Tsunami alert

After the big earthquake in Chili, it was predicted that we may see a small tsunami here on the gold coast a bit after 8am. After brekky I walked down to the beach for a quick look, there was a SES guy there warning people not to go onto the beach so I stuck to the path above the beach and went and got the paper. I sat by the beach and read the paper for awhile before dropping in to chat with Helen at the local cafe. On the walk back home there still doesn't look like anything has happened. Move along. Nothing to see here.

Home

Home at last and its pretty hot. The car is unpacked but it will have to wait to get washed and cleaned.

Indian head camp site

I've got the whole camp site to myself (except for the kangaroos and they are pretty quiet). There was a very pleasant walk around the headlands after I setup camp and I have just refreshed my memory on the delights of the cold outdoor shower. Just the corrugated iron walls, the cement slab floor and the sky and clouds for the ceiling. It was warm enough that the cold water was refreshing and not too chilly.

Crowdy head lighthouse

I'm just about to head into crowdy bay nat park to set up camp. The weather is fine and warm but quite windy, so its not really swimming weather. I'll probably head home tomorrow and be there sometime in the afternoon.

Blue mountains

Once again a slow phone connection so I won't post a photo. Had a look around the blue mtns today and the scenery was pretty nice. It was very busy as the weather was great and a lot of people were out bushwalking. Heading to crowdy bay nat park tomorrow and then maybe home on tues or wed.

The big sheep

I've just got to Goulburn to fuel up and probably stay the night. They have this wonderfully tasteful big sheep just on the outskirts of town. Tomorrow I'll head to Katoomba and have a quick look at the blue mountains.

Lawnmower

I was going to bring this guy home to look after the grass in my backyard, but I didn't think he'd take too kindly to 1300 odd kms in the back of the Pajero. I'm heading north and on the way home. I going to go through Cooma and to the west of Sydney before heading back to the coast above Newcastle. I'll probably take about 4 to 5 days for the trip back.

Fish and chips for lunch

I've just had some nice fish and chips for lunch (battered, they don't seem to do breadcrumbs down this way). I'm in Eden but i'll go a bit further south to Ben Boyd nat park for the night and then decide where to go tomorrow. There are heaps of bell birds around every time I go for a walk in a park there is an almost continuous ringing from them.

Merimbula

Have spent the day driving slowly down the coast to Merimbula, stopping and looking at the nat parks on the way (Mimosa Rocks and Bournda). Tomorrow I'll shift camp to Eden and have alook around there for a few days.

Q. Why did the echidna cross the road ?

A. To get to the other side and have a bloody good scratch.

I saw this little fellow on a road in the Eurobodalla National Park near Moruya Heads. He was in no hurry to get out of the way and didn't seem all that worried about being photographed.

Narooma

Had a good nights sleep at Pebbly Beach and slept in a bit. Slowly moving south and I've just had lunch at Narooma. I'm aiming for Bermagui where I'll stay for a few days and explore the area. Have seen a lot damage from the recent rain down here, mainly where trees have washed down creeks and damaged bridges.

Pebbley Beach

I've set up for the evening at Pebbley Beach. It's not quite how I remembered it from my last visit (about 30 years ago) but it is sheltered from the wind. It was very windy last night and I thought the tent was going to blow away, even though I had it pegged down and tied to the car. The weather is clearing up but Bega has been hit by flooding so I'm not sure if I'll be able to get around too much.

Drying out

Today started out overcast but cleared up nicely. Although i think there may be some rain forecast. Spent the morning driving around Morton nat park, this arvo i will have a look at the beaches around Jervis bay nat park. Tomorrow heading south to a place called pebbly beach.

Wet Currarong

My wireless connection seems a little slow so i won't post a photo. Should have stayed in Kiama where the rain had almost stopped but i tried for Culburra Beach and it has been pouring down. The cara park was flooded so i had to go to plan B.
The people at the park rang ahead to Currarong (about 20 mins away) and they had spots on a hill that wouldn't flood. So that's where i am, the tent is up and dry inside but i'm a tad wet. I've found the fish and chip shop and that's where i'll have dinner later. The rain is supposed to clear up tomorrow if it does there looks like nice walks in the Jervis Bay nat park that i can check out.

The famous Kiama Blow hole in the wet and not blowing.

Well I made it through Sydney pretty easily thanks to google maps pointing me to M2 and M7 motorways. My qld e-tag beeped in all the right spots so hopefully I don't end up with a fine when i get back.
It started raining as I got onto the Hume highway and got worse the closer i got to wollongong. The weather radar suggests it should clear by about 3pm. So i'm heading onto Nowra to find a camp site and hopefully i won't have to put the tent up in the rain. There's no ocean swell here at Kiama so the blow hole is not blowing.

Munmorah SCA

Went for a drive to munmorah state conservation area for the day. The photo is of Frazers beach and there were heaps of people surfing and swimming. I tried to camp here but it was all booked out. Tomorrow I'm off to try and navigate through Sydney to get down around Wollongong for sunday night

Just started raining

Well my good luck couldn't last for the whole holiday. It has started bucketing it down and the ducks outside my tent are loving it. The weather radar for the Newcastle area suggests it shouldn't last too long. At least i'm nice and dry in my tent, unlike the neighbours who are still trying to set up their fly.

Swansea for a few days

Arrived at Swansea about lunch time and setup camp in a nice shady spot at the c'van park. It's bloody hot (about 35 C) and there is supposed to be a big storm tonight.
I'll look around Swansea this arvo and then do a day trip to Munmorah nat. park tomorrow. Then on sunday i'll navigate across sydney(hopefully my gateway tag works on the toll roads here) to somewhere near Wollongong, where i'll stay another few days.

Sandon river

Camped at sandon river in the yuraygir nat park. The view was great. Left early just before the rain came in. Morning tea and shopping in coffs harbour. Heading to somewhere around port stephens for the evening.

Port stephens area

In port stephens area at the moment staying at Anna Bay. The weather has been perfect with lovely sunny days, but the wind comes up in the afternoon and you need to find shelter. This area is a mix of nat. Parks, old fibro beach shacks and million dollar mansions on the beach. I suspect in holiday times it would be almost impossible to go anywhere as there would be so many people. Its also not particularly cheap to stay here.

South east nsw coast expedition

The car is packed and ready to go, so i'm setting off at about 9 am. Probably just a shortish drive to Yuragir nat park.

Bye Jeff.