Bega to The Border!
Trip Start
Jan 13, 2011
1
6
25
Trip End
Ongoing
Bega, New South Wales, Australia
Thursday, May 12, 2011
To cook breakfast we drove to the Bega cheese factory because a little park there had public BBQ's. We’d bought hash browns and I was seriously looking forward to it, especially as I was feeling a little rough from all of the beer One-Eyed-Jacko had bought the night before. The BBQ’s didn’t work so we cooked on our stoves and I actually managed to refrain from heading into the cheese factory for more samples – it was only 7am after all.
We zoomed through the coast down the Princes Highway. We’ve been on this particular road for a long time now and it has guided us to many weird and wonderful places. We stopped off at Merimbula, the place we intended to stay last night, and saw our first black swans. The wildlife changes slightly when you get further south – even the magpies look different. The signs remain the same though, "Kangaroos next 4km" and we finally worked out that the cute little picture we see on a similar sign is a wombat. Hitting a roo would do some seriously damage to Billy as well as Billy doing quite a bit of damage to it. Not sure about wombats, don’t want to find out though.
About half past one this afternoon we crossed the border to Victoria, the first state border I’ve crossed. It was all very exciting as Vicky pulled the van over and we ran back to take a photo of Victoria with the Victoria sign. Neither of us can believe the progress we’ve made since hitting the road. Genoa, just over the border, had a nice rest area with BBQ so we stopped for lunch and a stretch of our legs. We considered staying the night there but it was only early and it seemed that Fred and Rose West had set up camp behind us so I took over the driving and off we went.
I know we’ve done some amazing drives since getting on the road but this one was incredible. A wide smooth road (truly a novelty in Australia) seamlessly meandering through mountains like a ribbon of black tarmac, walls of dense lush green rainforest either side and the sun just sneaking through the trees. I steered Billy steadily down through the mountain range and we truly glided from bend to bend as the camber shifted perfectly in-tune with every turn. I felt like a rally driver, in control, in somewhere stunningly beautiful, driving an absolutely epic drive. I can’t quite believe I’m doing this. I look at Vicky briefly and smile as I wouldn’t be doing this without her.
Canns River was our next stop. Some much needed fuel for us and Billy. His was the unleaded variety, ours much more caffeine based. It was time to find somewhere to stay the night. We desperately needed a shower (it has been a fair while since either of us washed our hair) so we pulled into a motel car park. The ancient scrawny woman behind the counter evidently wasn’t aware of the smoking ban because her and the tiny office reeked of strong cigarettes with a nice undertone of stale smoke that has absorbed into all of the soft furnishings for many years. I quit smoking 3 and a half weeks ago so not only being aware of these smells, but being repulsed by them, is something completely new to me. Anyway, Smoky Lady didn’t quite get that we wanted to share a bed and tried to charge us $77 for a twin room. No thanks love, the room probably smells worse than we do.
We wandered to the pub nextdoor that has rooms above. Turns out they also run the most amazing campsite ever and it’s just down the road, nestled in amongst the trees of the Croajingalong Rainforest. And it’s only $20 a night – get in! Toilets, hot showers, power, laundry room, BBQ, kookaburras and frogs. What more do you want eh? This is seriously luxurious. Best of all? It’s warmer here as we are inland. So I bid you farewell as I head to get a warm shower, wash off the layers of grub that have been building up over days, and snuggle into bed with Vicky. Best get a good nights sleep, lots to explore tomorrow!
