Bermagui, Eden and Bruthen

We left Congo and drove to Bermagui where we camped at the caravan park in town. Right next to some fellow Tasmanians who ended of being friends of my Grandads, small world!

We went for a walk down at the jetty and along the water front. Bermagui is a nice small but popular seaside town. We found a ice cream shop that sold gelato. Actual real Italian gelato. Charlotte ordered mint and was not so pleased when it tasted like 'those mint leaves', so used to artificial flavoured ice cream.

Bermagui has some really pretty coastal scenery. We went for a walk up along the headland to Blue Pool and saw more whales off in the distance, we've seen lots recently, it's that time of year.  Blue pool is a man made pool at the bottom of a cliff up against the rocks fed by the ocean.  Mark declared he wanted a swim but it was horrible weather. But being stubborn he went back the next day ( the weather was still crap) and had a swim. Well a ten second dip, fool, it's a wonder he didn't get hyperthermia! 

We were feeling energetic so Mark and I went for a run/walk and the kids road the bike. We went from the caravan park to Camel Rock along the waterfront. It ended up being 14 1/2kms. It's was fun and we enjoyed it but were tired after!

As a treat on the way back from our walk we stopped for fish and chips at the wharf. They were delicious!!

We were so close to Bega that we decided to swing past after we left Bermagui. We only went to the cheese factory and that's all in Bega. Lots of green paddocks and cows. We tasted a few cheeses and then had some morning tea.

Upstairs they have a little museum and craft gallery. We had fun pretending to milk the cow.

From Bega we went to Eden. Edens another nice seaside town but seems a little older and not as nice as Bermagui. We camped for the night at a really lovely caravan park between a lake and the ocean, really pretty. We had a drive around town and checked out the sights. There is a great walking track along the beach to town and also one along the lake that we explored.

We passed into Victoria, last state before Tassie. Mark wanted to go to a microbrewery at Bruthen so we stayed there.  We camped at a little caravan park next to the sports ground. Run by a funny character named Wally with interesting camp kitchen and toilets.  We went to the brewery for dinner and drinks, it was a little expensive. But we had delicious food, Mark had a huge seafood platter and I had Peking duck pancakes, yummy! I think the beer was alright too!!!

Kids found time to have a roll around and kick the footy on the local sports ground.  So lovely to see them having a go.

We debated where to go next, whether to stick to the coast or go up over the mountains. We chose the later!  Hopefully we don't regret it.

Singleton, Mittagong, Pretty Beach and Congo

Off we went to be spoilt again at Singleton.  We had a sense of dejavu as we drove towards town, we've been here three times before to visit our friends.  Simone, Rohan, Luke and Piper Betts, who were originally friends from Tassie before they moved away.

We set up at the Showgrounds again like last time, nice and cheap. Then went to the Betts after school. It was so lovely to catchup with these guys and Sim cooked a delicious meal. It's strange to see the kids, you forget how quickly they grow up. Kids were very happy to play and hang out again. It's always sad though as we have to say hello and then goodbye.

From Singleton we drove south to Mittagong to visit my Uncle Ray and Jenny, oh and Lilly the dog. We pulled up out front and parked just like last time, just 3 1/2 years later. We stayed the night, had a lovely catch up, dinner and the kids played with Lily. The next day we all took Lily for a walk then Uncle Ray cooked his famous pancakes for breakfast.

We headed back out to the coast and drove down to Pretty Beach. It's a lovely camp ground right near the beach. We went for a walk on the beach, the kids were keen for a swim but that wasn't going to happen. The beach was strewn with blue bottles. Like I meant literally hundreds of them. The contrast between the blue of the jelly fish and the white beach was pretty cool. It wasn't the most relaxing walk as we had to be careful not to get stung. Beautiful area though!

The next morning we walked over the headland and down to a beach and caravan park on the other side. We sat and had morning tea on a rock and watched some whales in the distance.  Not a bad way to spend the morning.

One of my favourite cheaper camps along this stretch was Congo. It was just a lovely spot. We ended up staying two nights but I'd have happily stayed longer. We had a few runs and the kids rode their bikes.  Which was great until Jake managed to flip his bike and hurt himself. He got a fright and was upset, 'I'm delicate' he stated, much to our amusement. Mark walked the kids back and I kept running. On the way back I came around the corner and there's Mark and the kids sitting on a couch someone had for free on their front lawn! 

We had a walk in the beach, it was pretty windy and rough, not swimming weather. The weather has gotten fairly cold, we'll need to acclimatise. NSW coast is a really lovely area, so glad we chose to come this way.