THANK YOU FOR BEING PATIENT WHILE THE PICTURES LOAD
Day 22
Wednesday
9th December 2009
Click on the pictures for larger versions
BEMBOKA
7.44am
The morning was brilliant!
It rained most of the night, but by the time we woke, nearly all of the
clouds were gone, leaving a beautiful blue sky.
Everything was fresh. The air was crisp and drops of rain hung from the
leaves.
We had finally arrived in an area that wasn't stifling hot and droughty.
I keep saying it, but it's true, Judy cooked another fantastic
breakfast, using the stainless steel barbecue plates.
7.46am
7.47am
7.50am
7.59am
8.02am
We had a visitor, a Cicada I assume, so I took a couple of shots
of him/her.
BEGA VALLEY
9.42am
The focus of our day was to visit Judy's friends at Yowrie,
just to the west of Cobargo.
I was told their location was very hilly, so assumed we'd have to find
somewhere to camp, leave the caravan there, then visit them.
With this in mind, we thought we might be able to stay at the
showgrounds at Cobargo.
I had looked at Cobargo on Google Earth and could see they
had a showgrounds. I also found the name of the road leading to it.
Using the TomTom Car Navigator, we could see our way there.
The drive to the Princes Highway was uneventful but very pretty.
As we turned north onto the Princes Highway, we could see our
future path to the south, Bega.
I was looking forward to getting some Bega Cheese but that was to
be a few days later.
The traffic going north wasn't impressed having to follow a caravan.
I wasn't impressed by being "pushed" constantly. I had become used to
the quieter inland roads.
Eventually I decided I couldn't go any faster because the road was very
winding and hilly and settled into driving as best I was able.
COBARGO
11.40am
I took the shot above of the old shop in front of me, while I was waiting
for Judy.
I sat there thinking about the dreams that butcher must have had, years
ago.
The drive north to Cobargo was lovely and green.
It wasn't very long before we drove into the town. I found the
showground but was surprised when we drove in to find cows grazing.
There was some sort of "working bee" going on.
I parked the vehicle and approached one of the workmen.
After explaining about our thoughts of camping there, I received an
adamant reply that they no longer allowed camping, because certain
campers had abused the privilege.
I accepted the explanation but was wondering where we might be able to
stay.
By then, a group of around 4 or 5 men had gathered. I asked the group if
they had any ideas where we could park. They asked why we particularly
wanted to stay in Cobargo.
I explained about Judy's friends at a place near there called
Yowrie.
As soon as they heard their names a whole different attitude came over
them. They knew them very well and went out of their way to suggest
places we might camp.
In the end they were prepared to organize a spot there in the
showgrounds. It was obvious they liked her friends a lot.
Because we had dogs and there were cattle roaming free, we thanked them
very much but decided it would be best if we tried to find somewhere
else.
We said goodbye and headed back into Cobargo town area.
Judy needed a toilet and stuff from the chemist so I parked near a kids
playground and stayed with the dogs while poor Judy staggered up the
hill to the shops.
She did the same for me as I was keen to have a pee by the time she
returned.
I drove around a little and found a service station. We refuelled and
chatted to the friendly attendant and then got out Camps Australia.
I knew Mystery Bay was not far north and was always intrigued by
the name.
According to Camps Australia it was ok to camp there. Just in
case, I rang the local Council and a friendly girl answered. She told us
it was perfectly ok to stay there with our dogs.
She told me of of the "long drop" toilets and giggled. We were used to
them from other trips, so that wasn't to be a problem. She told us that
a ranger patrolled the sites and there was a small charge. We were going
to visit there anyway, so we decided if all else failed we'd travel
further north and camp there.
I decided we'd venture out towards Yowrie and if it began to
become too difficult with the caravan, I'd turn around, ring Judy's
friends, go north to Mystery Bay, camp overnight there, then the
next day, leave the caravan on site and travel back for the day.
It turned out to be a very good sealed road to their place. The dogs
needed a pit stop, so we pulled off the road well away from any houses
or animals, and let them out.
We had some sandwiches, helped by the flies, while we let the dogs have
a break.
We headed toward the hills. They certainly were a challenge and I spent
a lot of time changing gears but we made it!
Judy's friends, Jack and
Dawn were really pleased to see us.
Judy had phoned them when we were in Kingaroy,
to tell them we might call in on our trip south, but because we had no
idea when we'd be there, we hadn't rung during the trip.
We just took pot luck they'd be there.
We spent the rest of the day chatting. Dawn was over the moon to
see Judy andI found
Jack great company.
We told them of our plans to stay at Mystery Bay.
They wanted to see more of us and Dawn wanted me to look at her
computer, so we agreed to visit in a day or so.
MYSTERY BAY
4.49pm
4.49pm
When we arrived in Mystery Bay,the sky had turned grey and miserable and the breeze had turned
fairly chilly.
The camping area was very large.
We drove through the trees looking for somewhere suitable to set up
camp.
In the area away from the beach, we found what I term "ferals" camping,
so we headed back to near the toilets, where there was a view over the
beach.
Above is where we ended up and the pic to the left was the view from the
annex.
5.01pm
5.02pm
5.02pm
5.02pm
5.03pm
5.04pm
5.05pm
Above is what I assumed to be a Sea Eagle.
It was huge.
5.15pm
5.16pm
5.16pm
5.19pm
We took the dogs for a run on the beach and explored the rocks.
Tigger, the young skinny dog, was not impressed by the waves.
She'd never seen them before. Goofy was a bit standoffish, because he hated getting his feet
wet. :)
Other campers arrived and setup around us.
We investigated the "long drop" toilets. Judy wasn't really that
impressed but they can't have been too bad, as millions of flies can't
be wrong!
The night air was really cool, so we stayed inside the
caravan.
10.50am
10.51am
10.51am
Morning brought a total change of weather conditions. It was warm,
bright and colourful.
10.52am
10.53am
10.53am
10.55am
We spent the day just enjoying a break from travelling and taking in the
surroundings.
12.35pm
Two old dogs and one young dog were had it by the end of the day.
It's tough work being on holidays.