Sapphire Coast

After a couple of nights in a motel in Queanbeyan, neither of which is worth writing about, I had my car serviced and ready to take on my trip around Australia. Last Thursday I set off down to the coast via Bega to Tathra, I little town on the NSW south coast. The weather was awful, cold and rainy, so I decided to take my time and stop off at the Bega cheese museum. This tells the history of cheese making and agriculture in the region, but it is all a bit crammed and not really worth the visit. I think its main purpose it to attract people to the cheese and gift shops.

Once I got to Tathra the weather cleared up somewhat and I took a walk from Tathra beach to the historic Tathra Wharf. The wharf has been done up since I was there last time (about 22 years ago) and now houses a very nice coffee shop. There were lots of people fishing off the wharf, but in the hour I spent there I didn't see anyone catch anything. I did however see some big rays swimming very close to the wharf.

The renovated Tathra Wharf

The next day I drove up to Narooma, where I was going to visit Frank and Iris, friends from Canberra who now run a holiday place called Clark Bay Waterfront Cottages. Because Narooma is only about 80 km's from Tathra I took the time to do some fishing at Nelson's beach, which is in the Mimosa Rocks national park. I was lucky and caught a sizeable flathead. I know that you won't believe me without seeing a picture, but like you I was equally surprised by the catch and got so stressed taking it off the hook and giving it back its freedom that I completely forgot to take a photo...

Frank and Iris treated me to some excellent hospitality for a couple of nights in Narooma. Narooma is much bigger than Tathra, but has its own charm. It has a great variety of coast, with beaches, inland lakes and rivers all within easy reach. Clark Cottages is right on the water and Frank and Iris' house has the same exquisite outlook onto the bay like the guest accommodation. The cottages are specifically designed to be wheelchair accessible and even the swimming pool has a special hoist to accommodate disabled visitors. Aside from the holiday guest Frank and Iris look after 6 steers, a cat, a dog, some chucks and a duck.

The infinity pool at Clark Cottages boasts the same waterfront view as the cottages

Frank suggested that we did a walk up to Mt. Dromedary on the Saturday morning. There are a couple of tracks up the mountain and we took the one that goes up from Tilba Tilba. Tilba Tilba and Central Tilba are heritage villages controlled by the national trust. The houses stem from the time when gold was found on Mt. Dromedary. We parked the car near Pam's Store, from where the track starts. It is a steady walk, not surprisingly uphill, for about 2 hours until you reach the summit. We were both a bit disappointed with the views, which are not as spectacular as you'd expect because they are obscured by the trees.

Pam's store in Tilba Tilba, where the track starts

Proof that we made the summit

Luckily we met a group of members from the Narooma bushwalking club on our descent and they told us that the two reasons to walk up Mt. Dromedary are the cardiovascular workout and the thors. We already felt the workout in our legs, but we didn't know about the thors, so they told us to follow the little track that leads into the bushes behind the toilets shed on Mt. Dromedary saddle. Needless to say, they were right. The thors are spectacular rock formations that have been formed by many thousands of years of erosion. They are also a spiritual site in the aboriginal culture, and it felt very special to be there. It was definitely worth the little bit of extra walking to have a look around.

Frank posing between two thors

Thors come in many different shapes but they are all BIG

After the walk I went for a look around Narooma. I had a walk on the boardwalk along the river, where I saw some rays, and then I drove to nearby Lake Brou and Brou beach to see whether I would find a good fishing spot to make up for the missed picture of a flathead. As soon as I found a good spot on the lake I got joined by a few pelicans who made short shrift of the available fish, so I decided to call it a day. 

The next morning I then headed off towards the North and clocked up some miles to get first to Newcastle to have some beers with an old friend from my hospitality days and then to go and check out Port Macquarie, where I am now. Some more details to follow soon...