The great Southern expedition - Part 5

Saturday 3rd April to April 7th Set up Camp at North Head Primitive Campground at Moruya bound by a river, surfing beach and an airport!! Reminded us of the movie "The Castle'. From this base we did a spot of sightseeing and checked out all of the great beaches north to Bateman's Bay. The city slickers from Sydney and Canberra certainly have a great selection of holiday spots in this neck of the woods. Enjoyed the historical township of Mogo. Tuross Head,which is south of Moruya is also a lovely holiday destination. Grae attempted a fishing trip but the weather was against him so no luck this time. The river at Moruya is still commercially fished.

Thursday April 7th to April 9th About an hour north of Moruya we finally decided to stay at Kiaroa .There are four caravan parks in this area from Bawley Pt to Pretty Beach - this one was the cheapest and is on the best beach. Drove up to Lake Conjola to check this spot out as our next destination and we were suitably impressed - it is a beautiful lake and peaceful spot.

Saturday April 9th to Thursday 21st Lake Conjola proved to be one of our 'Top Spots' . Island View Caravan Park became our home for the next 12 days. The lake is simply a great place for families providing canoeing, skiing and fishing experiences ( of course ) for the holiday makers. There's a beautiful surfing beach here also which would appeal to our sons. Grae's highlight was catching 2x80cm flathead!! Mine was exploring Milton an historical township just south of here. We also did some sightseeing - Sussex Inlet and Ulladulla- The'Blessing of the Fleet Festival ' , begun by it's Italian founders, will be held there this weekend.

The Great Southern Expedition - Part 4

Thursday 17th March to Friday 18th March - currently at Mallacoota, a beautiful coastal spot and fisherman's paradise! We could live here. The caravan park is the biggest in the Southern Hemisphere and there are two fishing comps this weekend! So we've decided to move on to Wonboyn tomorrow. We have been spoilt by staying in quiet roomy parks and bush camps and don't like being in 'caravan city' even though it's a lovely park.

Saturday 19th March to Wednesday 23rd March - Graeme was very keen on Wonboyn Lake - great fishing potential and a beautiful place, but his hopes were dashed by the worst weather we've experienced so far! We were floodbound for a day which I'm sure he planned in the hope for sunny skies and better fishing conditions - it was not to be. We made the most of it and did a lot of sight seeing around Eden - great scenery and bush walks , a lot of history at Eden e.g. whaling, its deep water port. On the worst day we bunkered down in the van for a movie marathon - yes 3 consecutive movies!!

Thursday 24th March to Friday 25th March - On the way to our next spot we investigated Tathra and Bermagui , two lovely places. Those of you who enjoy bush camping would love our next stop, Hobart Beach. It's in Bournda National Park. It's a huge park and we were one of only three campers - it was a great setting and the lake at our back door made for a great atmosphere for drinks and nibblies. Also lots of good bush walks one of them leading to Hobart Beach. The only down side is **** NSW National Parks hit you with the fees! Whilst there we checked out Merimbula, Tura Beach and Pambula. Pambula was my fave - historical, nice beaches and there's a great Vintage Shop there called 'Bowerbirds' girls!! Graeme was most patient - what a guy!

Saturday 26th March - overnight stop at Mystery Bay another picturesque spot. Not a fan of the pit toilets though!! We checked out Wallaga Lake on the way but due to recent flooding, the good camping spots in the Caravan parks were closed.

Sunday 27th March to April 3rd We have enjoyed our time at this fantastic spot called Dalmeny - lovely grassy camping area overlooking a surfing beach - our boys would love it! We have investigated Kianga and Narooma, a few minutes south of here and a special highlight yesterday was a surprise visitor at the fish cleaning table at the boat ramp - a huge seal which was enjoying the yellow-tailed king fish scraps being fed to him by the lucky fishermen who enjoyed a successful fishing 'outside' expedition.. Graeme has enjoyed success catching flathead in picturesque Lake Mummaga .The days have been beautiful and I've enjoyed the boating too. The lake has been like a mill pond and the fish, an added bonus. 'Huey' blessed us with good weather this week so we are hoping for more sunny days in the future. Central Tilba and Tilba Tilba were two little hisorical towns we visited- reminded us of a smaller version of Montville on the Sunshine Coast. Can recommend the Tilba cheeses - yum! There is a lovely 'eco' type caravan park at Potato Point right on a surfing beach at which we are considering as our next stopover. Did some 4WD'ing and even stumbled across a couple of rednecks, straight out of 'Deliverance', free camping in the bush - spooky. On our return to the park we were met with two great surprises - no not more seals - but Debbie and Graeme from Woodgate, who are returning home from their Tassy trip. Enjoyed a great morning with them, today, sightseeing in Narooma and we yet again spotted more seals on the rocks at the sea wall( near Australia Rock )- so lucky and we didn't have to pay for the experience! Debbie's home made scones for morning tea topped off a great time. Reluctantly leaving here tomorrow .