18 November 2012 - Nowra Showgrounds, Shoalhaven, NSW

I peeked out the bathroom window early this morning and saw clear skies and sunshine, then went back to bed. Hardly the best action when every moment of good weather should be taken advantage of, but then it was Sunday, and Chris had sat up until some ungodly hour to watch the Wallabies play England. His eyes would no longer stay open after the first twenty minutes which was regretful because it turned out to be an excellent game and the Wallabies redeemed themselves and hopefully their New Zealand coach will not come in for as much rubbishing this coming week as he has of late.

When we did crawl out of bed, we decided on a bitsa day and started it with a wonderful walk in Bomaderry, just across the Shoalhaven River. The five and a half kilometre circuit walk through the Bomaderry Creek Regional Park, along each side of the creek of the same name passes through remnant rainforest, spotted gum forest and scrub, through, under and over great sandstone rocks; overhanging, pitted with shallow caves, in every shape and size. Great cliffs tower above the creek shielding the walker from the noise of the highway which is not far away at all. It is a stunning oasis of natural beauty in the middle of an otherwise ordinary urban area, and according to walkers we met along the way, not very well known of by the locals. This walk is really right up there with some of the loveliest we have done here in Australia.

The track notice stated it was a three hour walk; we were back at the cruiser in one and a half. We headed for the supermarket to buy some yummy sourdough rolls and relaxed over lunch, until the wind which had come up in the last hour became too much and we pulled the awning in and dismantled our outdoor living area. Great black clouds were gathering and we expected to be subjected to something like Brisbane received yesterday, however it all came to little.

Rested once again, we headed out on the road, across the river again and out to Shoalhaven Heads past Coolangatta, not to be mistaken for Coolangatta on the NSW / Queensland border near the Gold Coast. There is little at this Coolangatta aside from a winery and a new subdivision; we were through it before we arrived at that conclusion.

Shoalhaven Heads is not really the head of the Shoalhaven River at all because the river now takes a alternative course around past Greenwell Point. A narrow sandy strip blocks the old entrance and shelters the bay within the river. I imagine it would only take a wild storm in a king tide to breach the sandy barrier.

We stood for a couple of minutes on the surf beach, facing into the wind, watching half a dozen kite surfers and wind surfers weave back and forward through the wild choppy seas. Apart from them and us, there was noone else about. It was that kind of afternoon.

We drove back to Bomaderry, past the ethanol plant and the paper mill, checked out the shopping centre and the rail station which is at the end of the southern line. We then crossed the Princes Highway to North Nowra, checked the shopping centre there which is little more than a collection of suburban convenience stores, and drove down to the river near the Shoalhaven Zoo. Adjacent to this attraction is a large caravan park in the loveliest setting; the high cliffs carved by the river are visible from all points.

I was still feeling rather tired from the morning’s efforts so we decided to head back to camp, where Chris pulled the hot water heater apart and did the required maintenance successfully.

Later, as we sat down to dinner, a wild wind storm came up and blew for about half an hour, gusting at 80 kph. Great clouds of dust, leaves and sand blew across the top of the hill, stinging the caravan. Fortunately we had parked in such a manner that the wind parted each side of the van. However our neighbour's was side on into the wind and I watched and waited for the van to capsize. It did not, nor did any branches from the gum beside us break off. In fact, after it was past, there was little to show for the event at all.I was just glad we had taken the awning in earier or we would have lost it and the outdoor furniture over the cliff edge. A few moments of excitement we could have done without.

We extended our stay this morning for a couple more days, calling in to the Information Centre before going for our walk. Although these showgrounds are in a lovely spot, we would not recommend them as a camp because the toilets are not always open, there are no showers (although that does not matter to us) and the whole place is so very public and so very well used by every man and his dog, literally. However we have not finished with the Shoalhaven area and it does make sense to stay on here until we have. And the tariff is cheaper than anything else about.