27th June 2023
Our aim was to leave home between 8:00am and 9:00am, as we had 600kms to cover before reaching our destination at Mimosa Rocks National Park (north of Tathra on the south coast of New South Wales). Our target departure time was met – just – with us pulling away at 8:55am. Given it is school holidays there was no school drop-off traffic to contend with, and it was relatively easy going as we headed eastwards through Dandenong and then onto the Princes Freeway at Berwick.
The Princes Freeway has been extending its reach into eastern Gippsland ever since we moved to Victoria in the 1970s. It now bypasses many of the towns along the way to its end point of Sale, where it becomes a regular single lane in each direction with the occasional overtaking lane through the steeper hills. The flat terrain of the Gippsland region gives way to undulating hill country once through Sale and on the approach to Lakes Entrance, where the extensive network of lakes drain into the Tasman Sea. A large fishing boat was navigating its way through the entrance to the lakes before swinging northward to moor with other fishing boats that operate in the area. The clock had ticked over to 1:00pm so it was timely that we stop for lunch before continuing on the remainder of our journey (the options for lunch diminish once through Lakes Entrance).
Following lunch we continued on our way, passing turnoffs to numerous inlets that are popular camping destinations in the summer months. The rivers we crossed (that drain into the inlets) all have their origins in the high country to the west and north. Having listened to ‘The Country Hour’ on the radio earlier, we were aware that much of this corner of the country had experienced above-average rainfall in June. This explained why most of the rivers had an abundance of water flowing seaward. Damage caused by the devastating bush fires that burnt through this region in 2019 were less obvious. Most of the trees had thick foliage, and the undergrowth of wattles and other native bushes had returned. There were, however, some areas where the heat must have been so intense that the trees were dead – they stood as grey ghosts, with neither leaves nor bark displaying any signs of life.
The forest through this border region between Victoria and New South Wales has been, and continues to be, logged. A large mill just over the border in New South Wales seems to receive a lot of the logs being extracted from the logging coupes. Tracks off the Princes Highway into the forest had names like Broad Axe, Timber Cutter, Fellers, Saw Mill, etc. The border crossing into New South Wales is a few kilometres south of Eden – the port that was initially used to move timber out of the area to other destinations before the roads connected the region with the outside world. On maps, the border between the two states shows as a line that joins the start of the Murray River in the high country with Cape Howe, a point on the coast just north of Mallacoota.
The Princes Highway continued to wind its way through hilly country, around inlets, through thick forest and beside the ocean. Darkness was falling as we approached Merimbula and was almost upon us as we passed through Tathra. The driving lights were needed to read the signage as we approached the turnoff to Gillards Beach campground. From the turnoff it was about 7kms down to the campground, which is situated on the coast. The driving lights were really helpful as we followed the twisting, turning, single-lane dusty gravel track through the hardwood forest. The camp ground was upon us soon enough and we were soon examining our designated site for the best way to position the van for the few days ahead.
It was very dark when we pulled up. The moon overhead was largely obscured by cloud cover, and only occasionally did it peek through. We got a torch out from the Tvan and began surveying our camp site. A neighbouring camper emerged from his dual-axle caravan and asked if turning on his 4WD headlights might help. They did, and we moved the Tvan into position and were set up in quick time. It was 11C when we stepped out of the Prado to set up camp, but fortunately the night was still.
The cloud cover overhead cleared as we started preparing dinner, with stars and the moon making an appearance. A hearty soup prepared earlier in the week had travelled well and was enjoyed with some freshly baked sourdough that was cooked on Sunday. We retreated to bed at around 8:00pm and enjoyed the warmth being pumped into the Tvan by the diesel heater that helps make winter camping all the more bearable. The sound of waves breaking on the shore was a constant throughout the night.
28th June 2023
First light started filtering in through the skylight above our heads just before 7:00am. There was a thin cloud cover overhead that made the morning seem a little grey. The morning was quite cool, with the temperature in Tathra around 7C according to our weather app. Fortunately there was no breeze – that made breakfast overlooking the ocean enjoyable.
Our neighbours (well, at least the father and teenage son) are keen fishermen. They had been up since the crack of dawn, down on the beach fishing for bait fish as well as Australian salmon and gummy shark. Their fishing gear included a few beach rods that were baited and cast just beyond the breaking waves, then propped up in rod holders waiting for something to strike. For the bigger fish they were after, a more sturdy rod and reel was placed in a rod holder on the edge of the clifftop between our camp sites. To cast the bait (half of a 1kg mullet they had caught off the beach) they attach said bait (plus hook) to a drone, launch the drone from the clifftop, fly it 400 metres off the shoreline, drop the bait, and fly the drone back to its starting position.
Whatever our neighbours are doing it seems to be working. They have apparently averaged 30 – 40 fish a day, though they only keep the 4 best catches on any particular day and return the others to the sea. We were offered some of their recent catch which we happily accepted – we were given four large fillets all ready for cooking – no scaling, cleaning and filleting required! Later in the day the bait was eventually taken, and a 15-minute battle ensued to bring the catch ashore. It turned out to be a large stingray, so it was quickly returned to the sea once the hook was removed. The battle to get the stingray ashore left the teenage son (who landed it) with tired arms.
The views out to sea have been interrupted with sightings of a pod of dolphin that have cruised up and down the beach just beyond the breakers. While were we eating breakfast at least 2 (possibly 3) whales passed by on a north-bound journey about 1km offshore. A sea eagle surveyed the length of the beach before returning to its nest atop the headland to the north of our campsite. Small wrens have darted between our feet and camp chairs while we have been sitting back taking in the scenery. Dark wallabies are grazing nearby, with little concern for our presence. A larger kangaroo is sprawled out on the grass enjoying the moments of sunshine when the clouds part overhead.
With breakfast concluded, we set up the en-suite in readiness for a few showers over the next few days. The fire pit was also set up so that we can cook a BBQ dinner tonight and enjoy the radiant heat as the day cools down. A couple of bags of redgum sleeper timber cut to size have been brought from home, they will help keep us warm.
Following morning tea we went for a short walk to reacquaint ourselves with the walking track that heads off to the north. The track meanders through a stand of old bottlebrush trees before opening out on the shores of a large lagoon, where small water birds were bobbing for food. The track heads up hill for a stretch before it opens to a clearing on top of a headland that offers up views north to the next headland (and down to the entrance to the lagoon, which occasionally fills sufficiently to breach the sand and flow into the ocean). As lunch time approached, we turned around and headed back to our campsite. Bigger walks are planned over the next few days.
29th June 2023
At first light it was apparent that the weather today was going to be in contrast to the weather we experienced yesterday. Sunlight was filling the inside of the Tvan with an orange glow and blue sky was visible through the skylight. Little had changed regarding the chill in the morning air though, so the heater was soon on to warm things up before we both got up and changed for breakfast. We basked in the sunshine as we enjoyed breakfast while watching the waves break against the shore in their never-ending pounding of the coastline.
It was a perfect day for a walk, and we prepared the day pack with a full thermos of hot water along with tea bags and snacks that would sustain us when needed. The walk we chose follows the coastline from our campsite north to “Penders”, a heritage-listed holiday retreat, where an inlet stops any further northerly progress on foot. The first section of the walk passes through a dense forest of bottlebrush trees, before following the shoreline of Middle Lagoon (which infrequently flows into the ocean after heavy rainfall). The lagoon is quite substantial, winding its way inland and around headlands for a few kilometres.
The track we were following eventually dropped down onto the ocean beach, passing the sand spit that would be breached after heavy rains. Fortunately for us the path ahead was dry, so no wading was required to get to the other side of the dry lagoon entrance. We passed through more bottlebrush forest as we climbed to a camping area that was restricted to walk-in campers with tents. From there we traversed a number of headlands, with waves crashing onto the rocks at the base of the cliffs.
The track stops at a derelict wind generator, with an information board explaining how the generator was used to charge a series of car batteries in order to provide rudimentary lighting for an “experimental” holiday house designed and built by the architect who designed the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Sir Roy Grounds. The original house was built using local timbers to create a frame upon which a turf roof of kikuyu grass was trialled. It apparently worked well for a period of time before the local bush rats took up residence and helped themselves to anything edible in the house. The weight of the turf also became excessive after rains and the supporting structure needed to be strengthened to take the weight.
A close friend of Sir Roy happened to be Sir Kenneth Myer. The two met through their interest in the arts; in particular, the National Gallery of Victoria – they established a business partnership and became tenants in common of the land at Penders. During the 1960s and 1970s, Grounds and Myer constructed a variety of buildings and structures to facilitate their enjoyment of the place, and spent many a holiday “away from it all”. Over the years the properties were managed by the next generation, before eventually being being bequeathed to the NSW government who incorporated the lands and the (now historic) buildings into Mimosa Rocks National Park. Myer House, one of the buildings, is a holiday cottage is set in amongst old gum trees on the edge of the inlet. Two well maintained tennis courts are also close by. The property is available as a short term rental for those who want a quiet time away from city life.
We sat at a conveniently located table between the Myer holiday house and the inlet for morning tea. Something was chasing schools of fish near the entrance to the inlet, and at first we thought it may have been a dolphin. We continued to watch and it was clear there was no dorsal fin showing when it surfaced. It soon became apparent that there were two seals chasing the schools of fish and making a meal of whatever they could catch. Seagulls flocked to the area hoping to pick off any stunned fish that hadn’t been consumed. Sea eagles soared overhead to see what was going on below but decided to move on to where there might be less competition.
Chris spotted the telltale plume of water that signals one or more whales surfacing for a breath. Our eyes shifted gaze from the seals feasting in the inlet to the whales surfacing about a kilometre offshore. As best we could tell there were possible three whales heading north. On our return walk to our campsite we watched dolphins surfing the waves off one of the headlands we passed over. It had been quite a day for spotting marine life.
When back at camp, we settled down for a cup of tea and some fruit cake before Chris set up the hot water system and we both enjoyed a hot shower. The fire was set up, ready to light with another BBQ planned for dinner. Our entertainment prior to dinner was provided by the teenage son of our neighbours. The father and son have fished from dawn till after dusk every day we have been camped here. Yesterday the teenage son landed a large stingray that took just over 15 minutes to reel in. Tonight the heavy duty rigs they have been using (in concert with their drones to cast baits and burley well off shore) delivered the goods.
The zing of the line being hastily pulled off the reel, and the tinkling of the alarm bell fixed to the tip of the rod, signalled that something had taken the bait and was in a hurry to get away. The teenage son grabbed the rod and attempted to slow the potentially large fish down as it took a dislike to the hook that was hidden inside the enticing bait (half a 2kg Australian salmon caught off the beach in front of us). The struggle to land the fish began.
The fish started to run parallel to the beach, and was closely followed by the teenage son and his father who attempted to slow its progress and bring it closer and closer to the shoreline. This battle went on for around 45 minutes. Chris grabbed our binoculars as the pair moved well north of our campsite. The dad discarded his shoes and rolled up his pants, which to us suggested the landing was nearly completed. The dorsal fin of a shark was spotted a few metres away from the dad, who was now holding the line in his bare hands guiding the shark closer to shore when, through the binoculars, Chris saw the shark turn quickly and head out through the breaking waves for deeper waters.
The story we got on their return to camp was that the shark was a bronze whaler of around 60-80kgs. The trace broke just before the shark was brought ashore. While there was some disappointment that the shark escaped before a few photos could be taken, there was never any intention of keeping it and it was always going to be returned to the sea. Who needs TV when live action is unfolding right in front of us?
We retreated to the cosy confines of the Tvan after dinner, with the heater getting another workout while we settled in. We never run it all night but tonight seemed colder than any of the previous nights during our stay. We eventually discovered that we had left one of the skylights open (after airing the Tvan during the day), thus losing all residual heat. The skylight was quickly closed and the chill subsided.
30th June 2023
The early morning sun again made its presence felt soon after sunrise. The Tvan is set up facing north-east, and the early morning sunshine quickly lights up the inside when it hits the canvas. The morning was milder and as a result there was no need to turn on the heater to make getting out of bed that little bit easier. Patchy cloud was overhead when we emerged from the Tvan and set about preparing breakfast while again watching the fishermen attempt to out-do last night’s efforts.
There were a few chores to see to that we decided to mix in with some sightseeing in the district around the national park. First stop was Bega, where we made good use of the dump point in the showgrounds before driving to the Bega Cheese Factory and Museum. There seemed to be no shortage of early milking machines, milk separators, butter churns and cheese making machines donated from nearby farms and businesses on display. Old photos adorned the walls of the museum, reinforcing how challenging the lifestyle was from around the 1850s.
From Bega we headed up the Princes Highway to Cobargo, a small town that had been seriously impacted by the 2019 bushfires. The buildings in town that survived the fires appeared to have been given a new coat of paint, while vacant blocks between many of the buildings were the remaining scars the town has to deal with. We refuelled in Cobargo before turning off the highway and heading eastward to Bermagui on the coast.
New South Wales’ school holidays commence from this afternoon, and we expect an influx of visitors from tomorrow. From what we could tell, few people from Sydney had started their holidays early because Bermagui was quiet, with mainly locals out and about. We stopped for a tea and coffee and soaked up the sunlight while looking out over the bay to the north east. We topped up a few supplies that were running low at what appeared to be a newly-built supermarket, before setting off on the return to our camp site.
Mimosa Rocks National Park stretches along the coast from north of Tathra in the south through to just south of Bermagui in the north, forming part of the Sapphire Coast. We followed the Bermagui – Tathra Road south through rolling hills and into the heavily forested National Park. Discussions with a fellow camper had unveiled the reason the park was called Mimosa Rocks, and we had learnt that the eponymous rock was accessible through the Aragunnu campground to the north of where we are staying. A steep dusty gravel track wove its way between the established gum trees down to the camp ground and the day use area with a signposted walk to Mimosa Rock.
A boardwalk led from the car park to the stony beach and a first glimpse of Mimosa Rock off in the distance. Information boards explained the history of the region for First Nations peoples and how shell middens (that were over 1,000 years old) demonstrated the importance of the area in terms of a food bowl. The middens are now protected and are not to be disturbed as they are places of significance to the current First Nations people. We continued along the boardwalk that eventually stopped at a viewing platform with Mimosa Rock straight ahead.
Mimosa Rock was named after a paddle steamer, the Mimosa, which crashed onto a reef in 1863. Two life boats were lowered into the water and all but 2 of the 38 passengers and crew were safely taken ashore. The paddle steamer eventually sunk, while those on shore were picked up by another steamer and returned to Sydney. The bodies of the 2 passengers who did not survive were eventually retrieved from the wreck. Interestingly, the captain reported hitting an unchartered reef off the coast – but the wreck was found to be close to what is now called Mimosa Rock, only metres from the shoreline.
Our journey through the National Park continued and it wasn’t long before we were back at our campsite enjoying lunch and watching the waves as they continued to pound on the beach below. As the afternoon came to a close, the camp fire was lit to keep the evening chill at bay. Dinner was enjoyed around the camp fire, the washing up all done and put away before we again retreated to the warmth of the Tvan to read before being lulled to sleep by the ever-present sound of the surf crashing on the beach.
1st July 2023
Our neighbours were packed up and gone before the sun rose at around 7:00am. That has left just us occupying one of the campsites in our designated area. There are 40 campsites spread out through the coastal fringe, with anywhere from 3 to 8 sites in each separate area divided by coastal ti-trees. We suspect the campground is full during the summer holidays, while only the hardy campers patronise the place during the winter months. We continue to be blessed with great weather and this morning has been no exception. When the sun made its presence felt we were up, and within an hour were down to shorts and a t-shirt as the temperature quickly rose. The solar panel again enjoyed the burst of sunshine, taking the batteries in the Tvan from 93% to 100% by 9:00am.
Following breakfast we went for a walk to survey all of the campsites in Gillards campground for future reference. When we return, at some point in the future, if our first preference for sites is unavailable we will have a record of our other preferences. Sites were judged to be suitable if they offered some shelter from the southerly weather, were relatively flat, and had views of the ocean from the campsite. A number met our criteria and have been filed away for future reference.
Whales have again been sighted offshore on their journey north. The plumes of water they spray into the air when they surface for a breath can be seen from some distance away. There are a few kangaroos basking in the sun not far from the Tvan, with not a care in the world. Clearly they are comfortable with people around and far more focused on enjoying a lazy day in the sun.
The wind picked up during the morning but the sun continued to shine. We had a lazy day around the campsite, writing a few emails to family overseas and researching future walks we might like to attempt in the future. A shortlist began to take shape with a multi-day walk in Norway and another in the Flinders Ranges rising to the top of the current list. More research will be undertaken when we return home and have far more reliable internet connectivity. Both short-listed destinations have times when the weather plays a big part in when not to go walking.
After lunch we walked the full length of the beach in front of our campsite. The tide was low but on the turn. Chris checked out the water temperature and his body language when coming into contact with the first lick of the incoming waves was not one of pleasure. Shore birds were dashing about on the sand being dampened by the incoming waves. A pair of what we thought were endangered hooded plovers were dashing here and there along the high water mark, seeking small morsels of food. Further along the beach we came across a pair of pied oystercatchers, also fossicking along the high water mark.
On our return to our campsite we watched as a couple towing a Tvan similar to ours arrived and set up about 25 metres away. By the way they went about it we determined they were fairly inexperienced at setting things up. The couple, Lynn and Peter, eventually wandered over and introduced themselves. It became clear they hadn’t had their Tvan for very long, having bought it second hand from a friend of a friend. They checked out how our Tvan was set up, noting some handy hints before returning to their own unit.
The wind dropped around dusk and we enjoyed dinner around a blazing camp fire. A near-full moon cast shadows around our campsite. Wendy spotted the silhouette of what fitted the description of a potoroo darting between the shadows outside the glow of our campfire. We eventually retired to the comfort of the Tvan and slept well on our final night in the Mimosa Rocks National Park.
2nd July 2023
It was an early start to the day as we had the long, 600km drive ahead of us. Our neighbours in their Tvan were after more assistance, packing up their quick awning while we also began packing things away. Chris was able to mediate a misunderstanding they were trying to resolve, as he guided them through the correct way to fold and zip away the awning. Being a little more familiar with our pack up routine, we were soon on our way while our neighbours continued sorting themselves out.
Our drive home retraced much of our journey to the National Park. We did bypass Lakes Entrance and headed inland, eventually rejoining the Princes Highway at Bairnsdale where we stopped for a late lunch. The drive from Sale back to Melbourne is on duplicated freeway. The volume of traffic gradually increased as we moved through the major regional centres and eventually approached Melbourne.
It was dark when we arrived home and backed the Tvan back down the driveway. Perishables were removed from the Tvan before it was closed up; the remaining unpacking was left to the daylight hours the next day. Another memorable trip away was brought to a close with the agreement that we would return to Mimosa Rocks National Park again in the near future.