Author: Mrs A
Location: Tabourie Lake and Burrill Lake, NSW
Another blue sky morning greeted us, and we decided to start with a healthy breakfast of fruit and cereal before heading out. Mich and Dan had to pack up their tent before we set off, but it didn’t take long and we were driving up the coast a short 13km to Burrill Lake. The Pacific Highway travels over this lake, and we had often looked at it longingly, wondering what it would be like to paddle on. Today we found out.
We parked up by a boat ramp and launched into the lake. This waterway is open to the ocean and therefore much clearer than Lake Tabourie, and also tidal. As we set off, the tide was rushing in, giving us a high speed boost on our exploration. There was plenty of birdlife on this lake, with pelicans, cormorants, black swans and also a juvenile White-Bellied Sea-Eagle. Much of the waterway is lined by Meroo National Park, making for some scenic paddling.
We returned to the cars after about 6.5km, yesterday’s purchase of prawns and fresh oysters calling our names. After a fabulous feast, we said our farewells, Mich and Dan heading back to Sydney, and us returning to camp to make some plans for the coming weeks. We did some research made some campsite bookings over a pot of tea, plus booked a boat trip out to an island for Wednesday – definitely lots to look forward to.
We then decided to go for a walk over to Tabourie Beach. It was very peaceful, with many of the weekend’s visitors now also departed for home, and it was great to appreciate the beauty of the wild coastline. Tropical Cyclone Gita (which has wracked havoc in Tonga and now is heading to New Zealand), while a long way away from where we are, has thrown up some impressive swells, and the coastline was shrouded in a mist of salt spray, muting the colours.
We noticed that the tide was low enough to allow us walking access over to Crampton Island, just off the coast, and headed over for an explore, returning as we noticed the first waves beginning to cross the sandbank.
We finished off our day by getting somewhat packed up ready to depart tomorrow, showering and cooking dinner, enjoying that with a glass of wine and our latest Netflix addiction…I wonder what tomorrow will bring?
