Tag:NSW
Day Three of our South Coast road trip brought us to the highlight (for me) of our journey. And the main reason we were in Eden – the Eden Whale Watching cruise on Twofold Bay.
Whale Watching Cruise
Cat Balou run cruises all year round from a 72 seat vessel, but September to November is whale watching time during the Humpback Whale southern migration. Whales travel a distance of around 10,000km on their migration. While the whales pass Eden on both the southern and northern migration, it’s only on the southern migration that they are close enough to shore to see. Most are only seen further out to sea on the northern migration. And only a very few venture into Twofold Bay.
Twofold Bay
Leaving Snug Cove at Eden Wharf, we cruised around the Bay for three and half hours. We sighted pods of dolphins, a few seals and three whales. Twofold Bay is one of the deepest natural harbours globally. It is also the only port on the Sapphire Coast with direct ocean access and no sand bars to negotiate.
Ben Boyd Tower
From the 1820s until 1930, men in open wooden boats hunted whales in Twofold Bay. A pack of killer whales assisted them. Ben Boyd Tower was initially planned as a lighthouse but was used as a whale spotting tower. After being hunted close to extinction, the population was estimated at 200 in 1962. In 2013 the whale population was estimated at 14,000 and increased by 11% a year.
I had been hoping to get a whale leaping out of the water, but they weren’t cooperating that day. We had to settle for several ‘breachings’ where the whale generates enough upward force with its powerful tail flukes to lift two-thirds of its body out of the water before coming down in a thunderous splash.
The underpart of each tail fluke is like a ‘fingerprint’ with no two tails having the same markings. Whale Facts
Day Two of our Sapphire Coast road trip along the South Coast of NSW took us from Glasshouse Rocks, Narooma to Eden. After doing three abandoned locations the day before, we were now up early to catch a Glass House Rocks sunrise in Narooma.
Narooma Surf Beach
The Narooma surf beach is beautiful, a one km long, semi-circular cove overlooking Montague Island, with the Glass House Rocks at the southern end and Australia Rock at the northern. The Geological Society of Australia recognises the Glasshouse Rocks as between 510 and 440 million years old. They are the result of volcanic activity hundreds of millions of years ago. Unfortunately, we got so involved with admiring the sunrise we never walked over to see the Glasshouse Rocks up close 🙁
Our ‘plan’ we had been to was to go out to Montague Island after breakfast. Still, none of the tours was running that day due to heavy seas out on the ‘bar’, so after breakfast overlooking the beach wandered down to Australia Rock before heading off towards Eden.
Camel Rock
Leaving Narooma, we headed down the Princes Highway to Bermagui and Camel Rock. The second part of the plan that didn’t go as planned was that Horsehead Rock was inaccessible by now due to no longer being low tide. Horsehead Rock is past Camel Rock, across a short rocky beach only accessible at low tide. So scratch Horsehead Rock this trip.
Camel Rock is ten minutes north of Bermagui along Wallaga Lake Road. The surf and rock formations are fabulous. I could have stayed there all day.
Blue Pool
Also in Bermagui is the Blue Pool. A large rock pool at the base of a dramatic cliff. There are two pools there. One seems full all the time, and the first pool feeds the other as the tide comes in. Something we didn’t realise until the water came gushing over the lip as we stood in the empty pool photographing the full pool!
Wallaga Lake
Our last stop before Eden was Wallaga Lake. We were driving past and spotted some Pelicans, and Pied Cormorants on the sandbar, so we pulled in for some shots.
They were probably bout 100ft from shore. but my travelling friend got out her ‘big boy’, and we got them just fine 🙂
Monday, we woke to wonder where our sun had gone. It was still warm but quite overcast and cloudy. But, as was ‘de rigueur’ of our days, we were up, fed, showered, car packed and on the road by 8.30 am (a bit of a sleep-in today). Today, we travelled from Broken Hill to Menindee and had a van booked at the Menindee Lakes Caravan Park. Menindee is 112kms from Broken Hill so that it would be an easy run. We filled the tank before we headed out (driveway service, too! I haven’t seen that since 1920!)
Road Kill abounds
The road from Broken Hill to Menindee was excellent, with a single lane each way and little traffic. What little we did see was kept to 110 km; there was not a slow caravan in sight. We were seeing so much Road Kill that we started counting it. If you’re planning a trip from Broken Hill to Menindee – it is a 16 RK (RoadKill) trip 🙂
We saw lots of dead roos. Seriously, it’s not a busy road. Can’t they wait 2 mins till the car passes. or look left? I came around one corner and across a dead wild mama big and piglet, two roo’s and a lizard – talk about dead man bend. I hope it wasn’t just one car that collected them! Loads of floodplain signs along the road and depth markers for the water, but nary a drop of water is in sight. And passed quite a few dry creek beds.
Menindee
We arrived around 10 am and called in at the general store for bread… “that’s delivered at 11 am. Do you want me to save you a loaf?” umm ok, then over to the supermarket. “do you have any fresh meat”? “no, that’s delivered tomorrow” Sheesh, save me from tiny towns! We found our caravan park with directions from the general store with no bread. We unpacked and looked around. 5mins that was done. So we made lunch with the last of our bread and sliced meat. We decided to check out the Kichega National Park.
Kichenga National Park
I had heard lots of good things about Kichega. However, It is definitely a 4WD place only. Dirt roads are everywhere, even though they said it’s 2WD, and they are BAD dirt roads. I thought we were going to shake the car apart. We did stop off at the Kichega Woolshed, which was great, except for the very friendly swarming flies. That drove us back to the car pretty quickly and smartly. I would have hated it out there in the 1800s
Kichega Woolshed
Remarkable for its size and design, the Kichega woolshed was constructed in 1875. It illustrates the vast scope of pastoral holdings in the arid areas of inland Australia. Kinchega lies amongst the beautiful Menindee Lakes, fed by the Darling River amid forests of river red gum, coolabah and black box trees.
I had been driving that morning – letting my sister take it easy as she still wasn’t 100%. But she took over as we left as she wanted to get out of there and felt I needed a break while we drove around in circles for a while (no signs) along shuddering, bone-jarring dirt roads. We had visions of our whitened bones being found years from now. Eventually, we found the exit and returned to the general store to claim our bread. Last loaf, lucky she saved it, and bless her, she also had roast chickens to take care of dinner. We returned to the cabin and chilled out reading for a while, which turned into nana naps for all of us.
Sunset on the lake
Towards sundown, with more directions on the best spot to photograph the lakes, we headed up the road. “go up the bitumen, cross over the channel, and turn left at the first dirt road. There’s no sign. Drive to the end. You can’t miss it. Sure. They don’t know us! We missed it, turned left at the dirt road after the creek (thinking that was the channel) and took the first dirt road to the end. Parked the car, walked across the railway line and to the water… fab spot! I could see where we were meant to be, but this one was good!
The light was amazing. Almost naturally monochromatic. It had been such a dusty day that the sky was full of dust, creating total haze across the sun. On the side of the channel we were on, the other side was a weir with water spilling through the channel into the lakes. Lined up at the weir was a back row of pelicans. And a front row of Seagulls, all waiting for the channel to spit out dinner. A little silvery fish would come through and down the spillway every few minutes, and they would dive on it. It went on for ages and was hilarious to watch 🙂 Gradually, the light changed as it got darker, and bearing in mind all the roadkill we had seen thus far, we packed up and headed back to the cabin before it got totally dark.
The cabin beds were comfy, and the shower was ‘ok’ (rain tank, no water pressure), but we were fed, showered and comfy, and in bed again, lights out by 9.30. tomorrow was back to Mildura.
Sunday was going to be warm – but a bit windy (‘significant breeze’, a Broken Hill local called it). So we were off to Silverton and the Living Desert Sculptures. After a quick breakfast, we were on our way by 9 am.
Silverton
About 25kms outside Broken Hill lies Silverton, a little ‘ghost’ town. The town sprang up in 1867 with the discovery of silver, but when more extensive deposits were found at Broken Hill, the population moved there. It now has a permanent population of 89 and is a major tourist drawcard. Mad Max and many other films were shot in and around Silverton and the Mundi Mundi Plain.
Mundi Mundi Plain
The local donkey here wanders the town. We came across him again about an hour later on the veranda of one of the cafes. (I half expected to see Clint Eastwood step out from behind the building 😉 Silverton is a very popular place, and according to the publican, Sunday is his busiest day. Even though we were there by 9.30, the area was still busy with cars and bikes. 5kms further down the road is the Mundi Mundi Plain, where the land is so flat you can see the earth’s curve.
Living Desert Sculptures
After lunch, we returned to Broken Hill for a brief siesta before returning to the Living Desert Sculptures. Fantastic place, busy too. There was even a coach bus up there! I would have loved to have been able to see it without the crowd. One chap had a humongous video camera on a tripod to catch the sunset. He was hogging the best spot. Everyone is trying to shoot around him. Artists worldwide created the sculptures in 1993, which sit atop the hilltop in the Barrier Ranges.
I love this place and highly recommend it if you are in the area. After leaving the sculptures, we returned to town and enjoyed a lovely dinner at the Demo Hotel. Then, it was back home, and the lights were out by 9.30 pm. We have to go to stop getting up so early!
On Saturday and day two of our Broken Hill or Bust road trip. We were heading from Mildura to Broken Hill. We had a bright, beautiful, sunshiney, warm day ahead. Body clocks were off-kilter from the early start the day before. We were all up by 6 am again. We had a leisurely breakfast in our motel room and headed into town. I checked out a few shops, had morning tea at Gloria Jeans, and then went to the wharf for our paddle steamer cruise.
Paddle Steamer Cruise
We cruised on the Rothbury for two hours upriver, past loads of other paddle steamers moored along the banks. The river was well down, though. We travelled up to Lock 11 and back. Refreshments on board (the short person was happy), souvenirs available (the short person was very happy). Going through the lock was enjoyable (but slow) had never seen one in operation before. Seeing the boat rise and fall with the lock workings was quite quirky.
While we enjoyed our cruise, two hours on a slow-moving boat is as bad as six hours in a car. It would have been much more enjoyable on a one-hour cruise. But still fun. We were back in Mildura by 1 pm, in the car, on the road, and off to Broken Hill.
Getting There
Famous as the birthplace of BHP Billiton, Broken Hill is an isolated mining city in the far west of outback NSW. It holds the distinction of being Australia’s longest-lived mining city. Sitting almost on the border of South Australia, in the Barrier Ranges, Broken Hill is reached by the Barrier Highway to South Australia and Silver City Highway to Victoria. It is 844kms from Melbourne, 500kms from Adelaide and 1100 kms from Sydney. We had chosen spring to visit as its average temperatures in summer are well over 40c (104F)
The road is good and had a surprising amount of traffic on it for something that appeared so isolated. We passed many cars travelling in both directions, not bumper to bumper. We did stop about halfway for a quick cuppa and biscuit. As there was not ONE town or service centre between Mildura and Broken Hill, we had packed our own. However, the stop was brief as flies would pick you up and carry you away!
Isolation
Mobile reception is almost non-existent once you leave Mildura. And we didn’t get service back until we were about 6kms out of town, so the passing cars were very reassuring. However, it felt like Wolf Creek country, and we hoped if we broke down, we wouldn’t be helped by John Jarret.
We made good time and arrived in Broken Hill around 4 pm. #1 sister had started feeling ill on the drive, so after we met our lovely hostess from Jaden Cottages at our new home, the short person and I unloaded the car and settled in while she showered and rested on the couch.
Not in the plan
Our new accommodation was a three-bedroom house with a lovely little backyard. It had a well-set-out kitchen with supplies and very comfy beds. However, the couch resting wasn’t helping. And, as all doctors in Broken Hill seemed to close at midday, we added Broken Hill Hospital Emergency Dept to our must-see places. We waited about an hour in the waiting room before they took her through to a hospital trolley for treatment. Not too bad, considering. But they only had one doctor on and were slammed with an emergency case. The poor patient was wired up to equipment looking like a supercomputer. The nursing staff and doctors were stabilising them while they waited for transfer via Royal Flying Doctor Service to a major city.
Short person and I left her there and returned home to wait it out. She returned home around midnight via a cab. All patients discharged out of hours are sent home via a taxi paid through medicare. What a fab idea! Loaded up with lots of pills, we tucked her into bed and settled down for the night. The next day, we were off to Silverton.
I do love road trips. Add the fun of planning, packing, and looking at new things out of the window along the way—the different cuisines or lifestyles when you get there. And Melbourne to Mildura and Broken Hill was our most ambitious yet!
Travelling with kids
While this one, our fantastic ‘Broken Hill or Bust’ goal, was still a great success. Travelling with a nine-year-old does limit your patience ‘chi’ a tad. They talk. Constantly, and while we didn’t hear one single “Are we there yet” or “How much further?” having been pre-warned under sentence of dumping by the roadside ahh no ice creams for a day. We still had constant fidgeting, the rustling of lolly bags (maybe it was the sugar high), and many “I’m thirsty, hungry” on the long legs. Next time, leave the short person at home or plan shorter hops. Six hours in a car is just too much for a kid to bear 🙂
Mildura
We were all up by 6 am, on the road by 7 am Friday in horrible drizzling rain, and rugged up in warm clothes. Our first overnight stop was Mildura, which we hoped to make by 1.30 pm, giving us time to take a paddle steamer cruise. After stopping for coffee, photo, or loo breaks every few hours, we soon realised we had significantly estimated our travel times. We wouldn’t be there in time, and our paddle steamer cruise would have to be the next day. As we headed further north, the weather got better, but the wind was chilly, so the coats never came off until we were almost at Mildura. But from there on, we were basking in sunny skies and warm weather for the rest of the trip.
Accommodation Problems!
Once we arrived at our accommodation, we encountered the first significant hiccup. Our booking wasn’t on the books. I always travel with my accommodation confirmations printed. Upon checking my paperwork, we were definitely due. However, on theirs, no. Thankfully, the lovely proprietor had one room left, making us very comfortable and welcome. I then phoned ahead to Broken Hill, and we weren’t expected there either! To compound the issue, they were fully booked. However, they could accommodate us in another holiday rental owned by a relative. Thus, we didn’t drive all that way and slept rough.
Accommodation issues resolved. We were soon in sleeveless tops and sipping chilled wine. The short person headed for the pool and returned quickly, slightly disgruntled. She couldn’t swim in it as it needed cleaning after the previous night’s storm. We ran into town that night for dinner and dined at Stefano’s near the Mildura Wharf. The staff were lovely and accommodating (we found pleasant staff and service people throughout our travels).
Stefanos, Mildura
My travelling companion on this trip was my #1 sister. As she had been ill with the flu and tummy troubles leading up to the trip, we decided to play it ‘safe’ menu-wise. We had the dipping bread with oil and balsamic, calamari, garden salad, and the obligatory Sauvignon. The short person ordered the child’s eye fillet with salad. Our meal was lovely – but nothing to write home about (yet I write here, lol). The child’s steak was cooked well done, but we assumed that being a child, they figured they wouldn’t like it rarer, so we gave them a pass on that. Calamari was lovely and tender and service attentive. We were well and truly fed, watered and tired from the long day and were all in bed lights out by 9.30 pm.