Wet! Wet!! Wet!!!

G’day, Stuie here...

Paddling off the Merimbula coast



Yep, it’s been pretty wet over here on the east coast! We’ve really been caught in a ‘wet and windy place’ (rather than between a ‘rock and hard place) but unfortunately, neither are all that much fun when you’re living in a camper trailer!

We spent a couple of days in Merimbula mainly drying everything out after Canberra, although we did manage to get a good little paddle in between some of the rain showers. It was great to get back into the kayaks, as it was the first activity I had really done since getting my hand out of the cast. We took it fairly easy and my hand felt fine afterwards.

We also spent a rainy day exploring the coast around Eden, learning about the extraordinary story of ‘Old Tom’ – a killer whale that worked with the local shore based whalers around the turn of the century (1800/1900’s). Old Tom’s pod would herd migrating humpbacks into the shallow waters of Two Fold Bay, whilst Old Tom himself would swim to the whaling station and tail slap the water to attract the attention of the whalers. The whalers would man their boats and paddle out, following Old Tom to the herded whale. Once the whalers had harpooned and killed the whale, they would anchor it where it lay, leaving the carcass to the killer whales who would proceed to eat the tongue. The whalers would then come out the next day and tow the carcass into the whaling station for processing – minus the tongue! The relationship was pretty amazing, and the year after Old Tom passed away, not one killer whale appeared in the bay and the local whaling industry apparently collapsed. The skeleton of Old Tom is now in the museum.

From the museum, it was out to Ben Boyd National Park, where we visited Boyd's Tower - originally built by Ben Boyd to be used as a lighthouse. But the government at the time wouldn't permit it, so it was used as a lookout for the local shore based whaling operations. Just around the corner in Two Fold Bay is the remains of the whaling station which we also visited.

After our couple of days in Merimbula, there was a slight break in the weather forecast, so we decided to head off with the option to stop and camp for a day in Croajingolong National Park weather permitting, or heading straight through to Melbourne. As it turned out, we left Merimbula in the rain, which continued well over the Victorian border! We did finally break out into some sunshine around Lakes Entrance, but the wind was howling (a gale warning had been issued for the area!) So after a blustery lakeside lunch stop, we bundled back into the car and hit the road for Melbourne, missing out on the Gippsland coast which is a real bummer!

Since arriving in Melbourne, we have been able to catch up with Michelle’s friend Brenda, staying a night with her before heading through to my cousin Caroline’s house which we are house sitting for a week while they are away. The weather has dried up a little, but there is still rain about, so we have spent our time exploring around the Thornbury/Northcote area, and finished off our Christmas shopping. I’ve been having great fun at the local food market buying a few fresh ingredients each day and cooking up a nightly feast (having access to a full kitchen helps – thanks Caroline!) The quality of the food is fantastic and cheaper than Perth prices!

At the QVM buying my blue cheese and jamon

Today saw us jump on the tram and head into the Queen Victoria Markets in the city. I reckon if we lived in Melbourne, we would be heading in each weekend to do our shopping for the week! Everything you could want was available and I could have bought heaps of different ingredients to cook with! But we held back, just buying some tasty blue cheese, Spanish jamon and some fruit (including fresh cherries for $4/kg and a 1½kg bag of apricots for $2)

 Our holiday pace has slowed down a bit for the moment – the car hasn’t moved in the last three days! We have been extremely lucky to have friends and family who have helped us out by putting a solid roof over our heads, for which we are really grateful. We still have a couple weeks yet, but we’re keeping our fingers crossed that January and February will dry up a little for our next leg over to Tasmania!

So much for following the sun for the year – we have probably picked the wettest year possible to travel the east coast! So many places we have visited here in the east are now threatened or experiencing flooding, whilst back home the west is hanging out for even a drop of rain!

Until next time – catch you later!

Stuart & Michelle