Judy & Brian Tour Oz

We've gone a bit quiet, largely due to the weather being a bit inclement, but not entirely horrible. Yesterday Judy went off to housie at the bowlo but came back empty handed, not even a half-chicken to show for her efforts. I took myself back up to Nelson Beach where I was reward with an hour of bright sunshine. As soon as you step onto the beach the wind hits you in the face and you just want to turn around and get back to the car. Not I. I could see that from the angle of the wind that if I walked down to the southern end of the beach, I might just be sheltered from the wind by the headland. About halfway down, the wind ceased due to the headland and I spent a very pleasant hour laying in the sunshine on the finest white sand I have seen for some time, the type that squeaks as you walk on it. Ah, bliss! After lunch and a rest, we picked up the bats and had a game of table tennis. I thought I was finally going to win a game, leading by six, but no, Houdini escaped again winni...

We were due to leave here today, but as the weather is still not great anywhere from here to Port Douglas, we decided to extend ourselves for another week. Actually, it's a reflection of this place, its just so relaxed and easy to be in, neither of us could see any point in leaving to go somewhere else. We took some exercise by walking up to the shops: its a bit of a climb up 10,000 steps (That's how many Judy counted, and would she fib to me?) The steps go through some bushland and we enjoyed looking at the various wildflowers, and some not so wild - positively tame actually, and listening to the million or so Bell Birds and a few thousand whip birds. You can only listen to them, i'll be damned if i can see them. Actually we might have looked straight at one, but it was way up in a tree and no camera... This afternoon, we walked over to the beach to see what it was like at high tide. You see, it's not like an ordinary beach, well not at the moment at least, because...

By yesterday morning, any thoughts of bright sunny warm days had disappeared under a heavy blanket of grey. Rain and wind and cold. Fortunately, we had already decided to travel the 25km to Merimbula to go to the movies. Yes, it's true, I went to an actual cinema and sat through a talking type movie. The last movie we saw was abysmal, which should have been its title, but which was something about a Bucharest Hotel. This time Judy had decided that something called 100 foot journey would be the go. I was sceptical and prepared to have a nap for the couple of hours or so that it took. Much to my surprise, not only did i not have to resort to a coma-like state to endure the onslaught of visual inanity, but i found myself wide awake and enjoying the show immensely. Like all good movies, it has a most unlikely scenario, with an Indian family finding themselves in provincial France where they decide to open their Indian Cuisine restaurant right opposite a 1x Michelin star French choke ...

Yesterday. Thank heavens we were here yesterday as the weather was fabulous - bright sunny cloudless sky, gentle breeze, low 20's - Ah - lovely! But that was yesterday. Today wasn't anywhere near that, overcast and coolish, but not windy. Judy took herself off to the 'bowlo' for a game of housie, that reputedly would run 2 1/2 hours, but which included a lunch break. She hit the jackpot by winning the first house, and a small meat tray as a prize, and then nothing for the rest of the day. Oh, well, next time perhaps. Meanwhile I took myself off exploring. Just up the road is the Mimosa Rocks National Park, and a 2km dirt road takes you to the first beach: Nelson Beach. Imagine my surprise when the first thing I see stepping onto the beach is a beached Australian Fur Seal pup. There didn't appear to be any damage except for perhaps a dodgy eye. My guess was that he was totally exhausted from battling the big seas over the last week, and was obviously separated fr...

We've been holed up in Tathra for the last two days. Mostly because I've godda head cold and feel rotten, but partly because the weather is not brilliant. Yesterday we went next door and bought yet-another-fishing-rod as I'd cleverly left them all at home and now that we are at the coast Judy is desperate to go fishing. We tried her hand at the mouth of the Bega River, where she immediately pulled in a small Rock Cod, then snagged two rocks in quick succession before giving up. Then we drove up along the beaches and soon emerged at Bermagui, where we tried her hand again from the wharf, but only a token effort! I took cold&flus tabs and went to bed early and slept 12 hours. Today I was feeling slightly more human so we ventured all the way up to Bega. It never ceases to amaze me that Judy can drive the car into a foreign town, and drive straight to the big shops without a blink of an eye. It further amazes me that when you emerge from the underground carpark, you ...