We have now arrived at the most southern settlement of
the New South Wales coastline, and this is as far as we will travel for now. In
a few more days we will turn north again, retracing some of our path and
visiting coastal places still unexplored.
Perhaps it was the excitement of moving on this
morning that had us up and out of bed, breakfasted, hitched up and out of the
camp by 8.30 am. We popped back down into Bega to pick up fresh bread for lunch
and then turned south, travelling up and over progressively steeper hills while
still relatively close to the coastline. The Princes Highway, in this part of
the world, is very like that along the south eastern parts of Victoria, between
Lakes Entrance and Orbost, passing through heavily wooded State Forest and
National Park alike.
We have remarked time and time again how many trees there
are in Australia, and that is something a foreigner such as I would never have
given this so called barren continent
credit for. But there you are.
We called up to the Yellow Pinch Dam, 14 kilometres
north of Pambula, a camp spot in our Camps 6, to see if it would suit as a
overnighter on our way back north. The one kilometre approach off the Highway
is extremely steep and the “camping” area is tight. However it certainly looks
quiet and safe so we will keep it in mind and see how the next week pans out.
We came on down to Pambula, a quaint old fashioned
town in the style of Cobargo passed through a few days ago further up the
highway, which also probably warrants further inspection. Perhaps on the way
back?
The road turns eastwards just before Pambula and
heads out to the seaside town of Merimbula which, by the amount of advertising
in the promotional brochures, must be a significant town. That too will have to
wait for our return.
Lagoons or lakes lie inland from the sea in from Merimbula,
south of Pambula and to the north of Eden. They are really just estuaries
except for the fluctuations of water flow; in dry times they become land bound
and have their own ecosystems.
It is less than sixty kilometres from Bega through
to Eden and so we were through to our chosen camp a few minutes before the checkout
time of 10 am. Some camps may have made us come back in the afternoon, however
the staff here were welcoming, happy to take our money and see us set up for
the duration. Again the tariff advertised on the web was inaccurate however
with our Big4 discount, we cannot complain.
Once set up and refuelled with coffee, we set off
for a pleasant three kilometre walk along the boardwalk that follows the
western shore of Lake Curalo, Eden’s lagoon, just opposite the camping ground.
We observed black swans and a variety of ducks, and startled several rather
large skinks. We walked on through to the spit that separates the lagoon from
Twofold Bay, out on to Aslings Beach. Strangely, as we came over the rise to
the beach, which descends steeply into the gentle surf, I was reminded of the
beach at a small southern Spanish village I spent three months in another life.
It’s funny how tiny glimpses in the now can trigger memories of the past. Up to
our right, we could see the township of Eden, spread over several hillocks and
were keen to discover it for ourselves.
After lunch we set off again, this time in the
cruiser and drove about all the streets that the 3,600 inhabitants of Eden call
home. The township is situated on the more northern edge of Twofold Bay and a
small peninsula jutting out from the business part of the town cuts this bay in
two, Calle Calle Bay to the north and the larger wide bay to the south. But
then in the northern curve of this larger bay, just below the town, lies Snug
Cove, Cattle Bay and Cocora Beach.
At the Information Centre we learned that there had
been whales in the bay during the course of the morning, so we set off up to
the lookout at Rotary Park to catch sight of these majestic beasts. Alas they
had moved on, and the wind had come up causing a mess of white horses all over
the bay, which precluded any easy sighting of the odd spume or flapping fin. We
decided that we might have a better chance tomorrow morning if the wind were
less and the water calmer. We will also listen out for the siren which is
sounded on such a sighting.
It does not take a rocket scientist to realise that
Eden’s raison d’etre is all about the
sea. Back in 1798, the explorer George Bass, he of Bass Strait fame, entered
Twofold Bay and declared that Snug Cove offered “a snug and safe anchorage for
any ship during a blow”. In 1828, Thomas Raine came ashore here to
establish the first shore based whaling station on mainland Australia. That was
the beginning of Eden and whaling, together with timber, livestock and seafood,
has kept Eden humming down through the years. Today, a chip mill operates
across the bay and we will most likely get a closer look tomorrow. Oyster and
mussel farming are evident with the rows of strings or whatever they use, visible
here and further up the coast in those lakes passed today. Eden is renowned for
its excellent deep-sea fishing with a large fleet of fishing trawlers.
We drove down into Snug Bay and parked facing the
wharves. The wind was brisk even in this apparently sheltered marina so we
satisfied ourselves with viewing the activity through the windscreen. I watched
several pelicans gliding and diving and landing in the wind, a few brave
tourists hugging themselves for warmth as they walked the pathways and one
solitary fishing boat heading off into the wild sea. We had seen so many more
fishing vessels when we passed through Lakes Entrance in Victoria earlier in
the year; perhaps most based here were out at sea.
We then went on down to Cocora Beach, labelled a
family swimming beach, and watched one lone swimmer sampling the sea.
Back at camp we settled in for a quiet afternoon.
Out of the wind, the temperature is far more pleasant than the past few days. Here
in the camp there are several families with children, small people we rarely
have contact with these days. They are enjoying the inflated jumping cushion
and the large tricycles, and are of the kind who express their joy in an uninhibited
manner disregarding the fact that others may prefer peace and quiet. On arrival
here we immediately noticed the bell miners who are even more vocal than the little
people. These wonderful birds have always delighted us with their unusual song,
however there is a distinct possibility we may change our minds about this.
They could become as annoying as a bad case of tinnitus.
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