The purpose of my trip to Eden was to acknowledge ten years since I had recommitted my message in a bottle to sea, on September 30 2012. A friend, Maree Dorizas accompanied me on this wonderful trip; sadly she passed away at the end of April 2022. Lillian had not visited the Far South Coast, so she was happy to come along to share the long road trip. And Teddy came along for a doggy holiday.
On Monday, October 31 2022, I placed our Melbourne Cup bets at the TAB in Ramsgate Beach, before the happy trio could leave Sydney for Batemans Bay. We called in for a gelato at the shop on the escarpment, which has a lookout over Wollongong’s northern suburbs. And then we travelled to Milton for lunch, arriving just before the cafés shut.
This was the story of our trip –we had been warned to eat before 2pm, to ensure that we could find a café open .The café owners said that “due to the staff shortage, they could only stay open until 2pm.”
The main street in Milton is very busy, and a by- pass is urgently needed around the town to improve its amenity.
We settled in to the dog friendly Pleasure Lea Caravan Park in Batehaven for 3 nights. Tuesday was Melbourne Cup day. I had organised sandwiches and a fruit platter from the Batehaven Bakery. They did a wonderful job, and I highly recommend them if you are in the area. And of course, we had a lovely bottle of wine, a 2022 Pinot Gris from Printhie in Orange with our Melbourne Cup Day lunch. We visited Printhie in April 2022, so I had a supply of this wonderful wine. One must be well organised!
Lillian and I had backed Gold Trip, so were happy at the win -perhaps a plate of oysters with our winnings! That was until we were warned that there was some degree of contamination in oysters at the moment .
On the Wednesday morning, we drove to Mogo and had a look at the lovely variety of shops. We enjoyed a lovely ice cream, after we had made the difficult decision in relation to the flavour. Teddy managed to get quite a few pats. In the afternoon, we went to Malua Beach, which was dog friendly, and we put our feet –both 2 and 4 into the water!
Thursday morning, we called into Narooma for coffee. A lady stopped to chat to us for some time. Diana had been on her morning walk, and as her husband had gone with the Emergency Services to flood duty in Western NSW, she was not in a hurry to go home. Narooma shopping centre is divided into three parts –lower, middle and upper, which makes it interesting.
Lunch was in Tathra .I was not aware that the old wharf was currently being restored. We had a late lunch at a fish and chips shop on the beach front, after I had successfully navigated the winding road down to Tathra’s main beach.
We enjoyed dinner in Merimbula, sitting in a park alongside the river, and ate a seafood dinner. Lillian raved about the prawn cutlets! We stayed at the dog friendly Merimbula Beach Cabins. Our lovely cabin faced the beach –what a stunning view we had of the beach.
Friday morning, day 5 of our road trip, I had an appointment with Amandine, a journalist from the Eden Magnet newspaper at 11am, at the Eden Visitors Centre. The Visitors Centre is impressive, and is a huge plus for the cruise ship passengers, and other people visiting Eden.
Just by chance, the General Manager of the Australasian Hotel, built in 1904, was having a morning coffee at the Wharf. He had heard me ask Amandine when the hotel was to open .I congratulated him on the stunning restoration of this magnificent heritage building. The dining room and bars will be open before Xmas, and there will be 8 luxury suites opening for accommodation in 2023.
Lunch was in Eden. After lunch, I showed Lillian the Mary McKillop Museum in Eden. Then we drove to Pambula for a wonderful afternoon tea in the Vintage Tea Rooms –Stellas and Miriams in the main street- highly recommended if you are in Pambula. Lillian and I enjoyed a ginger tea and a lovely home- made slice! Then we drove to Pambula Beach, before returning to Merimbula.
On Saturday morning, I had a Thai massage. Then we drove to Bermagui for the afternoon, returning to Merimbula through Cabargo. Cabargo had been badly affected in the 2020 bushfires. I then called into Bega to do a quick shop. I explained to the man parked next to me in Cole’s carpark that I have to spell the word TREATS –if I say the word, Teddy wants a treat! His young son said hello to Teddy.
Sunday morning, we had early lunch in Eden, and then drove to Mallacoota, in Victoria. Whilst parked in the main street in Eden, a 1959 Jensen with Victorian number plates was parked next to my car. It had been beautifully restored and drew admirers.
We drove into the caravan park in Mallacoota, where we were alerted to 5 koalas in a tree -2 of them had babies. What a thrill to see the koalas in their native habitat.
The fires had circled Mallacoota. It is still very obvious in the vegetation on the side of the highway of the extent of the 2020 fire damage. I almost had a young kangaroo jump out in front of us on the return trip. Fortunately, I frightened him and he went back into the bush.
Monday morning, day 8 was a long drive – Merimbula to Shoalhaven Heads. We called into Tilba Tilba, a National Trust listed village, for a long overdue morning coffee.
A local farmer walked towards me as we were about to get into my car and said “your dog is overweight “. I replied to him that “when I was in Orange in early April 2022, I had been in the hairdressers with Teddy, when a lady walked in for her hair appointment. “ She said to me that” it is clear that your dog is from a good paddock. “The young farmer then said to me “I have some sheep on good paddocks up the road, and they don’t have as much hair as your dog!” The dry sense of humour of the bush…..If I had had more time, I might have asked for an invite to see his sheep!
On the trip north, we called into Mollymook to have a look at the beach. Lillian and i both decided that it was a lovely holiday destination. Lunch was again at the lovely Batehaven Bakery in Batemans Bay. Once I crossed the bridge in Nowra, i knew that there was a road into Shoalhaven Heads. I was tired from the long drive, and most eager to reach our destination, Shoalhaven Heads.
We arrived at the dog friendly Holiday Haven in Shoalhaven Heads, where we stayed for two nights in a lovely cabin .The cabin provided a dog friendly fenced off yard, which was a bonus.
Tuesday morning, we had to be in Berry for a lunch appointment. We were lunching at a dog friendly café with Mrs Val Everingham, (mother of Gaye) who assisted Mrs Maxine Shaw, later Gray for a few years in the school canteen. Val also ran the canteen for a few years at St George Girls.
Whilst standing in the main street of Berry, I heard the sound of moo, moo, moo …. A farmer was driving down the main street with his load of calves in a trailer. They mooed the whole way down the main street!
I checked in with the Berry Tea Shop that Paulina, a former St George Girls student, still owns the shop. She does, but she was not in, so I left a message for her with her staff.
After lunch, I visited the Berry Bakery to collect some goodies for our afternoon tea with Nerry Stark. Nerry, a former St Georgian lives in a Retirement Village in Berry. Nerry is the mother of Kylie and the late Carolyn Stark, both St Georgians. We chatted the afternoon away…….
Wednesday morning, I called into the excellent Berry butchers shop to buy some jars of honey from their family farm near Greenwell Point. I mentioned to the senior butcher that” we used Berry for our Year 12 Geography excursions in the 1980’s, and possibly the early 1990’s .We always visited the McIntosh dairy farm.” “Yes, Rob is still there” he replied.
Reluctantly, the happy trio then had to leave Berry and set off for Sydney.
We had travelled many kms on good roads, although we had been warned about the pot holes. Fortunately, they were not too bad. We chatted to fellow travellers. Yes, we did eat a lot –the less said about this the better! Our accommodation was excellent. And Teddy had a wonderful time, and behaved himself impeccably. He met a couple of younger Cavaliers in the main street in Berry. Not a day went by without him getting pats and admiring looks. My car needs a good wash!
The Eden Magnet printed my article on my Message in a Bottle on Thursday November 10, 2022.
Additional Points of Interest:
Mogo Zoo and the Original Gold Rush Colony – around the corner from the zoo; Bermagui Fishermans Wharf and the historic Blue Pool ; Mill Bay Walkway , Narooma; Bega Cheese Heritage Centre; Tathra Wharf-currently under restoration , Captain Sponge’s magical oyster Tour -Pambula Lake; Oaklands Barn –outside pf Pambula ; Cat Balou Cruises in Eden for whale watching; Green Cape Lighthouse –part of Ben Boyd National Park.
Dog friendly accommodation: Oakleigh Farm Cottages www.oakleighfarmcottages.com has a history dating back to the 19 century. Oakleigh is also a working sheep farm. November 18 2022
