The third day of the holiday dawned bright and sunny. What a
glorious morning it was. My treat for the birthday boy was again taking the
wheel first thing in the morning. Letting him sit back and enjoy the scenery
and the gentle drive. Yesterday when we made our way back from Moruya via the Princess
highway we found that it was only 26 km distance. So we decided that today we
would go further down the highway and see some more places. Instead of stopping
at Batemans Bay in the morning, we would do so on the return journey.
The first town that comes after Batemans Bay is Mogo. This is a small gold rush town,
with a single main street, a few shops and a zoo. Next, we go past Moruya where
we had stopped yesterday and you can read about it in the blog ‘Down
Tourist Drive 7’. Again from here the highway runs at a distance from the
coast and access to each small town or bay is via a small road that ends at the
coast. After passing Bergalia and Colia we came to an exit for Tuross Head.
The name sounded different and also indicated that this was a headland with
most likely good views so we turned down the road. On one side of the road is
the Colia Lake and on the other Tuross Lake. This is a lovely drive with pines
trees around. The drive allows you to loop around the town and also allow you
to drive on the coastal cliff.
We parked the car and took a walk along the path and looked
at the view out on to the Tasman Sea. It was just so peaceful, sitting on the
bench and just letting the breeze gently ruffle the hair and cool the skin.
There were 2 families on the beach, one just below us and one further out on
the sandy beach. The children were enjoying being swept up and put down by the
waves. The sunlight was sparkling on the water and that was a moment in time to
be treasured and feel blessed to be allowed to be in that moment. It inspired a
poetry that I had to write and can be found in my blog ‘Dancing
Sunlight’.
Out to the Tasman Sea
Tuross Head Beach
Colia Lake
Moving on, we drove back to the highway and turned south
again. We crossed the River Tuross that feeds into the Lake before joining the
Tasman Sea. The next place was Bodalla.
There is a lovely All Saints Church there but this time we did not wander into
it. Since it was midday and we were looking to stop for a drink and maybe
something to eat. There on the main road was a diary and cheese factory. So we went
into see the small dairy museum and then the shop next door. They have a large
variety of cheeses and you can taste each and every one of them before deciding
what you wish to buy. It is such fun this cheese tasting…… cheese smoked with
gum leaves, cheese with pepperberries and with chillies, cheese with sage and
saltbush, with thyme, with wattle seed, with garlic and so on and so on. We
bought Bushies Best,
a soft cheese coated with herbs, Bodalla
Heatwave which leaves a heat trail down your throat, and Gumtree smoked
Chedder.
There is also an old time American diner style restaurant here
and of course some homemade cakes, quiches, wraps and breads. So the lunch was
a pint of strawberry milk shake for me and chocolate one for the birthday man. Along
with that a slice of vanilla cheese cake and orange cake with a small pot of
clotted cream. I was quite happy to have just that as lunch. We wandered around
the back of the dairy to see cows grazing peacefully overlooked by a wooden eagle. There are a couple of other shops selling local handicraft and products
made from lavender. It was good to talk to the shop owners and discuss the
crafts being sold. Why was there are Mexican restaurant in this small place,
right beside the hotel? The dairy also has 5 rooms which they let out and seemed
to be popular. If I went to stay there I think I would be eating cake and
cheese and drinking milk shakes all day.
Replete, we drove on a little further south as there was a
nearby place called Potato Point. Intrigued by the name and since he likes potatoes,
we decided to have a look. Indeed the road took us right up to the coast but on
top of a cliff but unlike Tuross Head, nowhere to park and wander about taking
in the views.
We turned back from here to return to Batemans Bay. This
time we stopped in the car park by the bridge and took a walk along the promenade.
Being a Sunday there were many people about, walking or sitting with kids
playing. There are a few restaurants including an Indian on the bay front. Just
past the restaurants, are the lamp posts on which the pelican gather and today
there were quite a few. Mostly sitting with one or two standing and all were
asleep. Will who can blame them it was a fairly hot afternoon.
Bridge over River Clyde from carpark
In the evening, walked over to the restaurant in the resort
thinking we would be sure to get a table today as many people would have left
after the weekend. Surprise! The restaurant and the takeaway are both shut on Sunday.
So we walked back, got into the car and drove back to Batemans bay. The first
big restaurant was the one we had a drink at before so went in there. Thought it’s
a lovely evening and we would sit outside. But soon it got chilly in the wind
and we had to retrieve out jumpers from the car. But as the sun dipped over the
horizon we moved into the restaurant and it was so much nicer without that cold
wind. The road back through the forest in the dark always appears unfamiliar so
a slow drive back and a good end to a thoroughly enjoyable day.
No comments:
Post a Comment