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Again I was up really early, mainly because the car needed to be moved before Mr traffic warden came round. Unfortunately I forgot that it was Saturday and there would be no traffic wardens. Never mind. Canberra on a Saturday is like a ghost town. I was staying right in the city center and you had to wait to see a car on the road. Needless to say getting out of the city was very easy. I headed off towards to coast and Batemans Bay. It took just under 2 hours and although it was an easy drive I was a little apprehensive about what was to come. Finding accommodation and things to do in Cities like Sydney and Canberra is easy but I was now heading into the unknown and in some places very sparsely populated areas. The very helpful lady at the tourist information directed me back up the coast to Murramarang National Park with the promise of seeing kangaroos.
I headed towards Pebbly Beach along a twisty sand road (don’t tell the car rental company), as apparently this is the best place to see the kangaroos. It was a cloudy and cold day today and despite some searching there were no kangaroos. There was however plenty of evidence in the form of kangaroo poo. I did enjoy seeing a lot of wild birds including Cockatoo’s, Rainbow Lorikeet and Crimson Rosella which were feeding on scraps left on a picnic able. They were so caught up on eating the food that I was able to sit amongst them. I even saw a Laughing Kookaburra, which let me get within a foot of it.
After leaving Pebbly Beach I went to Depot Beach just over the cliff. Here the place was infested with kangaroos. I drove through the very small one road village that bordered the ocean and there were dozens of kangaroos on the lawns and driveways of the houses. Once on the beach there were even more. They didn’t mind me getting close to take picture but not knowing how they behave I didn’t want to get to close as they have very sharp large claws and extremely fast powerful legs. It was really nice to watch them all round me bound about. Some of them when stood up on their back legs were as tall as me!!
I left the kangaroos and continued back down to Batemans Bay. Here I parked in the harbour and watched dozens of Giant Australian Pelican bob about the water and preen themselves on the wharf. They are massive birds at 1.8m high and with a wingspan of over 2.5m. It makes a change from the boring seagulls. From here I followed the coast road stopping at several places along the way to see the views until I reached Narooma.
Narooma is a small fishing town and my home for the night. Unless you pay for expensive guesthouses there isn’t really a choice of cheap accommodation in small towns so I went to the only one! It turned out to be lovely. It’s owned by an old couple and the women is so helpful and lovely. So far I have been paying between $25 and $30 for a bed in a dorm room. Here she gave me my own chalet room with double bed, private bathroom, TV, fridge and kettle with tea and coffee all for $25 a night. Before it got dark I went for a walk down by the quay and watched another Pelican. A local fisherman through some fish towards it to bring it closer so I could see it. It ate a 2 foot long fish in one gulp. Seeing them fly is amazing. It’s like a B52 bomber coming into land on a windy day with one engine not working.
Well its dark here now and needless to say in this little town there is nothing to do at night. This is probably a good thing as just recently I have tried to pack so much into each day that I’ve decided I’m rushing around too much. I may be seeing so much but I wont be able to keep the pace up. I’m now going to do things slower and take my time. I may get to see less but that’s just an excuse to come back again some time.
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Geoffrey and Andrea
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Vicarious Travel
Really enjoying your reports Phil, keep them coming - sometimes it's almost like being there. Especially enjoyed the Sydney Harbour Bridge one. Apparently Kangaroo Poo is the name of an outrageously priced range of surfing gear, but you probably knew that. The photos are great as well - hope you post some of Sydney and the kookaburra. Wet and dull here. Well it's cricket season so that's pretty much expected! Geoffrey and Andrea