The South Coast

It was time again for another vacation from our vacation.  For this trip, we chose to go down to an area they call the "South Coast".  It is not too far down the coastline from Sydney; the cottage we stayed in was only about a 2 1/2 hour drive away.  But, it was far enough to completely lose the busy feel of the city and immerse ourselves into the Australian countryside.  On our trip a shopkeeper commented "This is where the real Australia begins".  I'm not sure that I completely agree with that statement, yet I do have a sense of what she meant.  The South Coast does have a different feel from where we have been in Australia up to this point.  We often find people in Sydney as being very rushed, short with their encounters, and not coming off as being very sincere.  I suppose this is how it is in most big cities, but not what I envisioned of Australia.  The atmosphere feels much more relaxed and easygoing on the South Coast.  People were friendly and often struck up conversations with us.  There was natural beauty surrounding us everywhere we went.  We felt the burdens fall off of our shoulders and we could breathe a little easier for the week we were there.  

 Driving down the coast on the Grand Pacific Drive   

A closeup from the above photo of the highway we were getting ready to drive on; the highway is built on stilts following the cliffs.

Another interesting path; this is the drive up the hill to the cottage we stayed in.

Wisteria Cottage at Tapitallee Lodges

The view from the cottage; it is hard to see in the photo, but we could see all the way to the ocean (about 15 miles away).

The red pin is the location of Tapitallee Lodges

This is a photo of the wombat that walked past the cottage at dusk two nights in a row.

We got to the cabin on Sunday and took the rest of the day settling in and grabbing some groceries for the week.  On Monday the weather was a little cooler (around 70 degrees Fahrenheit or 21 degrees Celsius) and partly cloudy.  We decided to drive into Kangaroo Valley that day.  We found a small gravel road winding through the mountains that was a 2 way road, but at times felt as though it should have been a 1 way road.  We could only travel about 25 miles/hour (40 km/hour).  Luckily, we only met one car on the road that was about 10 miles long.  As scary as the road was, it was a very peaceful drive.  The kids were looking out for wildlife and there were 2 different times that Aubrey called out that she saw a kangaroo that no one else saw.  Both times Sean stopped the car and backed up.  And both times Aubrey had seen animals that had passed the rest of us by.  Aubrey earned the nickname of "kangaroo spotter".  

A photo of the first kangaroo Aubrey spotted.

After we watched a little bit more, we realized it was a mama kangaroo and her 2 joeys.

This is the second animal Aubrey saw, but it actually is a wallaby.  It is part of the kangaroo family, but it is smaller with a stockier body.

Fitzoy Falls overlooking Kangaroo Valley

Closeup of Kangaroo Valley from Fitzroy Falls Lookout

The red pin is the location of Fitzroy Falls with Kangaroo Valley to the south.

The Kangaroo Valley Pie Shop where we ate lunch

On Monday afternoon, we left Kangaroo Valley to drive towards the coast to check out some wineries.  There is a small wine area in the Shoalhaven region.  Sean and I love to check out local wineries. It is not just to taste and buy wines, but we usually enjoy the atmosphere.  Each winery has its own flair of what makes it unique.  We often meet interesting people, learn more about wine, and most times there is a beautiful view to boot.  During this trip we learned more about what kind of wines a temperate climate can produce.  In the Shoalhaven region, they seem to produce a great deal of a red wine called Chambourcin.  The wineries we stopped at often said it was a wine that you had to develop a taste for.  However, I don't think we drank enough of the wine to develop a taste for it.  Our favorite winery in the region was Silos Estate.  The tastings were done in an old fashioned wine cellar, the wines were very good, and they raised alpacas on the property. 

A Bigfoot machine at the Coolangatta winery.  We were not there at the right time to go out for a ride though.

Gorgeous view of the Shoalhaven River from Two Figs Winery

Photo of the alpacas at Silos Estate

A photo taken on Monday afternoon when we reached the coast.  This is the north side of Seven mile beach.  It was just drizzling where we were, but they were having heavier rain to the south.

The weather cleared up for Tuesday.  The forecast called for upper 70's (Fahrenheit) and sunny skies.  We decided this was the day to check out Hyams Beach in Jervis Bay.  Per the Guinness Book of World Records, Hyams Beach has the whitest sand in the world.  The day was pure magic.  We got to the beach around 10:30 am.  There was a small coffeeshop/cafe a block away from the beach, so we grabbed some coffee and headed to the beach.  I usually think that sand is the downfall of being at the beach, but not at Hyams Beach.  It is so fine and white, it almost feels clean.  We laid around and played until lunchtime, went back to the local cafe for a scrumptious lunch, went driving for a little bit to check out more of the Jervis Bay area and miss the strongest sun of the day, and then headed back out on the beach at 2:00 pm for a few more hours.  The whole day felt perfect.  
  

Panoramic of the beach; Aubrey is there in the pink.

Carter burying Aubrey

He got his payback

The water was too good to be true

The red pin is Hyams Beach within Jervis Bay.  It was about a 40 minute drive south from where we were staying.

Wednesday was a little warmer with temperatures getting up into the mid-80's (Fahrenheit).  On this day we went to Jamberoo Action Park.  This is the largest water park in New South Wales.  It was a really nice water park, but it was super busy on the day we were there.  The lines were too long, so we didn't end up going on any of the big rides (like the one called The Funnel Web (after the deadly spider)).  It didn't matter to the kids though.  They had a blast.  
  

Banjo's Billabong (the kid area)

Aubrey giving the camera a little smirk before running off for more fun

Overlook of the wave pool with the mountains in the distance

The red pin is Jamberoo.  It took almost an hour to drive there from the cottage, but it was worth it.

After spending the majority of the last 2 days out in the sun, we decided to take it a little easier on Thursday.  We drove up to a couple of quaint towns we had seen on the drive down the coast, Berry and Gerringong.  We visited some local shops, had lunch with a view, and snuck in a few more wineries.  Sounds like the kids had a blast, huh?  They were actually okay because one of the shops was a candy shop and we spent a good chunk of the afternoon at a playground.  It is nice that they are growing up to where we do not have to constantly entertain them.  That is what they have iPods for;-). 

View at lunch at Gerringong Seavista Cafe

Cemetary in Gerringong; we walked by it because it is right next to the whale watching platform.  I've noticed that the dead in Australia seem to hold some prime real estate.

Red pin is the location of Gerringong.  It is a beautiful little town and would make a great weekend getaway.

Friday was a crazy hot day in New South Wales.  Sydney had its hottest day on record at 46.5 degrees Celsius (116 degrees Fahrenheit).  Since we were just a few hours outside of Sydney, the temps were similar where we were.  We went back to Hyams Beach for the morning hours, but then it got too hot to even be at the beach.  Sean and I spent a relaxing afternoon driving around more of the region we had not visited while the kids took a long nap in our air-conditioned car.

This area of New South Wales has a lot of dairy cattle.  It made me nostalgic since I grew up on a dairy farm.  Sean and I laughed when we had to stop the car on Friday afternoon so that they could herd the cows across the road to the milkbarn.  As I was watching those hundreds of cows cross the road, I couldn't help but be happy that I didn't have to help milk them.  I'm sure my brothers and sisters will know what I am talking about. 

When the kids woke up from their nap, we drove up the mountain overlook that we had heard was outstanding, but hadn't done yet.  Mount Camberwarra Lookout really was breathtaking.  The landscape shots are a little hazy due to the hot, balmy weather that day.  

The red pin is Cambewarra Lookout.  From that height, we could see all the way to Jervis Bay.

We got back to the cottage around 5:00 that evening.  Sean and the kids took showers and then we started to cook dinner.  Some really strong southerly winds started to blow outside.  They are a welcome relief, as it cooled everything off after a super hot day.  However, all of a sudden, the electricity went out in the cottage.  The owner came up and talked to us and was going to bring us up candles because he said the electricity could be out for quite awhile.  I wasn't very happy about it because I hadn't taken a shower after being at the beach earlier in the day.  Plus, the cottage gets really, really dark at night since there are no outside lights around it.  All week up to this point, I had been leaving a hallway light on at night so that the kids (and I) wouldn't get scared in the pitch blackness.  I know I am spoiled, but I really didn't want to face a night with no electricity.

Then, the final blow happened.  The government can tell what cell phones are within a certain distance of bushfires and they send out warning texts.  Sean and I got this ominous text on our phones.  

We were not familiar enough with the area to know if the threat of the bushfire was very serious to our location.  But, we didn't like the idea of being in danger of getting caught unprepared.  It was only about 7:00 pm at this point, and we could be back to our safe apartment in Sydney by 10:00 pm.  So, we decided to pack up and head home ASAP.  In hindsight, I now know that the electricity was restored at 9:30 that night and the bushfire did not get very close to the cottage.   Oh well.  It was an abrupt end to our wonderful vacation, but it was only cut short by one night.  And, it did feel pretty good to snuggle into our own beds that night.  The trip still wins the distinction of being the best vacation we have taken as a family up to this point.