The journey continues

After leaving Dalmeny we followed down the Eastcoast through Narooma, stopped at Gillards Beach in Mimosa National Park, only a few trees and some sand dunes that separate us from the beach.  Four Kangaroos kept walking around the front of our Motorhome, not in the least afraid, or so it seemed.  When the Ranger came by, to collect the camp fees we were both very surprised that the fee was $20 for one night; had I not had a National Park exemption we would have had to pay $27.  This is quite a high fee when you consider that there are no facilities provided except simple toilets.

Next morning we followed down the coastline through Tathra, Merimbula and Eden and stopped 20km south of Eden at a nice Rest Area for the night.  I collected some firewood and we had a great fire before turning in for the night.  The weather had turned quite cool the further south we got, so next morning, instead of crossing the border into Victoria, we backtracked toward Bega and then headed northwest into the Snowy Mountains, the town of Cooma, a little shopping and then drove up to a Lookout with a fabulous view across the High Country.  We were at 1400m so the night was rather cool.

 The drive across the High Country was great with spectacular scenery, under a seamless blue sky once again.  After some more food shopping at Tumut, we decided to return for about 20km to spend the night on the side of a beautiful lake.  Both of us feeling how fortunate we are to be where we are, to appreciate all the beauty of the land around us.

I had decided to head further west into Central New South Wales, so our drive took us through Wagga Wagga then on to Narrandera where we spent our first night next to a Koala Reserve (unfortunately, without spotting one).  Our Next door neighbor Keith invited us to spend the evening by their campfire, which turned out an interesting (and somewhat smokey) evening.  We both liked the town and decided to spend another night there, moving into a Caravan Park as we urgently needed to do some washing.

After leaving Narrandera the following morning we drove on to the town of Griffith, thriving on various agriculture, in well irrigated country.  Not surprising to see some very large Wineries growing enormous quantities of grapes.  Someone told us that in one of them, this year's production target was to be 200000 tons of grapes.  The wines offered are excellent as well.  Griffith has a very definite European flavour, not surprising when you consider the large Italian content of the local population.  Monika and I, both liked the town very much, spending two nights free camping by the lake.

Time flies when you are having fun, or so they say...

Well, today finds me at Dalmeny Beach, just a few kilometres north of Narooma, on the South Coast of NSW.  It all will make more sense if I start to backtrack over the last few weeks to bring everyone up-to-date.

The drama with my fuel injection still continues to this day but I better qualify:-  After seeing the Diesel Specialist at Berrima it turned out that he was not in a position to fix the problem but he pointed me in the right direction by referring me to a company in Sydney, where I had two of my fuel injectors replaced and been put on notice that the other two needed to be replaced as well.  The cost for 2 injectors in Australia is $2200.00 PLUS installation.  Naturally, I decided to buy the other new injectors on the net and ordered 2 from England instead at a much more competitive rate of  $380.00 incl. shipping for both.  Still waiting for those to arrive so I can finally come to the end of that problem...

From Sydney, where I stayed with friends out in the western part of town, I travelled north again again to Forster, also one of my favourite camp sites near Gloucester, the down the coast again to pick up my long-time-friend Monika from Germany from Sydney airport.  She had decided on short notice to take time off for a few weeks and I invited her to join me for that time so I can show her some of the beauty of New South Wales.

Sailboats at anchor in the Pittwater

We have since travelled south of Sydney, mostly following the coast, staying often at places I had visited at previous occasions.  Monika tells me she really enjoys the trip and she has taken lots of pictures, also writing a travel blog.  For those who can read german, this is her blog address: monisaustralientrip.blogspot.com

Fitzroy Falls (lots of water after the rains)

We are staying at a beautiful spot at Dalmeny with a Million Dollar View, so decided to spend another night before moving on tomorrow.  At this stage still undecided, depending on temperatures and weather we may go further south into Victoria or turn northward for warmer temperatures.  We had quite a windy night last night, temperatures also down, so its back to long sleeves and long pants.  We also had a nice long walk along the beach this morning as well.

The Million $ view from my home

Views along the beach

Back on the road

Well, here I am under a cloudy sky in Moss Vale, up in the Southern Highlands.  I have spent the second half of December and almost all of January in Sydney, so have only been back on the road since 29 January, heading south, aiming for the coast.  The temperatures initially have been quite high, mostly in the high thirties, but also a few days around 43 degrees.

 

Looking across the Harbour

My friends, Aenpo, Paul and Christine

My first stop & rest was at Bendeela Pondage, located in a valley not far from Kangaroo Valley.  If you expected ‘roos, I only saw one or two but instead, quite a few Wombats came out every evening feeding on the fresh green grass on the campground.  Some of these were quite large, seeming to delight in crawling under Motorhomes, rubbing their backs on the underside of my vehicle – in the process rocking the whole rig while I am inside watching TV.

Morning fog rising at Bendeela

A Wombat being padded by a girl

It is a really great spot where I spent 4 nights before moving on, driving further south to the town of Nowra with the intention to have my fuel injection inspected which seems to cause the engine to go into what they call ‘Limp Mode’.  Ford Service, as usual is not able to help suggesting to wait for 5 days before they are able to even look at the vehicle. (Someone ought to tell them something about what I call ‘Customer Service’)  Went to a Diesel Specialist, who unfortunately was not able to fix the problem.  I have since made an appointment with a company at Berrima who has been highly recommended, for tomorrow morning (16.2.)

My neighbor fishing in the surf at Congo Beach

To fill in time I drove further south to Pebbly Beach, then on to Congo Beach near Moruya, yet another great spot where I met a German couple from Berlin who have come there every year for the last 10 years, spending most of their time fishing.  I can report that Bernd is pretty successful and happy to share his catch, fresh fish (Atlantic Salmon) often on my menu.  I stayed there for 5 nights before making my way back to somewhere closer to Berrima.  I stopped at Shellharbour over the weekend, the weather having finally turned to showers, the temperatures again in the low 20s.