Walkin' and Eden

The weather was not likely to improve dramatically temperature wise so we forged ahead! The rain thankfully was only intermittent, although the cold wind was somewhat unrelenting...

The group walked the Merimbula boardwalk to get our step counts up and then headed down to Eden. We learnt about the town's whaling history before going to Aslings Beach Rockpool. It was enough of a mini adventure to keep the children happy, clambering up rocks and playing chicken with the rough waves...Lunch was a simple affair at Fry Daze. Unfortunately the coffee man from our last trip had moved on. And just in case you were interested, Oma reported that the toilets at the Eden Visitor Centre was super clean! Upon speaking to the staff, we decided to abandon our plan to go to the Ben Boyd Tower. We headed home for coffee, wine, cheese and chocolate instead! 

The adults dined at Valentina's. The food was excellent and it was nice to have some children free time. Tomorrow will be our last day with the Ongs so let's hope the weather co-operates!

Blue skies!

Merimbula Boardwalk

Selfie time!

Tiny crabs everywhere

Dramatic coastline at Eden

Aslings Beach Rockpool

The rockpool in the distance

Fish and chips in the cold! It is supposed to be summer in Australia!!!

Dinner at Valentina's

Pambula oysters

Kingfish sashimi

Scallops

And...the skies have cleared again! Sheesh!

Merimbula Not Via Mogo

Today we discovered that Google Maps was smart enough to know when roads were closed, in our case, due to flooding. We had planned our route from Shoalhaven Heads to Merimbula, and braved the cold, wind and rain to get to the Oyster Shack at Bateman's Bay. The lady at the counter kindly informed us that the Princes Hwy further south at Mogo was flooded, and was only recently reopened to 4WD. The oysters were promptly abandoned as we reconvened at the nearby McDonald's to formulate a new plan that would see the Mazda 3 making the journey south. To our delight, Google Maps had red dashes marking roads which were closed. Trusting Google, we started our drive, hugging the coast briefly before detouring inland and re-joining the Princes Hwy at Moruya. It was a close call at Moruya with the road being closed just as we got through and crossed the river. 

We made two short stops at Bodalla and Tilba. These stops should be avoided at all costs by the lactose intolerant. For a family who lives on lite milk, full cream, non homogenized milk was heavenly. Both were essentially devoid of tourists on account of the weather. We continued on to Merimbula and arrived uneventfully. Oma delighted in trying to take photos of flooded creeks and rivers along the way. We were relieved that our lakeside rental was NOT flooded! It was otherwise as advertised although one bathroom was a bit dodgy. It was well situated near the shops and was comfortable and spacious. 

Our first planned stop

The Clyde River nearly bursting

Bodalla, ice cream and milkshake anyone?!

Very enjoyable lemon myrtle and christmas pudding ice-cream

Amazing milk says the children

The very picturesque Tilba

Interesting find...

Our rental

The view from our backyard

Merimbula & Tathra

The sun was out today. We declared it too hot to take on the Merimbula boardwalk and opted for iced coffees and muffins whilst the kids showed us their paddle boarding skills. Being kids they made it look simple although we would've liked to have seen a little more paddling and a little less playing in the water given that we were paying by the hour! We drove back to Pambula to find some waves and picked up some seafood from Wheelers. We took our meal to a park bench in the shade by the beach (try finding those when you want them in Sydney) and tucked in with our fingers. The fish was good as expected (almost as good as Eden), but the sweet potato chips were amazing!

Full of energy we jumped in the water. After much trying, Malcolm and Lara concluded that the two of them were not capable of catching a wave together on one boogie board. Stupid tourists!

Merimbula Lake

Mitchies Beach

Stand up paddle boarding

They make it look easy

Rounding the corner to Merimbula Beach

Lunch by the beach back at Pambula

Fish and chips from Wheelers

It is oyster country so why not?!

Pambula Beach

We ducked home for a quick shower and power nap (or board game for the keen beans) before heading out to Tathra - home of Tathra Oysters. Apparently Neil Perry buys his Sydney rock oysters from Tathra because they are the best! Given that oysters are one of Jonah's favourite foods (along with beef jerky) we thought we'd better go to the supplier. I had imagined a shop, warehouse or waterfront outlet of sorts, but Tathra Oyster Suppliers was actually run from some guy's garage. It was all set up with sanitiser, q-codes and run very professionally, but it was just one guys with his oysters - but oh what oysters! They were creamy, fresh and were indeed the best natural oysters that we have tried. He supplies all the local restaurants including the Tathra Hotel which would be our destination for dinner.

En route we stumbled across Chamberlain Lookout. It wasn't on our must do list but probably should've been. The view of Kianinny Bay was simply stunning. Snorkelling here must be amazing - as long as you don't get in the way of the spear fishermen. A lot of money was pumped into the creation of cycling tracks in Tathra to help create jobs and generate tourism. A Tathra snorkelling and cycling trip might be a future adventure!

Tathra hotel is famous for its location, its oysters and its beer. It is a restaurant that serves gastro-pub style food in a casual, but comfortable environment. We couldn't help buying another dozen oysters and Malcolm tried a beer flight. The oysters, beer and desserts were excellent. The mains were decent and of a generous size without being great. This hotel was deep cleaned and closed for a bit earlier in the year when some Victorians contaminated it, but business has clearly bounced back and bookings were needed for dinner.

This is how you socially distance in rural Australia. At the oyster wholesaler

Kianinny Bay from Chamberlain's lookout

How clear is that water!

The historic Tathra hotel

Quite funky inside

Oysters round 3...