Saturday, March 31, 2012

Our week in Bega

the view from the back of our van

We have spent a couple of days just around town and relaxing at the van.  The outlook here is so lovely and there are not many other vans so the days are lovely and quiet and restful.  We had rain showers through the first couple of nights but then Thursday dawned full of fog so looks like a promising day. 
Bega Cheese Co-operative building and museum

milk coming to the Bega factory

part of the first prize winning mural at the 2000 Royal Easter Show in Sydney
the murals were constructed from various seeds and fibres, this one from seeds

part of the display in the cheese factory museum

lovely old building in Carp Street Bega

We packed the esky bag and headed down south to Eden along the Princes Highway.  There are no other options but the traffic was light and we enjoyed the green scenery along the way.
Bega countryside
Our map showed us a lookout over Twofold Bay so we headed for there.  Picnic tables, toilets and a lookout deck are all provided for the visitors.  We certainly made use of the table for our cuppa and enjoyed taking in the view across the bay to the wood chipping mill where once the whaling fleet brought their catch. 
part of Twofold Bay with the ocean beyond

Whaling was carried on from this area for many years and now there is a whaling museum set up for visitors to learn from.  We enjoyed the view and took the Lion’s cliff top walk that leads around to the old ‘pilot station’, past the current Marine Rescue station.  The water was a strong azure colour and the waves broke gently across the rocks surrounding the bay.  In the park there is a Seaman’s memorial erected and there are plaques detailing many of those seamen lost at sea, washed from rocks or the victim of boat sinking over the years.  The ages of many are so young, they make you pause and reflect.
The local fish co-op is back towards the main street and near where the trawlers are moored. We decided that if we couldn’t get fresh fish here we were never going to find any so we enjoyed sitting in the sun and eating flathead and whiting fillets with the freshest chips we have ever enjoyed. Following our yummy lunch we took ourselves a stroll up and down the main street to walk it down and admired the old buildings that have been preserved with information plaques attached

                                               .boat moorings in Twofold Bay
Back along the highway and we left the highway at Pambula and headed to Merimbula on the coast.  This seems to be a popular place for holiday makers as there are holiday flats and units along with motels etc just everywhere.  We did find a couple of caravan parks out near the beach and the ocean views from some of those cabins would be spectacular……never mind pricey I should think.
entrance into boat ramp area at Tathra
view from Chamberlain lookout
Driving back north from Merimbula we headed back along the highway to Tathra where there is a small community on the headland.  One of the hotels is over 100 yrs old and the pine trees were planted in 1887 when the building was erected.  A lovely memorial park has been set up on the headland by community members  as there is no cemetery in Tathra.  This park was opened in 1997 and there are various information boards around the path advising of various happenings in Tathra over the years.  These include the restoration and historic listing of the wharf which till 1962 was the main link with Sydney for the transportation of stock and produce.
historic pub at Tathra
There were signs along the road in the various creeks etc of where the water level had risen to during the recent flooding that threatened this area earlier this year.  The surrounding hills etc were green, green and more green.  They fields looked so lush and the animals so healthy.

We move on to Ulladulla on Monday for a week and then finally up to Nowra to catch up with friends met last Easter at Penshurst in Victoria before heading back up to Cessnock for some of the school holidays to share with our granddaughter.  What a wonderful life.   

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