SUNDAY 15 JUNE     DURRAS TO BATEMANS BAY   15kms

After breakfast in the van, John spent some time mixing with the two boys – to whom he was, effectively, a stranger. They talked about fishing, of which they had not done much, and surfing, about which John knows nothing! The younger lad was still getting used to conversing totally in English – in Brussels French had been his “first” language. The five-year old was effortlessly biligual. I wondered how many languages he would end up speaking by the time he was grown up, given step-daughter’s regular overseas posts.

Mid morning, the family left to drive back to Canberra, because the elder boy had a birthday party to go to. We did not know about that until yesterday, and John was put out about this, though he did not say anything to them.  No mention was made of any plans to return to the beach house in the next few weeks.

So – our visit, for which we had been waiting about for, for over two weeks, in the cold and damp, lasted less than 24 hours! Not really an experience that left us feeling like valued family……especially disappointing, even demeaning, for John. I felt so sorry for him.

We had not unhitched van and Truck, yesterday, so departing was easy. We drove back to Batemans Bay, which had looked interesting as we came though it yesterday.

Went into Easts Riverside Holiday Park – a Big 4 one. After discount, paid $68 for two nights on a powered site.

Set up, had lunch, then went for a short drive to suss out the town and its shops – most of which seemed to be shut today.

The park was quite pleasant. It had an outlook across the large Clyde River, to the town, and out towards the open ocean as well. The turn off to the park was just before the long bridge that spanned the Clyde River inlet here. The bridge looked like one produced from the old time Meccano set, and was quite pretty at night, with the various lights on it. In the bridge centre was a lifting section that allowed larger vessels to pass under because the bridge itself was quite low. I wondered how often the traffic on the highway got held up for a passing boat?