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Published: April 21st 2010
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Lakes Entrance to Pebbly Beach, 8th to 11th April 2010
The four hour drive to Lakes Entrance from Melbourne took us through some small towns and very dense woodland. Lakes Entrance is a town based around several lakes at the point where they meet the sea, and is also set at one end of 90 mile beach. We checked into the YHA Riviera Backpackers, the accommodation is arranged into units and we were placed in the one next to the weird guy who was demonstrating what a cuddle was, as if you didn’t know! What is it with hostels and weird guys?
Lakes Entrance is a popular fishing resort and a large hub for many of the fishing boats of the area so therefore we thought it only right that we try some of the local delights. After a recommendation of a good fish and chip shop ‘A Fish-a-fare’ we set out for our dinner. We were not disappointed as I tucked into the Barramundi and Doddy the local Guppy (that’s a fish of course!) Whilst we overlooked the harbor with all the fishing boats being prepared for the evening ahead of them. To satisfy our sweets tooth’s we
went to the supermarket and bought a tub of ‘double fudge chocolate brownie obsession’ ice cream, which if you are ever in Australia comes very highly recommended indeed!
The following morning we decided to explore a bit of Lakes Entrance by day. The sun was shining so off to the beach we set. You have to walk over a long bridge, across the estuary to get to the beach. We walked along the beach breathing in the sea and paddled our feet in the cool waters of the Tasman Sea. We then decided it was time for a nice relaxing holiday activity and a round of golf was it, crazy golf that is! After a sportsmanly handshake to start the game we were off! I put in an impressive performance on the front 9 coming in 3 shot ahead of Doddy but he managed to find his form to have a storming back 9 and beat me by 2 strokes. Not a bad performance by either side it must be said.
A bit more of a wander through the town and we were back in the car stopping off at a nice view point to admire Lakes Entrance
from above. Then off we set to our next destination. On route we saw a couple of wild (alive) kangaroos in a field by the road and whilst taking the beautiful scenery we neglected to check the petrol gauge as it slipped into the red zone and as memories of a similar situation in Colorado came flooding back we began to feel slightly uneasy. We pulled in at a general store to enquire about the location of the nearest fuel station. 45kms was the response, so off we set feeling certain that we wouldn’t make it. With the odometer set so we could watch the kilometers we made plans that once we ran out of fuel we would hitch to the fuel station. That shouldn’t be too hard we thought, this was a busy freeway (I think we’d passed only 1 car in the previous 45kms!) But much to our surprise the Beast took good care of us and 45kms later we pulled into the garage forecourt and gave the Beast a big pat on his bonnet and yes this time we really have learnt our lesson!
The stopover that night was at Merimbula, another coastal town with a
holiday resort atmosphere. We stayed at the Wandarrah Lodge YHA which although nice had a rather clinical feel to it.
Saturday morning and we were up and out of the hostel by 9.30am and down at the beach (which was 150m from the hostel, perfect.) After a little sunbathe Doddy decided that the waves looked perfect for a beginners surf so off he went to hire a surfboard. He came back, 9ft surf board clutched under arm and off he set all expectant of a good days surf. An hour and a half later he returned looking slightly worn, the waves had got the better of him and it wasn’t as easy as it looked. A bit of lunch was all it took to renew his confidence. Another couple of hours he returned after a bit more success, as he had managed to get up but thinking a lesson may be the best way to go next time. So off we set again with a slightly forlorn, bruised and battered Doddy and me who’d had a good laugh at my ‘surfer’ boyfriend!
Worn out from all the day’s activities we got back in the car and drove up
to Batemans Bay. The drive was again beautiful, the sun was just beginning to set, turning the sky pink. We drove through more dense forests and past some huge lakes where we managed to get pretty close to a pelican resting on water’s edge. Just as it began to get dark we arrived at Batemans Bay YHA, a hostel come campsite. We had booked a double room and presumed it would be the main hostel that we would be staying in, but when we checked in, we were shown to one of the caravans, it was great, we had a big old caravan that had had its entire interior ripped out and replaced with modern décor. The campsite had a really nice atmosphere and the caravan was our own space to relax in after a busy beach day. So we sat back and enjoyed a well deserved beer.
Doddy writing now…
After a good night’s sleep in our caravan we sat in the morning sun outside and ate our breakfast and came up with a plan of attack for what we had decided would be a lazyish day. We checked out and having waved goodbye to our little caravan
and headed to Surf Beach nearby (ha-ha, I know what you’re thinking, haven’t you tried enough surfing for now Doddy?) In fact it was anything but a surfer’s beach with low breaking waves. However it did have crystal clear waters and the sun was shining bright. It looked like the perfect place to sit and enjoy the morning so that is where we stayed. Having sunbathed, played in the sea and walked up and down the beach we decided to head for a bite to eat under the watchful eye of the ever waiting seagulls.
We drove a little further up the coast following the Princes Highway before taking a right turn that would lead us to a recommended beach, known as Pebbly Beach (although it has no pebbles). Pebbly Beach sits amidst the Murramarang National Park and as we drove down the small dirt road towards the beach there was a sudden gust of wind followed one almighty WHACK on the middle of the windscreen which quickly turned into several circular cracks, great! We couldn’t believe it, the Beast had been doing us proud when all of a sudden in a one off gust of wind some sort
of hard object, which we have no idea what it was falls from height, hits the windscreen, causing several big cracks and instantly depreciating the value of our car by at least $200, grr! Ah well, such is life. But you’ll be happy to know that after all the drama Pebbly Beach lived up to its recommendation with again a beautiful beach tucked away against the backdrop of the Murramarang forest. What also made it a recommendable beach to visit was because of the kangaroos that come out of the forest and graze on the grasses just in front of the beach early each evening. Sure enough, almost on cue, having enjoyed more sunshine and swimming we were acquainted with the arrival of the Australian icons. It was great to watch them and as I’m sure you’ve heard us mention before it was great to see them in their natural environment going about their kangaroo lives (they really can jump big distances).
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