Kerry and Bens Travels: 2014

Tuesday 25 February 2014

Fri 7th Feb - 25th Feb - Last of the Blog...for now!

Urm....once again I've been terrible at catching up on the blog, this always seems to happen, we get jobs etc and then the blog goes out of the window!! I'll just chuck some photos up of our last few days and put a sentence underneath them :)

So Benny started work first, he had a week before me when we were living in one of the Caravan Parks, it was a really HOT week and we were both struggling not being near water so we were very grateful for the caravan parks pool!! That week we also did a lot of house hunting, we were looking mainly at share houses and got to look around a few but also were getting a lot of rejections from e-mail/phone/txt request to meet and look around the house, it seems a lot of people don't want to share with a couple!! There were a few strange places we looked around, the guy that kept calling Benny "Banjamin" and asked if he was Jesus's cousin (it was the beard that did it I think!), the guy with so much stuff he could have been on that tv show hoarders, honestly his house as FULL of stuff, and yet he still had Ikea flat packed furniture stacked around the place, god knows where he was gonna put it!! Eventually we found a place that was perfect for us, a granny flat/studio at the back of Isabelle's place, lovely with a deck and enough space for us to park both cars (I've got a work car while we're in Canberra) and somewhere to put the camper trailer, we were worried we'd have to pay for storage cos a lot of the places we looked at didn't have room. So yeah, we moved in, it always amazes us how much stuff we've got when we unpacked it into the studio!!

This is us checking out for a little bit, really looking forward to getting to know Canberra, Bennys already gotten into his rock climbing again and Im off to Crossfit a few times a week and found a polo team :) We've also discovered Fyschwick Markets, where on a Sunday arvo they SLASH the prices for organic meat and veggies and Bennys convinced he's going to get a credit card for a bottle shop he's discovered!!!

One of our last camps before the "Big Smoke" of Canberra!

See you all again soon when we hit the road again ;) xxx

Soft soft sand

Low low tyre pressures!!

Yup, that's low!!

Sneaky weekend camping trip to Kangaroo Valley with Dave, Steph and Daves Sister and new brother-in-law on their honeymoon from Scotland

Bacon stealer!!

The "hot" camper ;)

WOMBAT!!

A wombat came up so close at night when we were sleeping in the swags, I squeezed Bennys hand cos I was excited but he thought I was freaking out so shooed it away!! I felt like I was on a nature doco ;)

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Thurs 6th Feb - Congo Camp

After packing up slowly from Arugunnu we took our time driving along the coast, we passed through Bermagui, which we both liked but was another tourist town, the thing with these types of town is you don't know if they'd be friendly or cliquey with the local status if you stayed for a long period.. They had the 'Blue Pools' a natural/man made area like a pool with steps into it but where the waves still crash over into the pool occasional, would have loved a swim but very windy so a bit cold!!

Next was Narooma, we stopped and had a look but even though it only had a population of 8,500 it felt like a 'big town' with not much spirit behind it so we passed on fairly quickly. Tonight we've stopped at Congo Camp, a grass area behind some sand dunes with views of the beach and surf ($10 each a night again..). We're making the most of the ocean cos we've both managed to get jobs in Canberra starting soon so we'll be land locked for a few months while saving some more pennies!!

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Wed 5th Feb - Arugunnu

After hitting the road by 10 (very good for us!!) we followed the coast, passing through Merimbula and stopping to have a look at Tathra jetty and look out, both lovely spots but we could see they'd be heaving during holiday season, in fact the (limited) coast line that we've seen so far has been lovely, rocky cliffs, beaches, waterways, lakes, stunning blues...this helped cos the sun came out!!

We stopped at a camp called Arugunnu, it was a popular spot!! We found a good site and had a look down the beach, it was a beach my Dad would have approved off, no sand just pebbles!! We had a walk along the point and Benny tried to add a rock to the cairn, although his was 10times bigger than everyone else's so he kind of destroyed the pile, he piled them all back on and made a master piece though ;) this continued along the beach wit an even LARGER rock!!

The camp collector came in the morning, that site was $10 per person. In my opinion $20 is pretty steep when it's nothing but a bush camp and a smelly drop loo, we were paying that a night at Malacoota caravan park... That seems to be the going rate for camps in this coast though..

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Tues 4th Feb - Eden - NSW!!

Onwards to NSW leaving VIC behind us. We checked out Eden Town and had amazing fish and chips on the jetty, we bought some local mussels for that nights dinner too!! Our campsite that night was a free one (which is good going on this stretch of coast) but not the nicest, it was down a track by the river but cos the river was tidal it was out and just muddy flats, it seemed like a popular site too cos there was a fair amount of rubbish around :( The muscles were really good, even though Benny had a nightmare cooking them, he forgot to de-beard them before he dumped them in the pot!! But that night my tummy felt like it did at Winghan Inlet....maybe I've become allergic to seafood, better keep an eye in that, would be gutted if that was true!!

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Sat 2nd - Tues 4th Feb - Mallacoota

After a lovely sleep in we decided to check out a local beach that we'd see on our drive into Malacoota the first time when we were still "living" at Pearl Point. It might've been cos it was a hot day or it might just be because it is but it was stunning. Another inlet, smaller than the one we were camped near, we decided to have a walk along the beach and back via the inlet. As we were walking along the beach we spotted some dolphins in the distance swimming our way, within minutes they were really close to us about 20metres off shore playing in the breakers, we thought that was pretty special but turns out there were a few pods coming along so within 10minutes I reckon we saw over 30 dolphins, what a treat!! At one point I counted 5 dolphins all surfing the same wave, the one time I leave my camera in the car, GRRRRR!!!

It was windy back at the campsite and our own inlet but we got the bait pump out (Bennys new toy!) and attempted to catch some fish, Benny lasted longer than I did cos it really was windy and the sand was blasting at my legs so I walked back to have another shower (well stand under the fresh water in my bikini to rinse the salt off, not used to having 2 showers in 2 days so treated it like a beach shower rinse off!!) still lovely being able to change the temperature on command rather than the 'get what your given' temperature with the solar shower, it's the little things ;)

That night Benny had the best idea for dinner, we had steaks vacuumed sealed and some salad but we didn't really have the energy to do much else so he drove into town and got some chips and I cooked the steak!!

The rest of our time at Malacoota we met a couple next door to us, Sam and Trish from Port Fairy. A bit of chatting, drinking and fishing off the jetty....oh and tent fixing, one of their tent poles snapped so Benny came to the rescue with a stick, zip-ties and duct tape!!

Hermit crab!!

Wasn't sure if it was gonna "get" me!!!

New bait pump!!

On his way to the good fishing spot!!

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31st - 1st Feb - Wingan Inlet

We'd had a little look around Winghan when we went for a drive with Malcolm and Trish, there were heaps of mossies so I wasn't super keen on going back but Benny had heard good things about the fishing and it was an easy spot to launch our boat so I said we could give it a go. The mossies didn't turn out to be too bad the first night, they were worse the second night but we hid in the tent and cooked dinner in there to escape, it pays to have a big space inside that's mossie-proof!!

Once we'd set up camp we got the boat out straight away to catch the last of the light, we caught 2 Brim, a luderick, a silver trivially and a flatie so that was dinner and breakfast!! While Benny was sorting the fish there were heaps of little solider crabs running along the beach, well me and my affinity with crabs had to have a photo ;) The next morning we were woken early by a backpacker telling us "there was a raging brushfire off the West Point of the inlet, he was going to call and call the ranger" so we got up an could see smoke so weren't quite sure what to do cos we'd planned to spend another night there.... We had a walk around the campsite and a group of guys were also discussing plans, as the original backpacker that was calling the ranger hadn't returned, 2 of them took their car up the track to get signal and make a call, turns out it wasn't a 'raging brushfire' at all just some smoke from the brushfires that we were already aware of near ClubTerrace and they were under control.

So we took the boat out again, the fish didn't want to bite until the evening when we got 2 flattie, and 3 Brim but during the day we discovered oyster beds so feasted on them!!

We packed up and left on the 1st Feb but not quickly as Id developed crippling stomach cramps so had to stick close to the bush loo and sleep it off....eventually I felt better so we packed up slowly and headed to Mallacoota. The camp site was HUGE!! We found a shady spot on the cliff overlooking the inlet with a beautiful breeze, sea views, steps down to the beach and the best bit of all SHOWERS!!! So I don't mean to be rude but since I haven't had a real shower for at least 2 months Im going to go and soak myself under proper running water, and not the dribble of a solar shower, for at least 30mins!!! :)

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28th - 30th - Leaving Pearl Point :(

The 28th was a sad day, Malcolm and Trish had spent yesterday slowly getting their things organised, as they were getting their ute backed under the camper Benny and me were trying to figure out when we wanted to leave... It seemed like an enormous mission packing everything up, after being at Pearl Point for over 2 months we seemed to have spread out a fair bit so there was ALOT to pack up and it was facing us like a brick wall, it also didn't help it was stinking hot and you just didn't want to move! We'd also promised Bill (the Pearl Point local) that we'd help him with the bin trailer, so rather than dealing with our own 'shit' I suggested we deal with the trailer full of 'shit' first ;) It wasn't the nicest of jobs but with a shovel and a pair of gloves we got it done (Benny holding the lid opened and me catapulting the bins out with the shovel!). We waited for Malcolm and Trish in town but decided if they were anything like us they might be a while with the final pack up, it's always the little things that seem to take ages!! We headed back to camp and met them on the road, after hugs and goodbyes we were back to camp....like Trish said it was a bit like "empty nest syndrome" after having all these visitors and then no-one and so much space :( We took it slow, got bits of packing done, cooled down at the beach and attempted night fishing for one last gummy shark..... Which is where I am now catching up on the blog and some photos :)

The 29th we got a bit more to grips with the packing, we acquired some new neighbours too, another couple that slotted their camper trailer in where Trish and Malcolm just left... Bill got some new neighbours too, 3 male German backpackers and an Indian couple, he came for a wander up to see us and commented that he'd rather have our new neighbours!! Today's community service job was the water tank so we towed that into town and filled it up. We headed back into town for happy hour, one last time :( seemed like a good chance to say bye to all our new local friends! During happy hour a new dog was delivered as a surprise to the pubs landlord, Ray, who's own dog had passed away recently, it seemed the whole town was in on the happy surprise, it was so lovely to see everyone come together like that in a community. After hugs and good byes to our 'favourite' locals, Robyn and Dave and Lisa and Dave we headed back to camp.... Our new neighbours, Lauren and Anthony, had produced a projecter so we strung up a tarp and a sheet and had an outdoor movie session, a pretty awesome last night at Pearl Point!!

On our last day we were up bright and early (8:3am!) to pack the rest of the stuff, tent etc, we made it into town for about 11ish but then spent another 3.5 hours getting the bit out of the water, flushing the engine, filling the water tanks and cleaning the car....we eventually got on the road and stocked up with a few supplies at Cann River and then headed to Wingan Inlet. We were officially "ON THE ROAD AGAIN"!!!