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Published: November 4th 2017
Day 6 (1/11/2017) Out at 7:25AM to head into NSW. Quite a pleasant drive with a good section of highway, our first stop of the day was the Bega Cheese Factory in Bega. Tasting the wonderful cheeses on offer really did make the taste buds water for more. The Heritage Vintage Reserve Cheddar took pride of place in our purchase for its wonderful flavour & bite, followed by the Strong & Bitey Vintage; the only difference being the time of maturation. After the cheese tasting, we sat down for a cuppa with a scone, jam & cream each.
Back on the road we ran into, yes you guessed it, more roadworks. Heading back towards the Sapphire Coast into Merimbula we came across its Northern part called Tura Beach. Here we fuelled up & ducked into a Woolies Supermarket to pick up a few things.
As we came back down the hill into Merimbula, we went into the beautiful Sapphire Valley Caravan Park to do a bit of reconnaissance for a future trip. This caravan park was one of the most well-appointed, friendliest & cleanest parks we had ever come across. It is also a member of the Top
Parks (formerly Top Tourist Parks) chain & we look forward to staying here probably next year. We also have no hesitation in recommending that you plan a holiday there as a plethora of facilities & eateries are a very short walk away from your door.
Just a few hundred metres up the road we had lunch at the Merimbula RSL. Overlooking the bay & oyster leases, this was a lovely spot to dine at. $11 lunch specials & $12 Chinese dishes make it also cheap & cheerful. Deb had Honey Chicken while I had Honey Chilli Chicken. Both were wonderful, although mine had a little bit too much chilli!
Out of all the towns along this section of coast, Merimbula is by far the best base to stay at & also the best facilities. From here you are central to more places & the easiest commutes. Also the other thing we found is that Merimbula is the only place that seems to offer seafood. We had expected all along the coast to promote them & were quite surprised that only Merimbula had the decent fresh seafood outlets.
The coast road to Pambula Beach is a lovely drive
followed by a small spot called Oaklands where there is a brewery. Blink however & you will miss it as it is not well signposted. Past there still along the coast road is Eden which is 2
nd largest to Merimbula. A good size town with a whale watching platform & a nice wharf area, this is the southernmost start of the game fishing coast right up to Bermagui. Just 20KM off the coast is the Continental Shelf, offering very deep water for game fishing charters & also the waters where whales migrate. There is a whale museum and also several whale watching tours on offer.
Our last stop for the day was Gipsy Point 15KM from Mallacoota where Tailor & Mullet jump out of the water as if they are putting on a show. The only place they will not jump is onto your hook. Trust me, I tried!
We finally returned back to the van around 4PM feeling extremely tired after a fulfilling day spent driving & walking. No doubt sleep will not be a problem!
Day 7 (2/11/2017) Slept like a baby & decided today would be a bit of a rest
day following yesterday’s long drive. Got some washing done while it was sunny as rain was forecast for tomorrow. Went out to check out the fishing along the Mallacoota Lakes. Did not seen anyone catch anything in any of the spots. Still feeling tired we rested up to freshen up for the days ahead.
Day 8 (3/11/2017) Must have been tired, because we awoke at 10AM! Decided to still have breakfast late, before heading a short drive up the coast to check out some of the 4WD tracks. After the rain, these were quite corrugated & bumpy, but the Pathfinder glided along. Apart from the odd spots with potholes, the ride was very comfortable.
On the road back we went in to the airport & the WWII Bunker. The airport was used to refuel aircraft scanning the waters off the Gippsland Coast as the area was considered a likely spot for an invasion due to its lack of inhabitants. The RAAF had a radar station on nearby Gabo Island.
The Bunker was created & used for listening to coastal shipping & decoding all the coastal surveillance information. In this area, two ships were sunk
off the coast of Gabo Island, torpedoed by submarines.
With the weather closing in & rain looming, we headed back to the caravan to cook a boneless lamb roast for a mid-afternoon lunch/dinner. This roast was absolutely wonderful; I will have to reward chef Deb later on!
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