The Sapphire Coast of New South Wales is well named as the seas sparkle dark blue across the bays and out to the Tasman Sea. With so many rivers, lakes, bays, and inlets, this is a fisherman’s paradise.
So, Mick finally gets a tiny bit serious about his fishing forays and tries his luck, taking note of the local tricks. He is happy to catch a lovely plate-sized pair of black flatheads in the Moruya River. At Tathra he has no luck at the Bega River inlet, or from the famous Wharf. He catches a Southern Green Moray Eel from the rocky headland and returns that to the water lifeless after struggling to release his hook. He watches at the wharf as another fisherman fights to land a 1.2 metre Kingfish. At Eden he fishes from the banks of the shallow saltwater lake and then later from the beach. He was elated to catch a good size Australian Salmon. He sees a two-metre-long Mako Shark come into the shallows chasing the salmon. Later we hear that this bay is a nursery for Mako Sharks. The fresh fish van visits the caravan park ringing the bell, so we buy and enjoy fresh oysters and fresh flathead.
We swim in the cold seas. Kianinny Bay is a beautiful little cove with clear green waters. We see a large black stingray drifting for scraps near the boat ramp. With snorkels and fins adjusted we edge in. It is freezing!! I glide off across the pool, but Mick is out already, stunned by the cold water. Later we swim in the rolling surf at Tathra across the road from the caravan park. It is refreshing in the white frothing surf. We get out and only then notice many blue-bottle jellyfish stranded above the tideline. We need to be on the lookout as we don’t want to get tangled up with those poisonous tendrils. The pool at the caravan park is warmed with a solar system; this will do nicely. At Eden the clear green waves beckon enticingly, masking their underwater power.
At Moruya I become familiar with the gentle flap sound high above as skydivers unfurl their chutes. Blue, crimson, orange, green, yellow; colourful pops that appear suddenly, then the skydivers steer through the air back to the yellow flags on the runway nearby. A couple of tandem rides land on the soft sand at the beach. It is an awesome sight however I am not tempted to do it myself.
The campground at Moruya North Head is awful, only surpassed by the dreadful camps of the Rosebud Foreshore. The amenities here are to be avoided. “Permanents” hide in tent hovels, obviously homeless. Despite the campground, there is a lot to do here and explore. So, people are out making their own fun: fishing, surfing, boating, kayaking, skydiving, cycling, walking, swimming, building huts on the beaches using the driftwood from the nearby Moruya River.
Tathra is busy on the weekend with lots of families enjoying some much-needed travel in this year of restrictions due to the virus. There are lots of mountain bike trails nearby and it is obviously the thing to do because everyone has their bike and they set off along the paths. It is noisy with people having fun, laughing, and talking. The small town of Tathra struggles to cope with visitors. I wonder how things go in the busy summer holiday periods. We have a nice lunch at the iconic Tathra Hotel. We walk a lot up and down the paths looking out across the beautiful views beside the ocean. Bushfires went through this town about three years ago and you can see where the damage was done. It appears to be recovering well. The lush green fields of the Bega Valley still feed contented cows. It is an idyllic landscape.
Further south at Eden we camp at a lovely park-like caravan park situated between the sea and the lake; green grass, tall shady trees, lots of birds, and you can hear the waves breaking on the sand from our caravan. We walk to town several times. We climb the rocks near the ocean pool, too cold for swimming. We take a dip in the sea. We explore some local towns; Boydtown and Wonboyn. The forests are black from last year’s catastrophic bushfires, but once again the forest is regenerating with new green growth up the trunks and new green undergrowth. The cicadas must love these environmental conditions because they call out loudly from the charred wood. We see a large goanna scurry up a tree.
Finally, with 24 days free of COVID-19 cases in Victoria, New South Wales opens the border on Monday 23 November just after midnight. Eden is the first major town along the Princes Highway into New South Wales, and we see an influx of Victorian vehicles with caravans and camper vans. It is easy to tell the difference between the new travellers and others. The Victorians still wear their long pants and long-sleeved tops, and a stunned look on their faces. Others like us still wear shorts and t-shirts and have brown skin and relaxed smiles. I think some kindness, care, and good listening is in order. Lots of people have had it hard this year.
We get new tyres for the caravan at Eden, have them balanced and checked. While we wait, we visit the Killer Whale Museum where we learn about the infamous whale Old Tom who behaved like a cattle dog, befriending the fisherman and rounding up the larger whales and herding them into the bays for slaughter.
Finally, we head south into Victoria. It has been over five months since we left our home state. There are still some restrictions in place, and we will need to get used to wearing face masks at certain times.
Mick & Sue's Aussie Adventure 