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Published: August 6th 2007
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Gotta love those Kangaroos. When we first arrived in Oz we were really looking forward to seeing them in the wild. After 3 weeks we've seen loads of them and now we're starting to see the dark side of the roo-n. They steal your bread when you're asleep and they make so much noise rifling through your stuff that they keep you awake in the middle of the night.
We had one last night in Melbourne (you'll recall that this was going to be a quiet night). We almost managed that. We set off to meet the Irish guys again but got our wires crossed about location so missed them. We seized our chance for a quiet night and headed off in the direction of home. Only to be outdone by a clever marketing ploy....
A$3 a beer and free comedy. The All Nations bar on a Wednesday night.To cap it all off we bumped into Chris & Thalia who we had met on the Neighbours trivia night so it would have been rude not to stop for beers until 2am. So we did. Quiet night gone. The comedy was very good (in the second half). The first section
was very hit and miss. And as it was the Melbourne comedy festival we would have felt a little short changed had we not managed to see any.
We still managed to wake up for our flight to Sydney and on to the East Coast. When we landed, our fine hosts Jen 'Miss Sniff' Smith and Adam 'Campbelltown' Campbell were there to drive us down to Wollongong (about an hour and a bit south). On the way we had superb commentary on all the sights and sounds of the neighbouring areas. We saw the bay that Captain Hook first landed at in Oz, The Shire which we are assured is the most salubrious neighbourhood in all of Greater-Sydney and also the Pacific highway (only slightly less famous than the Great Ocean Road which we missed when we were in Melbourne).
Our first night was just like being back home. Jen cooked up a fine roast lamb with loads of veg as we settled down with a beer and some wine. Saw some good trash tv (Simpsons, Jamie Oliver and The Biggest Loser) before heading down to the pub. A huge place that can hold hundreds if not thousands
in the enormous beer garden. The beers are ticking along nicely and the 80th should be just round the corner. I think I may need to push the target out to 150.
Friday was camping day. We set off in Lazy (Jen's 1981 Ford Laser which has been stolen (and returned) 3 times) very laden down with food, beer, camping stuff and our trusty esky. Passed through a lot of nice countryside and finally pulled in at Lake Conjola. Beautiful with a nice still lake and miles of nice sandy beach.
Quickly got the tents up whilst the kangaroos lined up to check us out. The evening descended into a few drinks round the campfire with about 15 Aussies and a feast of meat. Lots of meat. Plus some onion and sauce and bread.
Chatting and drinking with the Aussies was a bit like being in an episode of Grange Hill with nicknames galore. Most had at least 3 nicknames which is very difficult to keep up with. We had Pepsi, Bones, STF, Shugs, Sugar, Campbelltown, Pelvis, PJ and it wasn't long before I acquired the name of Davidoff.
As we eventually retired to bed around
some time later the kangaroo mayhem began.....
First up a gang of them stormed the camp and started rummaging through the food and soon devoured all the bread. They were scared off by Adam mascarading as a cat. A little later I needed the bathroom and wandered or stumbled off into the bushes. Only to frighten away 15 kangaroos, obviously waiting for the next raid on the camp. Pesky kangaroos.
Camping is a tiring life. As we awoke early with the sunshine we had a busy day ahead of us. First the beach for a little sitting and getting bashed by the waves, then swimming in the calm waters of the lake, then sitting with a drink and a paper. Tough, very tough. We then cracked open the beers and played a little cricket and hakisack as the sun went down. Another meat feast for tea and then more beer, snacking, music and chatting for the night. Australians seem to find my northern accent rather amusing, particularly the words stumpy and crumpet. If only their jokes were up to scratch.
Bedtime again and the kangaroos up to their tricks again. This time they went hunting through all
the rubbish, rattling about just outside our tents. All we could see was a big silhouette of a kangaroo on the side of our tent. This guy was definitely male. All male.
Eventually got some sleep (although a little interrupted by some boisterous antics of nearby Aussies). Dawn arrived and it was camp dismantling time. Having such a fine tent this was very simple and we were soon loaded back up and heading on our way back to Wollongong.
Sunday afternoon has been just like back home. A late lunch followed by the Sunday papers with the music on. 4pm was football time (Rugby League) and then some more chilling. All that left was some beer and food for the evening and our time in Gong was done.
All in all, a top camping experience. and the red and yellow Noddy tent has now survived 10 days.
For now, that's all,
Davidoff & Mrs Deane
Beer 70: Mountain Goat Lager, Australia, Draught, 5.0%, 7.5, pretty good
Beer 71: XXXX Gold, Australia, Draught, 3.5%, 7.0, A$3 a pint, therefore very drinkable
Beer 72: Bluetongue Lager, Australia, Draught, 4.9%, 7.5, the first beer in
Eastern Oz and not a bad start
Beer 73: Bondi Blonde, Australia, Bottle, 4.5%, 7.5, a low carb beer for a low carb kinda guy
Beer 74: Tooheys Pils, Australia, Bottle, 5.2%, 7.0, best served with some meat whilst sat round a campsite
Beer 75: Hahn Superdry, Australia, Bottle, 4.6%, 7.0, another low carb beer - I'll soon be in tip top shape
Beer 76: Resch's, Australia, Draught, 4.5%, 8.0, top beer on the east coast so far - a nice ale
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