our days surfing at a place called Tathra. Really nice little town that has come alive in the summer. There's no free camping on the beach front so we have been making a short journey inland to a place called Bega (famous for Cows and particularly their cheese – Bega Cheese). With a few jobs to do we decided to have a productive day in Bega. We fixed our camping chairs, made curtains (finally). Ruth did most of the work and closely supervised my efforts. They are looking good and ORANGE. Lastly I (John), getting back in touch with my masculine side, fixed the van. The van had been back firing on Gas (which to be fair gave you loads of space on the road). We bought some tools and spark plugs and hay presto we are back running smoothly on gas. I'm glad I listened to my Dad when he taught me to service a car. Thanks Dad.

New Year in Merimbula!

New years eve was probably the hottest day we've had so far. With no surf we had a nice beach day. We picked up some tasty food from the super market and decided to head back to a camping ground that we'd spent a couple of nights at, a place high up in the forest called Yellow Pinch Dam. The ground was quiet except for one other family and an occasional man that would appear from the woods. Presumably most people chose to see in the New Year in the Town, or even more popular heading for Sydney. Again another lovely family, they were also taking a year out to travel, the only difference was they were doing it with 3 children, brave!
We had a lovely evening, We cooked a nice meal, made a fire, played a variation of Beetle, but instead of using dice we used 'pass the pig' pigs and instead of drawing beetles we drew Koalas. John was the winner of Koala! By midnight we were the only ones still up, we celebrated with a drink of fizz and sang a quiet version of auld lang syne. It was lovely! A perfect way to see in the New year!
The next day we even found a beach we didn't know existed and to our surprise that's where the surf had been hiding. Yay! Once we were suited up and ready to get in the water John turned to me and said 'What's that in the water?' I thought he was winding me up as we've often played this cruel joke on each other but as I looked out to sea I got a glimpse of a fin. I had to double take, but waiting to catch sight of it again we saw a huge gracefully leap out of the water, it was a dolphin, and then another and another, there was a whole group of them, they were amazing! We've never seen dolphins in their own habitats, a few Porpoises at Filey Beach but not this size and not this many, it was fantastic.
Happy New Year! Hope 2011 is a great one!.x

An alternative Christmas Day.

We got up early to the sun shining brightly and everyone around the site in good spirits, wishing each other Merry Christmas. It was a strange feeling for us both to be so far away from home and families on Christmas Day but also to have such a bright, sunny day. After breakfast we did something that should never be done on Christmas day – laundry. But because it was our last day on the site and also due to the weather being so quickly changeable we thought we'd make the most of the sunshine. We kept it festive though, we wore our Santa hats and even tried to double up the hanging of the laundry with decorating the van by keeping the white and red socks and undies to one side. With hot sunshine and a strong wind the job was done in no time. We then went to Tip Beach (it's a lot nicer than it sounds) for a surf and after a bit of lunch we headed back to the beach for a swim and frisbee. It had been a really nice day but so far not very Chrismassy. We bumped into a few local guys we'd met in the sea, when we told them our plans for Christmas dinner (which was going to be a Mexican) we were told it was quite fitting as the New South Welsh People call the Victorians 'Mexicans' because they are south of the border. Excellent! We headed back to the camp site to cook our food around tea time. When we arrived back our neighbours were just about to start a Yearly Bochie Ball Chrsitmas Classic Tournament. They were a group of families who have been coming to Mallacoota for Christmas for the past 38 years. They started the tradition of the Bochie ball (which is just like our sand bowls) tournament years ago to wake people up after eating and drinking too much at Christmas dinner. Anyway they were a few people short and asked if we'd like to play. We were pretty hungry but were also keen to get involved so we played and had a few drinks with them. John and I ended up being runners up, we had our names put on the trophie (a $1 shield they'd picked up from the charity shop way back when the tradition began). It said:
RUNNERS UP : John and Ruth Stansfield -Newly Weds (POMS)
After getting a good bit of ribbing for being poms and sharing a few more beers the heavens opened, we were all rallied into their huge gazebo. Now the storm was set in so was way too wet to start cooking our mexican they insisted on feeding us too, so much food! We ended up spending the whole evening with them, it was really fun. It's amazing how kind people can be even to strangers. The next morning we left the campsite with sore heads, but before we left our new friends brought us over a Mallacoota stubby holder each to encourage us to drink cold beer (instead of that warm stuff the English drink) and also as a reminder of a fun Christmas, signed and dated.
We hope you all had a great Christmas day!xx