15 December 2013 – completing the circle to Sydney

 

The black line is 2013, the other coloured lines (yellow, blue, pink & purple) are from previous family trips!

We left Eden and passed through a few more towns that we’d heard of many times but never visited as they were south where the weather was just not as warm!  We stopped at Pambula, Tathra and Bermagui enjoying some scenery, playing at local parks and admiring the serenity, in particular of the Blue Pool at Bermagui.  As we approached Nowra, I felt like I was heading back to home as I used to spend quite a bit of holiday time at Shoalhaven Heads.  I wondered whether a family member was still living there so we drove through for memory sake and to check.  Amazingly, I found the house that Dennis still lives in and we pulled in for a quick visit to see how he was doing before jumping back in the car for the last of our road trip.  Late in the afternoon we pulled up outside Josh’s family’s home and raced inside.  They had no idea that we would be arriving back today and the surprise on their faces (and tears in their eyes) were priceless.

After approx. 44,000kms, $14,000 in fuel and a shit load of money - we have a lifetime of unforgettable memories and our lap is now complete.  New dreams are to come!
 

 

13 December – 14 December 2013 – Eden via Snowy River Country

Next day was pack and drive, this time through the Snowy River countryside where the scenery was just magical.  Beautiful expanses of green paddocks and stringy barks just as you would imagine.  We called into Orbust, stopping at the information centre for a quick look.  The building was actually the old town’s blacksmith, an old rickety timber cottage.  It was nothing like the big information centres you would find in major towns.  The man attending the desk inside gave us his opinion on where to head to next but we were heading across the border today and back into New South Wales.  We stopped at one point on the outskirts of Orbost to admire the view over the Marlo which is where the Snowy River meets and flows into the Southern Ocean.  Upon continuing our drive and arriving back into New South Wales, we pulled up at the sign as we crossed the border and took one more final lot of border-crossing photos.  As we arrived at Eden, we found a great little caravan park which had the pool, putt putt golf, jumping castle and tv/games room.  The weather wasn’t great while we were there but we did have the occasional patches of lovely sunny weather to enjoy the last few days of our “holiday”.

Saturday morning we headed out to explore a little and did a few good walks of the area.  Whale harpooning was big in the area and there is an amazing story about “Old Tom”.  We visited the Whale Trail site where Old Tom would swim the waters.  We also visited the Eden Museum where Old Tom’s story and skeleton remains, it is definitely worth another visit one day.  I think the kids had seen enough museums at this stage as they sat and played in the toy area for most of our visit, becoming more interested only when we walked through the shop area on the way out.  We added a bit of life to things when we returned to the caravan park and headed for the jumping pillow for a bit of family fun.  Tiring but yes fun…..