This Adventurous Age

Adventures travelling and working around Australia.

Tag Archives: Tathra


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2008 Travels June 2

MONDAY 2 JUNE     TATHRA

It was another cool but fine day.

John decided to stay on here for another day.

I walked up to the top shops, to buy a paper from the newsagent. The walking path up the steep hill was definitely a workout!

We went and did some more bowls practice in the morning.

After an early lunch, drove into Bega – just because this was a place where I had never stopped to have a look around. It was a pleasant drive, much of it on the fertile plains of the Bega River – great dairying country around here.

Dairying country around Bega

Bega itself was a typical farming region service town. John managed to find a shop that sold the brake adjusting tool he wanted, so that was a win. I was able to do a small supermarket shop for food.

We visited the combined Cheese Factory and Information Centre. Having grown up on a farm, milking cows, separating cream and making our own butter, I was not interested in explanations about the dairy industry! However, I was very interested in sampling some of the range of cheeses – and buying some. We really were a pushover where cheese sales were concerned!

Then we had to go and buy some nice rustic bread, in order to have a peasant style bread and cheese tea tonight. Yum.

In the late afternoon, back at camp, John’s son in law phoned again, to inform him that the family would not be going down to Durras next weekend, either. I was not surprised.

John became very miserable, trying to work out what to do next, and where to go. I made a couple of suggestions,  but he did not like my ideas. He decided that we would move on north, tomorrow – but not sure how far. The forecast is for lousy weather setting in up there, so I was not thrilled about the idea. We decided to sleep on it and see what tomorrow brought.


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2008 Travels June 1

SUNDAY 1 JUNE     TATHRA

Day 1 of winter. It was a fine day, but rather cloudy and quite cool.

We both went and practiced bowls, in the morning. I was quite pleased with my session – on grass, and after several weeks without playing.

After lunch, we walked along the beach, to the Inlet mouth, then came back along the cycle path.

The beach sand was very soft, so walking on it was not easy. By the time we got back to the van, my suspect back was aching. I decided to take a daily Celebrex anti-inflammatory, until after the big bowls tournament was over, just in case. I carried a supply of anti-inflammatories when travelling, for “back attacks”, ever since 1993 when trying to carry on with a trip, without medication after the back began complaining, saw me ambulanced to Queenstown Hospital, in western Tasmania. I wouldn’t wish a ruptured disc on my worst enemy!

John was unsure of his plans, after here, and conscious that he had heard no more from daughter. We had only paid for two nights here, so could move on tomorrow. He was not very happy. It did feel to me like being in a bit of a limbo.


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2008 Travels May 31

SATURDAY 31 MAY     MERIMBULA TO TATHRA   25kms

We took our time this morning, getting up and getting ready to move on. With such a short distance to go, there was no point in hurrying. We were not expecting there would be much pressure on site availability, at this time of year, but still did not want to arrive too early.

Lowering clouds over Merimbula

Took the non-highway route, through the centre of town, and up past Tura Beach. It was a good road and, once out of hilly Merimbula, easy driving.

At Tathra, there was the really steep, bendy, but short, drop down from the Tathra village centre, up on its headland, down to the beach level where the caravan parks are. Stopped at the top, put Truck into low range and low gear, and ground our way down.

Booked into the Tathra Beach Caravan park – the one with direct frontage to the beach. I was a bit surprised at the cost – $28 a night – almost as much as the Big 4 park across the road. I wasn’t sure if it was a Council owned park, or not.

We opted for a site not close to other campers, of which there were few. Set up for a couple of days’ stay.

Not far from us was a row of little individual bathroom units, each room containing toilet,  hand basin and shower. These were not gender specific. I find such arrangements much preferable to the large communal blocks that are the norm, and wish more parks would adopt this idea.

In the afternoon, John went off to play bowls at the Tathra club, which was just across the road. Men only, so I had a lovely, free afternoon! I walked as far as the mouth of Mogareeka Inlet, along the sealed bike path that paralleled the road. It was a 4 km walk, altogether, and most enjoyable. Lots of titree and banksia scrub alongside the road, and on the large house blocks, ensured there was plenty of birdlife to look at.

I had driven Truck up to the shops, before lunch, and bought Saturday papers, so spent some time reading those.

I made a pineapple salad for tea, to accompany cooked sausages.

John came home with the news that he had organized for us to practice bowls, over at the club, tomorrow. If I must……

At night, we could hear the waves breaking on the beach – lovely sound to go to sleep by.


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1999 Travels March 8

MONDAY 8 MARCH   SUSSEX INLET TO TATHRA   278kms

We didn’t set the alarm, but were up at 8 and away at 9.45, heading south.

There was rain, on and off, through the day, and it was cooler than yesterday. Much better for driving.

This was a slower leg than I had anticipated. The road was bendy and hilly and quite often narrow. Driving required considerable concentration. Hard to believe that this is Highway 1! But it was a very pretty and varied drive, some of the way through green grazing farm country, some through forested parts. Occasionally we came close to the sea – or could see it in the distance.

Some small villages, like Mogo, are highlighting their history, to attract visitors. We were not really in stopping mode, with the van on the back, for most of the time.

But we did stop in Ulladulla to refuel – 74cpl.

We found a place to park the rig in Batemans Bay, and walked to the shops by the river, hoping to find a fish co-op. We found a river front, tourist oriented fish shop that was selling flake for $5.50 a piece! I thought it was a per kilo price and was about to buy a kilo, but John was a wake-up, luckily. So we left the shop, fish-less. There was a fishing boat docked behind the shop and John asked a lad on it – he said the nearest fish co-op is Ulladulla. We have already been through there.

Bought a focaccia loaf and ate it, in chunks,  as we drove along, for lunch. But before leaving Batemans Bay we did pick up some good tourist information at the centre there.

We stopped in Bega and did a grocery shop, to maybe save a trip in later.

Left the Princes Highway after Bega, to drive to Tathra, on the coast. This is a village in two parts – the main shops are at the top of a headland, but the caravan parks and a few more shops are  at the sea level – down a short, very steep, very bendy bit of road. Interesting! At least, we have driven this before – though not with the van – and knew exactly what it would be like. Needed low gear and a crawl down.

We booked into the Big 4 Seabreeze Caravan Park, for a week.  $13.50 a night, after discount, with the seventh night free. We had stayed here before, in 1997, in a cabin, on our way to S’s wedding in Sydney. We had to take a grassed site, as those with slabs were all occupied. It is ok, although the park feels rather crowded, overall. There is a nice pool – if it ever gets warm enough to use it! It is quite cool today.

After setting up, we went for a long walk along the beach, which is essentially over the road from the caravan park. Walked all the way to the Mogareekah Inlet mouth, which took us almost an hour and a half. The beach had a steep slope, in places, and the sand was a bit soft. There were several people fishing near the inlet. One man appeared to have two big salmon. We walked back along the walking/bike path beside the road. Much easier, but of course, not as pleasant, although there is bush on both sides of the road for much of the way.

Tea: soup, leftover curry and rice for John. I had salad. Then fruit.

Phoned K to report our whereabouts. He thinks V is in Melbourne, having flown over a week or so ahead of her husband, but he has not heard from her.

We only have a couple of TV channels here that have any sort of a picture. The park does supply cables one can hook into a relay – but John does not want to pay $2 per day for one.

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