BOURNDA NATIONAL PARK - 19 TO 22 MARCH 2021

 Bournda National Park

19 March

We arrived at Bournda National Park and picked a camp site – 25. It was a bit crazy as when we tried to book the system was down and when we rang the booking number they said the camp was full. Eventually, we booked through the local office.

We settled into our campsite to the sounds of bellbird minors and antics of a solitary kangaroo.

In the afternoon, I had a bike ride along the many tracks to view Wallagoot Lake and Beach.

In the evening, we made a cozy campfire and drank wine.

20 March

A cloudy and windy day with some rain.

After breakfast, we drove to the main road for phone reception so that we could pay for the camp site.

Next stop was Bournda Lagoon. It was a 100m haul of the kayak from the carpark to the lagoon. The water was warm and crystal clear. I paddled around the circumference of the lagoon passing the beach on one side and the forest on the other. The lagoon was very pretty with visible fish under the water amongst underwater plant growth and a rocky and cliff shoreline lined by sledge grass. At one end of the lagoon, I paddled along Scrubby Creek which became narrower and like a fairy glen the further I travelled. An excellent kayak in pristine natural conditions!

Meanwhile, Jacinta had a hike around the tracks that lined the lagoon.

Just as I finished the kayak it started to rain and this continued throughout the afternoon.

Despite the afternoon of rain, we managed to make a nice fire that we enjoyed from late afternoon to sleeptime.

21 March

Windy and cloudy.

After a slow breakfast, we had a mountain bike ride along the man tracks that lead through the campground and along Wallagoot Lake. The tracks were easy, firm and wide as they meandered through the trees. At Scoots Bay, there were a lot of kangaroos and a national trust restored hut. The hut was fun to walk through. Jacinta headed back to the camp and I took a track to Bournda Lagoon. It was a gradual downhill track with a turn off for Bondii Lagoon, This track was narrow and wound its way under the dense tree canopy and eventually back to our campsite. Along the way there was a great view of the lagoon.

A restful afternoon with a campfire!

We got back into the van and a possum shot out from the driver’s seat. It must have snuck in while we were at the campfire. Haha!

22 March 2021

I didn’t hear a thing but Jacinta the possum was on the van roof and awning during the night.

We packed and set off for our next stay at Bermagui.

EDEN, NADGEE NATURE RESERVE AND BEN BOYD NATIONAL PARK - 14 TO 19 MARCH 2021

 

EDEN, NADGEE NATURE RESERVE AND BEN BOYD NATIONAL PARK

14 March

The drive to Eden from Jindabyne was long and the scenery very varied – endless undulating hills of boulders and tall dried grass to steep decline with ferns and trees recovering from recent bushfires. We stopped at a quaint church in Dalgety and further on near a wind farm. They are big close up. We bought lunch at Bombala and ate in in a picnic area beside the Bombala River – pretty but still cold. We thought about staying the night but overnight temperature was predicted to be 1 degree.

We finally arrived at Eden and settled into one of the camping grounds Discovery) south of the town.

We had a stroll along Boydtown Beach towards the mouth of the Nullica River. The walk was nice and the river mouth was mainly a flat expanse of sand due to low tide.

15 March

The wind had dropped and the sun was shining. After breakfast, we had a bake on Boydtown Beach. It was very relaxing. Occasionally, tiny waves broken on the beach. The morning grew warmer and I had a swim close to shore. Yesterday there was a shark attack at Merimbula Beach, which wasn’t far away.

We had lunch then drove to the tourism office in Eden for information on the area.

Next stop was Aslings Beach. It was windy and the water was crystal clear. We walked along the beach to the rockpool that was filled with sand. There were some interesting geological patterns on the cliff rock strata.

Next stop was the Eden Lookout. A great view right across the expanse of Twofold Bay!

Continuing on, we had a walk along the wharves at Eden harbour. Definitely, a working harbour!

16 March

We woke to a cloudy sky.

I had an early walk along the beach. There was a large naval vessel not far from shore.

We breakfasted and packed as we decided to move to a different camp area.

After coffee in town, we settled into our new camp site at Reflections, Eden. The camp was positioned between Aslings Beach and Lake Curola.

I had a kayak on the lake when the rain eased. The lake was tidal and as it was mid tide I was limited in my paddling area as most of the lake was too shallow.

About mid afternoon, we had a walk along Aslings Beach to the north. It was a little windy but it was pretty where the lake emptied into the sea. At the start of our walk, we ran into a young couple I met while mountain biking down Thredbo Valley. A small world at times!

17 March

A cloudy morning.

After breakfast, we had a bike ride around Lake Curalo. A fun 12 km ride along Aslings Beach boardwalk, the bike track around the lake and into town. The track was beside the lake most of the way. It was on a boardwalk, graded path and rough surface. Along the way, we had great views of the lake and its birdlife. At one point there was a pair of yellow tailed black cockatoos. The lake ride ended at the lake’s mouth on the beach. A pretty ride!

Later in the afternoon, we strolled along the boardwalk at Aslings Beach.

18 March

We drove to Nadgee Nature Reserve. It was pretty but a bit of a disappointment as far as kayaking (not enough water) and hiking goes (not sign posted).

Back at camp, I had a bike ride around Lake Curalo. I rode further than with Jacinta previously doing the north side of Aslings Beach – there was hard sand to ride, multicoloured rocks and a small pretty cove.

19 March

A cloudy morning.

We packed and set off for Bournda National Park.

We left Eden and drove through the northern side of Ben Boyd National Park. We stopped at a few points of interest - The Pinnacles, where we had a two short hikes and North Long Beach.

KOSCIOUSKO NATIONAL PARK AND JINDABYNE - 8 to 14 MARCH 2021

 

KOSCIOUSKO NATIONAL PARK AND JINDABYNE

8 March

The journey from Canberra to Kosciusko National Park took awhile as we had to stop for food supplies, petrol and rest stops along the way. At Jindabyne, we stopped at the National Park office for mountain bike and hiking info plus a five day access pass.

We drove to Thredbo and checked the start of the Thredbo valley track and then to our camping at Nga… We had booked four nights on line at this camp site. It was very windy when we arrived but just as the sun disappeared behind the mountains so did the wind. The evening was warm and pleasant.

9 March

We woke to a cloudy morning. After breakfast, we decided on a bike ride from our camp to Thredbo. It was 9 km basically uphill and took 3 hours. It was great though as Jacinta persevered and we did it. At Thredbo, we had lunch then I backtracked to the camping area to get the van to pick up Jacinta. The return was amazing being a fast and flowy track. I got back to the camp in 40 minutes and drove the van up to Thredbo.

After picking up Jacinta, we rested at our camp site and had a delicious salmon dinner.

10 March

In the morning, I rode my camp from our camp to Bullock’s Flat. The ride was downhill and a little harder than yesterday’s section of the Thredbo Valley Track. There were steeper sections and berms and some rock and tree root obstacles. A great ride though! Jacinta was waiting for me with the van.

Back at camp we rested then headed to Jindabyne for coffee and lunch. From there we drove to the start of the Rainbow Lake hike on the Perisher side of the park.

It was a 3 kilometre walk that included a few hills, some wildflowers and rough track around the lake. That track was very soggy at times and felt very snaky.

After the hike we drove back to camp where I had a swim in the Thredbo River, which was very cold.

11 March

Jacinta dropped me off at Thredbo and I had another ride of the Valley track as far as our camp area. Once again it was fast and furious.

Later, we drove to Charlottes Pass to consider a hike or bike ride. The weather didn’t look very inviting with heavy clouds that were filling in the valley below us.

Back at camp, we had an easy afternoon and eventually the rain began. By the late afternoon it eased a bit and we met two border patrol officers from Sydney.

12 March

There was a light rain in the early hours of the morning but we awoke to cloud and sunshine.

We packed and drove to Jindabyne Discovery Park where we made a booking for the next two nights. Next stop was Charlottes Pass.

We parked and got out our bike gear. Our aim was to ride to Rawson’s Pass along the bike trail. It was a gradual my hill climb that became very steep from the Snowy River to Seaman’s Hut. The scenery was stark alpine with small trees on one side of the trail but treeless on the other side. Closer to the Snowy River the trees disappeared totally. We rode about half to Rawson’s Pass from seaman’s Hut before we had a clear view of the pass. The road continued upwards but we turned around and continued back to the van. The return ride was downhill most of the way with one small hill. An awesome, fast and fun ride!

We stopped at Jindabyne for a few supplies and settled into our new camp – hot showers and rest.

13 March

A restful day around the camp - washing, charging electrics, moving to unpowered site.

Today was Jacinta’s birthday. We booked a restaurant in town and had a great dinner. When we went to pay, our daughters had already contacted the restaurant and paid.. Nice present for Jacinta.

14 March

In the middle of the night it started to rain and become cold.

When we woke, the rain had stopped but it was windy and bitterly cold.

We packed camp and set off for Eden.