Author: Mr A
Location: Wallaga Lake and Bermagui
“When our memories outweigh our dreams is it then that we become old…”
So said Bill Clinton, perhaps in a post cigar moment 🙂 Anyway I throughly agree with the sentiment, and this “Phase 1” of our Second Big Trip is a sure testament to continuing to dream. We have always imagined spending a chunk of time down the Sapphire Coast, as this area is called from Bermagui to down past Eden. We dreamt of kayaking on the rivers and lakes, eating fresh oysters, and ambling along deserted beaches without worrying about the traffic back to Sydney on a Sunday afternoon.
And we have now made that dream come true. At 6.30 I was up and as usual presenting madam with a freshly brewed pot of T2 tea in bed, and then preparing us to get out on the lake. It was a perfect morning to be out there, not a breath of wind stirring the mirror like surface of this gorgeous expanse of water. One other kayaker was our only human company, and we were surrounded by the melodic cries of bellbirds calling to each other from the dense woods that surround Wallaga Lake and form part of Gulaga National Park.
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!
Next on the “dream list” was a bike ride through stunning country, almost no tarmac, coastal views, fresh oysters at the half way point and a dairy free gelato for her and an ice cream for him. 
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 turn a corner and come across…. Montreal Goldfield? Montreal? But I’m a Google Maps power user?!
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.
To end this dream run of a day we gave our lighting to HDMI lead one more try hooking up the iPad to the TV…and..after a 4 month gap and multiple updates from Apple and Netflix…they have it working again! So it was a Spooks movie on the (relatively) big screen, curry and a glass of red. Oh yeah..
Crossing through the Narooma Bar we were required by law to don lifejackets, but soon took those off for a more comfortable ride. Upon reaching the island we were given the option to jump into the 20 degree water for a snorkel with the seal pups…but the cool breeze blew across the water and we decided to give it a miss this time. We had a nice cup of tea while two of the guests jumped in for a dive, before heading around to the wharf.
We were met by a volunteer and a National Parks Ranger who escorted us up a grassy, mown path past huge granite boulders to the top of the island and lighthouse, telling us stories of the flora and fauna and the work that has been done to restore the land to its former glory. The island was first occupied by Europeans in 1880 when the construction of the lighthouse and its cottages commenced, but the native landowners have a history stretching back many thousands of years, with several sacred sites on the island and evidence of numerous shell middens demonstrating where they had shared meals over the centuries.
A walking tour of the island revealed graves and stories of the hardship the lighthouse keepers and their families had to endure while keeping the seas safe for ships, with a beautiful poem written in memory of those lost – Charles Townsend killed by untreated injuries he received when his horse was spooked and tipped him and a heavy cart of supplies over, no phones or radios for help then, and the young child killed by whooping cough in the days before vaccines.
Beautiful views greeted us at every point, and we saw many little penguin and shearwater burrows which come to life at dawn and dusk.
After a few hours on the island our boat came to pick us up and return us to the mainland. There we hitched up the caravan and left Narooma, driving a whole 15 minutes down the coast to our next location, just north of Bermagui at Wallaga Lake.
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 hung out with the seals for a while before continuing on our way around the water’s edge, walking 6km return along the foreshore. We spotted oysters for sale fresh from the farm, so of course had to buy a dozen. Absolutely delicious – definitely up there with some of the best oysters I have ever had, for sure.
We returned to camp via a quick grocery shop and got the sourdough tucked up for its 4 hour proving stage. I got out our curry cookbook and decided to tackle another interesting meal for dinner, this time a Myanmar chicken curry – Kye thar hin – a very tasty recipe. The sourdough finally made it into the oven, and is now cooling ready for breakfast in the morning. Looking and smelling good – hope it tastes good too!
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.
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 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?
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.
We were reminded that kayaking is by far the most effective way of getting close to nature. Some of our past experiences are right out of a David Attenborough nature documentary including whales, dolphins, kestrels and eagles, and today was no different. As we rounded the corner out of Lemontree Creek I noticed a huge bird in the tree just metres from us. It took a few seconds to realise it was a massive White-bellied Sea-Eagle, finishing its fishy meal. I tried to capture it on the camera – a challenge on the little waterproof one – this is one moment when I wish I had my telephoto lens!
If you look carefully on the left of the image, you can see the great bird taking flight – just magnificent, with a wingspan of around 2 metres.
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.
We returned to camp via a few groceries, and made a start on packing up ready to move on, before having showers and getting ready for dinner. Mr A called out in delight as he found a family of ducks and ducklings exploring around our kayak – they were the cutest and definitely deserved a photo!
We had decided to book dinner out in Huskisson, originally not realising it was Valentines Day, but then post justifying our dinner decision with that as an excuse! A few friends had mentioned Wild Ginger as a location – a restaurant specialising in South East Asian food, particularly Thai but incorporating a multitude of flavours and influences. The chef had worked at some top Thai restaurants in Sydney, so we had high hopes.
All the food was delicious, the service was a little average – a 45 minute wait between entrees and mains, and staff that carefully avoided eye contact when you tried to reach their attention! Still, we had a lovely evening, and cycled the 2km safely back to camp afterwards along the cycle lanes.