Much to the everyone's delight, Easter bunny still managed to find us in the Goobang National Park (in between Dubbo and Parkes). Easter Bunny hid eggs all around the campsite and the kids had such a great time finding them all (and we loved watching their excitement). It was certainly a memorable Easter.
Narooma, NSW
Friday 8th– Thursday 14th April
The theme of our time in Narooma was definitely water – rainwater,
heated recycled water, salt water and brown river water!
We hadn’t planned on getting to Narooma until Sunday but
when we left Tathra on Friday it was WET! We tried a couple of campsites on the
way, but the recent rain had left them soggy and muddy. With more rain
predicted we decided we’d be a lot more comfortable in a caravan park.
On the way to Narooma we enjoyed some excellent fish and
chips at Bermagui and Daniel fell in love with the sourdough from a local
bakery (so much so that he drove back there with Nick, once they’d arrived).
To the kid’s delight, the caravan park at Narooma had an
indoor heated splash park with a water slide. We were very grateful for this as
the rain continued Friday afternoon and ALL DAY Saturday. There were rivers
running down the streets in the caravan park and we had to wade through huge
puddles to get to the amenities. The ground was so muddy and wet it was easier
to wear no shoes! The splash park and spa were a godsend and we managed to have
fun despite the incessant rain.
On Sunday we awoke to beautiful sunshine- a perfect day made
even better knowing that Nick, Mandy and the kids were arriving today. We spent
the morning at the beach (however the waves were too wild so swimming was not
allowed), then the kids waited patiently for their cousins. There was much
excitement when they rolled into the caravan park.
Over the next few days:
- - We went to see the resident seals who bask on
the rocks just a short walk from the caravan park. You really get to see (and
smell) them up close.
- - We walked/rode to the Bar Beach, where a few of
us braved a swim. The water was still very brown from the recent stormy weather
so it didn’t look inviting, but it was lovely once you were in.
- - The kids spent time every day in the splash park
and spa– they LOVED it. Jackson ended up with a split eyebrow from a vigorous
launch into one of the slides and an unfortunate impact with Emilia’s elbow,
however this didn’t stop his enthusiasm.
- - The kids rode and roller-skated around and
around and around the park, enjoying the freedom with their cousins.
- - Jackson and Mack spent hours fishing using
home-made hand lines to catch bait fish and then using these to try for some
larger fish. They got a few good bites, which kept them keen.
- - We all went to Handkerchief Bay where the kids floated down the inlet, played with the thousands of soldier crabs and tried to catch all the small fish in the river.
We thoroughly enjoyed spending time with Nick, Mandy, Ruby, Mack and Willow – so much so that we didn’t want to leave on Thursday. After the kids spent the morning go-karting around the park and having ‘one last turn’ in the splash park we left Narooma about 11am, to begin the journey inland for Easter.
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| Driving to Narooma, the roads were VERY wet. |
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Having fun at Mystery Bay during a break in the weather - we wanted to camp there but it was too muddy. |
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| The indoor heated splash park was so much fun........ |
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| ...then we headed to the spa to relax. |
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| The pool wasn't heated so the kids only braved it on the last day when it was a warmer day. |
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| Enjoying the surf beach. |
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| The muddy coloured Bar Beach - lovely once you got in, just not so pretty to look at! |
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| Floating down the inlet at Handkerchief Bay |
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| Attempting to catch some of the thousands of small fish in the inlet. |
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| The boys spent hours at the jetty with their hand lines. |
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| The super keen fisherman, they both ended up with cuts and scrapes on their feet from the oyster shells, but they still kept fishing. |
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| Whilst fishing off the jetty they saw stingrays and seals swimming by. |
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| Wandering up the bar to see the seals and watch the huge waves crashing |
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| We were lucky enough to spot a few seals swimming. |
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| What a life! |
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| The obligitary photo in Australia rock. |
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| A black snake we walked past on our way to Bar Beach - Mandy saw one the next day too. |
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| Tearing their way around the park! |
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| Singing up a storm on the first night. |
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| Goodbye cuddles. |
Tathra, NSW
Tuesday 5th April - Friday 8th April
Emilia had one request for her birthday - to be on the coast so she could swim in the ocean. As the weather was predicted to be very poor we let her choose a place and caravan park she thought looked good, as we were pretty sure she wouldn't get a swim in the ocean on her birthday. We were right, but thankfully she got to swim, and boogie board, in the beach at Tathra the day before her birthday.
It was a lovely afternoon when we arrived. We got the boogie boards out so the kids could make the most of the little waves. Daniel and I had a swim as well, before the stormy weather clouded the sky and turned the air cool.
On Emilia's birthday (after presents at 6.30am!!) we managed a walk/run/bike ride along the beach before the rain started pelting down. It rained all day, and not just a drizzle. It was that sideways rain that drenches everything!
To ensure she still had a good day we decided to take her out shopping for the day to spend her birthday money (which had the added bonus of keeping us inside and dry). We stopped in Merimbula first for cake and coffee, then we went to Eden for lunch (an exceptional pub lunch) and a spot of shopping. She managed to spend all her birthday money and vouchers and she left Eden a happy girl.
When we got back Daniel took the kids for a swim in the heated pool at the caravan park - so Emilia still got to swim on her birthday, just not in the ocean.
That night we cooked burgers with 'the lot' for dinner (her request) and a chocolate cake. Thankfully there was a large camp kitchen at the caravan park as it was STILL raining. Then we tried out one of her presents, a kareoke microphone. We had a ball!
We decided to stay the next day as the weather was predicted to be terrible again and we weren't sure where to go (and we also wanted to stay off the roads and there was apparently lots of debris and road closures due to flooding). Luckily enough the storms seemed to skirt around Tathra and we had a cloudy, but reasonalby dry, day. The kids did LOTS of activity as they had both just bought Garmin watches so were competing to get the most steps and activity for the day. We took them on a bike ride (and found a very muddy mountain bike track), walking on the beach, to an adventure playground, swimming in the pool and go-karting. They were suitably exhausted by the end of the day.
On Friday we packed up in the rain and left Tathra unsure of where we were heading, but praying for a reprieve in the weather.
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| Taking advantage of a break in the weather to catch a few waves |
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| The waves were small but the kids were so excited to use their boogie boards for the first time on the trip. |
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| "Use them or lose them!' - Daniel set them an ultimatum as he didn't want to cart their roller skates and roller blades all around Australia without them getting regular use. |
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| Birthday morning - among other things she got a pair of flippers........ |
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| ......a kareoke microphone........ |
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| .... and a book about inspiring women. |
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| Some of her gifts (including what she's wearing). She got a lot of her birthday presents before we left so it's been a neverending birthday this year! |
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| She requested fully loaded burgers for her birthday dinner. |
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| And a devil's food chocolate cake, with ice-cream, for dessert. |
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| Lining up for kisses once she touches the plate! |
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| Trying out her birthday present - I want one of my own!!! |
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| Jackson kicking up some mud on the mountain bike track |
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| They let us use the go-karts all afternoon - they were a lot of fun. |
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| One of the flowers Jackson picked for Emilia and I. |
Eden, NSW
Sunday 3rd April - Tuesday 5th April
After leaving Orbost it seemed like we were driving into the eye of the storm. The rain was teeming down and the sky was grey and foreboding. It was a long drive as the conditions were terrible and visibility was so poor. We had to stop several times as the road was down to one lane due to earlier landslides. We also came across a recent landslide with police directing the traffic slowly around the debris. It was interesting (and slightly scary) seeing how full and fast flowing all the rivers and creeks were when we crossed them. There were even 'waterfalls' occurring all along the side of the road, as water gushed down. We found out the next day that many areas on the drive were flooded later that afternoon, and the road was closed, so we were lucky we left when we did.
We finally arrived at Eden early
afternoon. Thankfully the weather eased for the afternoon, and we got to enjoy
the beach that the caravan park was located next to. The storms from the last
few days had caused exceptionally big waves, so the beach was laden with
'treasures' which the kids enjoyed scouring through (especially Jackson who
found lures and other fishing equipment).
The storms had also turned the
creek near the caravan park, and the ocean it ran in to, brown from all the mud
being washed down. It looked like melted chocolate and we all imagined what we
would do if it was actually a chocolate river (there were lots of references to
Augustus Gloop from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!).
Some highlights of our time here:
-Jackson's excitement at catching
a ray off at the Eden wharf
-Watching the kids enjoy the
beach for the first time on the trip
-The warmth of the ocean up here –
so different to the beaches on the southern part of Vic that we normally swim
in, they are always cold!
-Being able to have our coffee looking
out to the ocean, just a short stroll from our van
-Having some sunshine after A LOT
of rain
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| Jackson doing an Augustus Gloop impression and drinking from the 'chocolate river'. |
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| The rain had turned the rivers and the ocean a muddy, 'chocolate' coloured brown. |
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| At the Eden wharf on the first stormy evening |
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| Jackson and the shovelnosed ray he caught off Eden jetty, he was super proud of his effort. |
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| Emilia and I took a long walk along Long Beach while the boys fished. |
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| Having fun in the sand - notice Jackson's addition of 'humps'. |
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| Playing in the beach at the caravan park on the first afternoon |
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| Their expressions are priceless |
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| Exploring the beach near the caravan park |
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| Balancing act |
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| One of the interesting things Jackson found on the beach - a dead baby ray. |
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| The driftwood teepee Jackson and Emiila worked on during our time in Eden (photo credit - Jackson) |
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| Some sort of sea worm we found washed up on the beach. |
