Author: Mr A
Location: Moonee Beach
It was another intermittently wet day, following an evening where a bloke with big bags of marbles was hurling them onto the roof of the caravan all night! The morning Bollywood markets at Woolgoolga we sought were cancelled due to bad weather, so a café breakfast was the substitute. Now guess which meal was mine and which was Mrs A’s?
Yes…home made toasted muesli for me. I will be wearing sack cloth and ashes next. We checked out the spectacular scenery and lookout in the bright morning sunshine after breakfast, before heading back to Moonee Beach….
As we left camp another Zone was coming in, and finally in the late afternoon the last Zoner checked in, coming straight from the factory at Coolum Beach yesterday. So 14 vans have checked in here – around 10% of the total number on the road. I think it’s interesting that we would all be quite happy to come and spend a weekend with mostly total strangers, just because we brought the same product. We think it’s a lot to do with the Zone Owner’s Facebook group that has allowed us to get a feel for the type of people who are buying them. The posts are positive and collaborative, exchanging tips and ideas, all moderated very professionally, unlike some of the other groups we belong to in the caravan space. In these challenging times for Facebook it’s good to remember that social media can also be used very positively, in this case encouraging on-line relationships to be converted to real world connections.
So an evening was spent very merrily at the local Moonee Beach Tavern, 27 folk I think from many different walks of life, chatting away about their lives and travels, united by a love of the great Australian outdoors. It reminded me of how lucky we are to live in a country that enables us to do something like this. We have spent the afternoon walking on a pristine beach that Catherine and I had to ourselves, and then we spend the evening planning new adventures with a whole bunch of like minded people.
Our walk was special – not only did we see off the last of the rain, but the sun came out, allowing us to walk the 7km without getting anything other than our feet wet and enabling us to enjoy this stunning coastline along Sapphire Beach.
We are also thankful that we don’t have to worry that someone with a semi-automatic is going to break into the pub. The worst we had was a young football team rehearsing some testosterone fuelled war cries. We go to bed with full bellies and I think generally happy hearts. Yes a bunch of us have our health issues, our family problems, but compared to so many in the world… life is good here, and long may it continue.
Australia as we know has had a “dream run”, the Lucky Country. Our challenge will be as America withdraws from Asia – how will we respond to the rise of Chinese soft and hard power? Will our politicians be up for the new challenge that represents for Australia? I hope they find the courage to look beyond their short term personal ambition to provide the leadership we will undoubtedly need to navigate the changes this will bring culturally and economically.
If you fancy a sobering read then check out respected academic Hugh White’s essay “Without America” (https://www.quarterlyessay.com.au/essay/2017/11/without-america)…this gives some clues as to our potential future landscape…
Our catch up was made possible by the hard work of fellow Zoner Ash Cook, who set up and administers a Facebook group so Zone owners, and those considering buying, can exchange stories of their travels and experiences with the caravans. It’s been a fantastic resource for us all.
I love Australia’s naming conventions and how they keep you guessing! It was a fabulous view, massive rollers coming in after the recent wild weather and pounding the coast. Looking forward to exploring a bit further afield tomorrow.
The plan is as follows; head up the east coast of NSW this week, through the rain by the sound of it, then meeting up next weekend with some fellow Zoners just north of Coffs Harbour. Then making a friend’s property in western Brisbane home for Easter, then more friends in Noosa for the following week. After that we actually haven’t decided more than “keep the ocean on our right”, we tend to only book about 3/4 weeks ahead. Most likely we will go up into the Northern Territory before heading down the centre to be back in Sydney mid September.
What else are we doing differently on this trip? Well we returned to to our pre-travel regime of fasting two days a week. Cutting out pies and snacks, and getting back to our fighting weights. It was a fasting day today, so tempting as it was being a little hungover to pile some fatty stuff in on the road, we resisited, and the first food since the wedding dinner last night is one of Catherine’s amazing veggie Pad Thais. Just delicious! It’s hard not to treat every day like a “holiday feast”, but when you’re travelling long term thats a recipe for getting over our recommended weight, as we did last year.
There were a few abandoned camps along the river but we didn’t see a soul until we were back at our launch point three hours and 13km later. A couple of fishermen were staring longingly into the water hoping for a bite. The river was really beautiful, winding its way between sandy banks, very little breeze disturbed the mirror like surface.
I had read trip reports from people who had been paddling with a kayak guide who runs tours along this stretch, and from those was hoping to see kingfishers. Finally, on the home stretch we saw one. Our waterproof camera sadly doesn’t have a great telephoto so he escaped our lens. trust me he was a beauty, all peachy belly and deep blue back. Not a startling blue one like some we had seen down this coast, but still a lovely sight through my ever present binoculars. My eyesight is shocking, so without them I wouldn’t be seeing much at all!.
It really made us smile to see her so happy. It’s so nice to be away from crowded caravan parks, for all of us. We had been a bit tied to them running our car fridge on freezer mode, but gave that up today and switched it back to a fridge so we don’t worry about needing to be on electricity to feed the power hungry battery.
We climbed up into a forest of spotted gums, the smell after the rain was just amazing. 
A very quick run back down the hill and we had made a great little loop ride (15km). I’m absolutely loving the new gears on my bike. A twist grip rather than levers which were so painful to use with my dodgy hand (touch of osteo). Mrs A struggled to breathe a bit on the hills but with her usual can do attitude just got on with it. She’s determined to not let this illness hold her back if she can overcome with the power of her mind.
The area’s traditional custodians are the Yuin Aboriginal people, and evidence of their use of the lakes as a food resource is evident in the piles of shells (middens) that we could see around its edge. Cormorants dived around us, black swans took flight even with our stealth like approach. Catherine spotted a bush wallaby looking apparently surprised to see this a 7 plus metre long boat disturbing his morning constitutional. The lake is so shallow kayaks are the only craft that animals would see on most of the water. Jellyfish were moving along in swarms, quite beautiful the way they just ripple along.
Nine kilometres later and we were back at our caravan, and me racing to turn on the BBQ. Delicious sausages brought from Orange, fresh eggs and of course baked beans resting on home made toasted sourdough. A brunch fit for paddlers!
We had followed our noses and found ourselves at Bermagui Fishermans Wharf. A $5M development funded by the government to try and support the fishing industry after revoking of licenses to try and create more sustainability.
We had ridden almost all of the way on dirt or back roads. What an awesome ride. Oh and just before we arrived back there’s a sign for the Camel Rock Brewery! It was meant to be. I ordered “whatever you’re brewing” and the barman said “we’ve actually run out”. Just as I was picking myself up off the floor the other bartender comes round the corner and says “the new brew is just ready on the tap”. It was just that kind of day. It was delicious. A cold beer and a cycle are a marriage made in heaven.
This area has been a gathering place for various Aboriginal tribes, the abundance of seafood in the many lakes and estuaries seems to have been the big draw card. The boards talked respectfully of tapping into the knowledge of the traditional owners to help manage this beautiful stretch of coast. It really does look like the councils here actually have a coherent plan. There were no out of place developments spoiling views. The public areas all neat and scenic.
The cycleway seems to be another success judging by the amount of use it was getting on a weekday. It was a community project started in the 60s and stretches from the south of Narooma through to the next town to the north, Dalmeny. Over 600,000 volunteer hours where contributed by the locals. All inspired by the town mayor with a vision, not of feathering his nest from developers dollars, as seems to frequently the case, but to link the two communities and inspire them to work together. The end result, a 12 kilometre stretch of some of the best coastal riding we’ve ever experienced. It was heartening to see it so well used by local cyclists of advanced years – more advanced than me even.
On the way back we stopped by a boat ramp as we saw a crowd had gathered, and there were more seals being fed fish scraps, and then massive stingrays 2 metres across were amongst them. The rays even came up onto the concrete ramp for a pat (or a fish titbit I suspect). Narooma is like one big sealife show – fantastic.
We finished the day with a stroll from our campsite out onto Handkerchief beach a few hundred metres away. The storms over the last few days are still making themselves felt with a powerful swell. 
However, we have rebooked on our Montague Island trip tomorrow, so hopefully the sea has calmed a little more overnight, or we are in for a very rough ride.
We called Zone, who were mystified, and had us phone the installer, who were also mystified and had the air bag manufacturer call us, who were…yes mystified.
It was a short paddle down the creek to where it nearly flowed into the ocean, only being prevented by a spit of stunning white sand. A quick look around and we were off again, with the wind behind us it was time to tease Dan and Michelle with a glide past under wind power, only because they didn’t have one. Finding a piece of equipment that Dan doesn’t have is quite a feat. We are brothers from a different mother.
We paddled up stream a few kilometers then turned round and headed back to camp for a lazy afternoon punctuated regularly by snacks and drinks.
The “Prawn Man” (guess what he sells) turned up to tempt us with fresh Clyde river oysters and Queensland prawns.
Which of course were served up with a superb Margaret River Brash Vineyard Sancerre style Sauvignon Blanc.
It was bed sheets and clothes washing today, blustery and sunny, ideal conditions, in fact so windy Catherine nearly took off with the sheets. While they dried we headed off on the bikes for our customary exploration of our surroundings. A big thumbs up, we have riverside, beachside, surfside, the lot.
(Below: one of the many jellyfish we spotted in the creek)
Superb surroundings, and looking forward to sharing them with our friends Michelle and Dan who arrive tomorrow night for the weekend, complete with their double kayak matching ours.
