Archive for October 2nd, 2007

Slept later today and didn’t get up until around 7.00am.  Got some laundry done and we decided to go for a drive.  We had a look around Eden and went to the Rotary Park and the Memorial Wall.  We had a walk round the graveyard which looks out over the sea.  Checked our email at the bait and tackle Shop at the Wharf.  We went to see “The Claw” which is a well known rock formation here in Eden.

Ben was breathalised on our way to the Eden Country Club for lunch and was surprised not to have to blow into the machine but just to say 1,2,3,4,5.  We had a very enjoyable lunch and thought we would go for a drive to Candelo. 

It was a very hilly and windy road and it was very windy, gale force at times, so not the most enjoyable of drives.  We stopped for a drink at the Candelo Pub before heading home to Eden via Merimbula.  Merimbula was very busy, this being public holiday here in N.S.W. and there were lots of NO VACANCY signs everywhere. 

Filled up with petrol at $1.32.9  ( $56.62) at the United  petrol  Station.

We got back to the caravan park and  made a few telephone calls before tea.

Got up this morning about  5.00 and watched the sun come up.  It was a beautiful morning, bright and sunny with no wind.  We left Mallacoota at about 10.00am and headed to Eden.  We booked into the Garden of Eden Caravan Park for two nights.  $25.00 per night.  This is a lovely park, very well laid out and the best amenities by far in any park we have stayed in.  The park is fairly busy as this weekend is a long weekend in N.S.W. and also the start of the school holidays .

We had a drive around Eden and went for a walk down the main street.  We went to the Wharf tonight and bought fish and chips for tea.  Ate them on the wharf and then walked down for a look at the fishing fleet.  Eden is a deep water port and the harbor was fairly busy with fishing boats, charter boats and yachts.  Came back to the van and played on the computer for a while.  A late night tonight as it is now 11.15pm and we are both still awake.

Woke up at 5.00am feeling much better.  Decided to get some laundry done early.  It was a beautiful sunrise this morning over the water.  We are camped almost at the water’s edge.   By 9.00am the wind was very strong again and although the sun was shining, the wind was very cold.  We went for a drive out to the airport and the bunker (which was closed) but found a sheltered little beach and went for a walk.  The wind stayed cold throughout the day and we didn’t do much except hang around the caravan.

This evening we went out to the pub for tea but it was very busy and very noisy so we headed across the road to the café and ate there.  Ben is now showing signs of developing the cold that I’ve had for the last few day so we both came home and had some Lemsip.

We had a look at what markets are on in the south coast of NSW next weekend and decided to head for Eden tomorrow.

Ben went for a bike ride around Cann River after breakfast which is a bigger town than he had thought.

We met up with Yvonne and John ( Ben’s sister and brother-in-law) on their way to Morwell from Queensland and had brunch together before going our separate ways.  We filled up with fuel at $1.37 a litre ($67.80) and headed for Mallacoota.  Twenty-three kilometres of windy road to reach Mallacoota.  It was not at all what either of us expected.  The foreshore caravan park is big and was busy as it is the school holidays.  It is a very pretty spot.  It was very windy and our neighbours tell us it has been like this all weeek.  Around 5.00pm it started to rain and we had the most incredible downpour and even a little hail.

My cold was much worse, so had some Lemsip and went to bed.

P.S. Jos “This Picture” is just for you.

Woke up to the sun shining after all the rain last night and headed for Orbost.  We stopped at a really nice old information centre and had a walk around Forest Park.  There were a lot of old vintage cars at the park, stopped for lunch, on their way to a rally in Goulburn.  We visited the shed where they are building a replica of a paddle steamer, the M.V. Cuslip, which used to ply the river in this area.

We headed off to Cann River and booked in to the caravan Park for the night.  Cost was $22.00.  The amenities are very basic but it is a very pretty park with lots of willow trees and birds galore.  It was very quiet, apart from us there were only three camper vans there for the night.

I have developed a horrible head cold and sore throat.

We slowly packed up and headed off from Sale around 10.30am.  We stopped in lakes Entrance for lunch and to do a little shopping.  We decided to head for Marlo which is on the coast.  We filled up with fuel at $1.29per litre ($62.80).  We arrived in Marlo and set up for the night without unhitching the van.

Ben changed the tyre on the caravan as it appeared to be a bit soft and we redistributed the weight around a bit from the car to the caravan.  The caravan park at Marlo was a bit ordinary.  It cost $20.00 per night.  Ben went for a bike ride around town and then we walked to the town centre and lookout before tea.  We went to bed a bit later than last night.  It rained the whole night.

We left Morwell around 2.00pm after farewells to the Claassens Clan. We were both too tired to be excited about this being the start of our new way of life. We stopped in Rosedale and had sausage rolls for lunch and decided that we would head for Sale and stay the night there. We headed for the showground, there was no caretaker around and we discovered that our electrical cable would not suit in the power outlets. Too tired to even give this consideration on our first day, we headed for the caravan park at Sale and booked a drive through site for the night. We didn’t even bother to unhitch the van. We walked to the supermarket to buy some groceries and came back and had a bite to eat. Ben was in bed by 7.30pm and I was a very close second at 8.00pm. We both had a really good sleep and didn’t wake up until almost 8.00am.