Lakes Entrance – Canberra Holiday
Mansfield to Lakes Entrance
Sunday 25/09/2005
Left Sophie at Merrijig. She knew something was up. Left at about 9:30am. Headed towards Jamieson. Had morning tea at Snakes Park campground, which is between Jamieson and Gaffneys Creek. We got to Woods Point at about 11:30. Headed to Matlock and then took the turnoff towards Walhalla. From here the road took a distinct turn for the worse. We had been on gravel since Kevington, but now the 'road' was nothing more than a bush track. Mum and dad's driveway is higher quality! After about 3 km, we came to a stop due to a huge tree across the track. We managed to squeeze past without getting bogged. This was the first of many. Whoever had cut a path through the trees only left about 100 mm on each side of the car -- or having to come within 100 mm of a 100 m drop, with the additional risk of slipping sideways -- a bit stressful. Made it to Aberfeldie where the track improved a bit. We arrived at Thompson dam wall at about 1 pm and had lunch. From there we had a little bit of bitumen before turning off onto the Walhalla – Cowwarr Rd. This road was a bit rough but not too bad. Had afternoon tea at Cowwarr weir at about 2:30. From there we took the main roads to Maffra and onto the Princes Hwy at Stratford. We arrived at Lakes Entrance at about 4. Picked up the key to the unit from the pub and unpacked our stuff. The unit is large and comfortable. Got a roast chicken and chips for tea.
Monday 26/09/2005
Light rain this morning. Did some shopping in town and walked across the bridge to the surf beach. Went back to the unit and watched Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy. Still light rain after lunch but walked to East Beach anyway. BBQ for tea. After tea walked to town and back in the dark. Pretty quiet night.
Tuesday 27/09/2005
Had a bit of a sleep-in today. Drove to town and bought some bait. Went to a spot near the entrance. Didn't even get a bite. Back to the unit for lunch. Drove to Buchan and visited Donald and Cherry. Got a tour of 'the golf course' and samples of their olive oil. When we got back to Lakes Entrance we had a bit more of a fish and guess what - Nick caught a nice bream! Greek wrap for tea then watched The Bourne Supremacy.
Wednesday 28/09/2005
In the morning we walked from the bridge to The Entrance and return - about 7 km. The kids fished with handlines but no luck. After lunch we read for a while then drove to Lake Tyers which is only about 5 km away. On our return, the kids went fishing again while tea was being prepared. We ate Nick's fish. Delicious! Quite a mild day today. The weather is expected to take a turn for the worse tomorrow.
Thursday 29/09/2005
Windy and rainy overnight. The girls went shopping in the morning. After lunch we drove to Nungurner and Metung. This is an extremely picturesque place. On the back to LE, we stopped at Kalimna lookout and saw a pod of 4 dolphins frolicking near the entrance. For tea we went to the Central Hotel. Not bad.
Friday 30/09/2005
A lovely day with a light breeze. Walked to shops and did a bit of shopping. Anna booked a cruise for the afternoon, which we did after lunch. Aboard the Thunderbird, we toured to Metung and back with a short stop at The Entrance. Lucky for us, a pod of dolphins were frollicking there during our visit. After tea we played mini-golf. It was great fun.
Saturday 1/10/2005
In the morning we walked along the lakeside from Kalimna Jetty to The Entrance and return. After lunch we spent the afternoon on Eastern Beach. After that we started to clean in readiness to leave.
Lakes Entrance to Batemans Bay
Sunday 2/10/2005
Left Lakes Entrance at about 8:45 after final cleaning. Had breakfast at Orbost. Orbost is very pretty. We continued on to have a look at Eden and its fishing fleet. Lunch at Merimbula next to the inlet. After lunch we had a look around town and checked out the fishing platform. On to Narooma for afternoon tea. We arrived in Batemans Bay at about 4pm only to find that it is Labour Day in NSW and nearly everything is booked out. Managed to find an appartment at Batehaven called the Aquarius right opposite the beach. The kids had a swim in the pool for a few seconds - weather quite warm but water cold. For tea we ate fish and chips on the beach by lamp-light.
Monday 3/10/2005
Another beautiful morning. The kids had a swim in Corrigan Bay which is directly opposite our unit. The water was pretty cold so we decided to have a look around. Attempted to walk around Observation Point but ended up back tracking to the road. Walked to Casey Bay, only about 500m. The kids had another swim and reported that the water was still very cold. We walked back to the unit for lunch. After lunch we drove south along the coast road exploring all of the little bays. Around each turn there is a spectacular view. We stopped at Malua Beach and we all went for a swim - except Anna. The water was cold! However, in the sun it was 32 degrees - in early October. From there we checked out Rosedale North and South - spectacular. Then on to Guerilla Bay and lookout before returning to Batemans Bay to do some quick shopping. Sampled some of the local oysters. Cooked tea at the unit then had a stroll afterwards.
Batemans Bay to Canberra
Tuesday 4/10/2005
Left Batemans Bay at about 8:45. Up the mountain from Nelligan. Stopped in Braidwood and bought some morning tea at the bakery which we took on to the Shoalhaven River to eat. We got to Canberra at about midday. We went to the information centre and decided to stay at the Canberra Motor Village off MacArthur Avenue in a cabin. After lunch we went to Black Mountain tower and took in the view. After that we headed acroos town to Mt. Pleasant behind Duntroon. We inended to go up Mt. Ainslie, but the road was closed so we went to the War Memorial instead. It was very interesting. We saw the closing ceremony which included The LastPost on the bugle. Back to the cabin and Anna got some chicken and chips for tea. A lovely fine day, about 23 deg.
Canberra
Wednesday 5/10/2005
In the morning we headed to Old Parliament House after looking around the National Library and Science Centre. We had a tour of Old Parliament House then returned to our cabin for lunch. In the afternoon we went to Parliament House and took a tour. The Senate was sitting so we got the chance to watch the polititians in action. After that, the girls went shopping in Kingston while the boys went back to the War Memorial to look at the WW2 display. For tea we took the scenic route to Queanbeyan Leagues Club. There seems to be a drastic reduction in the dress standards that used to apply, but the food was pretty good and the prices can't be beaten.
Thursday 6/10/2005
Got away early from Canberra and started our trip to Mansfield. We had decided that it would be nicer to take a more scenic route than straight down the freeway. To that end, we left the freeway at Gundagai where we had morning tea. On to Tumbarumba for lunch via Batlow and Tumut. Magnificent scenery and picturesque towns. Lots of timber industry in this area with large mills and timber yards in all towns. We continued on minor roads to cross teh border at Jingelic (sp?) and Walwa. The road to Shelley was gravel for a short section and it damaged one tyre resulting in a flat. We fitted the spare and drove on to Tallangatta, Tambangalamba, Yackandah, then Beechworth for afternoon tea. It had started to get quite cool by this stage. From here we slipped across to Wangaratta, then Benalla to refuel. We finaly got to Mansfield at about 5:45 p.m. Sofie was very glad to see us - and so were Nana and Grumps.
Friday 7/10/2005
Helped Nana and Grumps plant 80 tree seedlings today.
Saturday 8/10/2005
All good things must come to an end. Left Merrijig at about 10:15 and headed straight home using Citylink. Home by 1:15. A really good time was had by all. Total trip distance: 2,500 km.