Wilsons Promontory

Ninety Mile Beach, on the way to the Prom.







We hadn't done a hike for ages, and had picked out a lookout walk in the north of the park (the southern part of the park is closed due to flood damage). It was showering while we ate lunch, so we dressed up in wet weather gear. Of course, as we set off the rain stopped and the sun began to come out - it seemed as if we were over-dressed. Not long later, though, the clouds descended and turned into a steady sprinkle. The attire was definitely justified.








Just as we reached the top the clouds lifted and we caught some glimpses of the promised 'panoramic views'.

We did a second shorter walk to some inland sand dunes. Unfortunately it was a bit late (and we were a bit tired) to walk down into the dunes for a close up look.

An afternoon drive to the high country

We left the van in Bruthen and did a loop through Omeo, Mt Hotham and Dargo. It was a bit too far for an afternoon, but the weather was forecast to get worse over the next few days, so we made the most of what we had.















The top of Hotham was covered in cloud, and it was dark soon after we went through Dargo, but there were still beautiful views between the mist and rain, and moisture makes the snow gums look spectacular.

East Gippsland

Lunch in the kayaks in the river at Gipsy Point (north west of Mallacoota)





Marlo – where the Snowy River meets the sea









The Snowy River








Lakes Entrance

The south coast of NSW

Hyams Beach – supposedly some of the whitest sand in the world.











Stalking the monster within…

Within the van, that is. He came out without too much fuss.







Batemans Bay





Bermagui










Bega – the obligatory visit to the cheese factory









Merimbula – the surf was small but there was some sort of comp, so everyone was out to impress

Was this the culprit?

The scene - Bendeela Campground, Kangaroo Valley. Dinner time. A group of uni students from Wollongong camped not far from us.

The van begins to shake. "That's someone shaking the van!" Dazz bounded out the door, expecting to find one of our neighbours had already had too much too drink and thought it would be funny to harass us.

Nothing. Noone. He went around the van a few times (it was dark) and there was no sign of anyone scurrying away. No sniggers in the camp next door. Maybe a small earthquake? They have been known to occur in this part of the country. Then he noticed a large lump on the ground. A wombat... could it have been?

He pushed on the wheel in the manner he imagined a wombat would if he was scratching himself. "Was that how the rocking felt?" "Yep, that's it... it'll probably go on all night."

And it surely did. Every few hours we were woken to the gentle rocking of wombat scratching on a wheel. When he found the step at 3am, though, I think he woke the whole campground as it banged and clattered up and down.

Fortunately the little critter didn't wreck our plans for a long stay in that beautiful spot, as we were just out of internet range and needed it for marking... but now we've learnt what happens when you share a campground with wombats. Does anyone have any wombat repellent?

Sea Cliff Bridge - Coalcliff

The Taj Mahal meets the Sydney Opera House

Since we were on the north shore and were heading for the south coast the best way was through the city. We chose to travel at night so there'd be less traffic, but we were going to make the most of it by going across the bridge... yes, The Sydney Harbour Bridge. I set the camera on video and off we went (so the quality isn't great, but it's the best I could do from a moving vehicle at night... oh, and I was supposed to be navigating too).







The view from the bridge isn't that great, but I did get a glimpse of the Opera House.




The Taj on the bridge








and in the city








Scattering pedestrians and avoiding buses







Through a few tunnels, and it was all over.