Bairnsdale to Merimbula - Hell and Paradise

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Day 11 Sunday 8 Feb Bairnsdale to Merimbula

The cool of a new day. Under 20 degrees. The people I met around the caravan park this morning mainly long term Aussie vacationers going from Brisbane to Tassie or vice versa- were all relieved that the freak temperatures of yesterday were over, but like everyone were still anxious about the bushfire situation. The witness reports in today’s Melbourne Herald- Sun really brought home the horror of it all, which we were lucky to have missed. The death toll is mounting and many fires are not yet ‘contained’. The Princes Highway, unbeknown to us, was closed around Traralgon/Sale, maybe a couple of hours after we had passed through yesterday. Thanks to Ivor and Helen who finally got us to respond to their calls to see if we were OK.

A fairly grey drive, and on the face of it a monotonous one, on the Princes Highway, which cuts through the wilderness of eucalyptus trees all the way to Eden - first township in New South Wales. On the way, there are the take-a-break highlights of small communities (town, village?) like Orbost, making its way with the timber industry, to the consternation of concerned planet savers. There was Cann River, a staging post where our choice of road we had discussed became a no-brainer. We were less likely to be in danger if we kept to the main highway, which we did.

The road was remarkably empty. Seeing another vehicle was a bit of an event. Aussie kids went back to school after the summer holidays a week ago, so this was a bit like a second weekend in September in UK, at least in traffic terms. Not knowing what was normal made us ask if we were idiots to be on the road at all. ‘Only travel if you have to..’ was the constant radio advice. We were pretty sure we were away from all current dangers and people along the way reassured us that on the highway ‘you’ll be right’. Probably simultaneously there were some of you UK friends driving to work or Tesco’s in the face of advice not to go out in the snow.

When we emerged from the bush and hit the Pacific Ocean (Tasman Sea to more precise) at Eden, it was as beautiful as Google Maps had led me to think, especially as our final 50 km was in brilliant sunshine. Our final destination and home till next weekend, Merimbula, is even more stunning than I had hoped, perhaps because the Google Streetview van couldn’t be a***d to come back and photograph the best bits of Merimbula on a sunny day.

Day 12 Monday 9 Feb Merimbula

The immensity of the bush fires grows by the day. TV pictures and newspaper reports are horrifying. The fires are not just a localised nasty event, but destruction of people and their homes on an enormous scale. It’s not over yet. We’re watching an emotional Australian PM, Kevin Rudd, being interviewed on TV. It’s now a disaster of historic proportions - some of the stories of death or survival are hard to watch and read about. You don’t need me to add to the picture. Our (for us) momentous and hitherto hugely enjoyable trip seems pretty insignificant and selfish, when we’re sitting looking at the empty beach and classic surf waves with one eye and with the other at hundreds of people who’ve lost everything they love and own. This was brought home on Sunday evening as we ate fresh fish and chips in an idyllic waterside setting in Merimbula. The service was impeccable and friendly. The co-owner of the restaurant, working her socks off , along with her blonde colleague and her talented chef/partner had spent the day worrying about her parents and friends in the Traralgon area, one of the most areas most affected by fire damage.

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