WARNING: Once again, this is not a sailing related entry. This, and probably the next 2 – 3 blog entries, reflect our effort to capture our experiences while we explored Australia and New Zealand by land with some air travel assists. We are metaphorically putting our memories in a bottle to savior on some future date. If you are not interested in reading an amateur attempt to document travel experiences you may wish to skip the next few entries. No offense will be taken. You were warned!
Greetings from the South Island of New Zealand! We just arrived today following 2 fabulous weeks exploring the mainland of Australia, up the coast from Melbourne to Sydney. We plan to explore New Zealand for just shy of 5 weeks and will record our experiences in the copious detail you have come to expect from us. But now it is time to share our travels along the Australian mainland coast from Victoria to New South Wales starting with our visit to Melbourne, our first post-Tasmania stop.
We arrived in Melbourne mid-afternoon on March 24. This was another one of our 3 night/2 full day stays — this time at the Pullman by the Park. The Pullman is a lovely hotel located a short (~ 1 mile) walk from the start of Melbourne’s City Center and situated adjacent to Melbourne Park and Fitzroy Gardens. [One of us felt that the Pullman’s location was perfect — it gave us easy access (either by walking or tram) to all the major Melbourne attractions, neighborhoods and restaurants but in a very serene setting away from the hubbub — while the other felt it was too far removed from the action and frequently shared their opinion to that effect. Guess months living in small quarters on Che Figata wasn’t enough to meld us into one. Vive la difference! But we digress.] By the time we arrived at our hotel on March 24 and got a bite to eat it was a bit too late to do much sightseeing before dinner so we organized our own self guided tour, walking by the gardens, towards the Melbourne City Center and across the Yarra River with its vibrant bank dotted with restaurants and cafes. It gave us a good taste of what we would get to experience over the next few days and we went to bed excited for the half day bike tour we had planned for our first full day. It would be a great way to really get our bearings, visit many of Melbourne’s neighborhoods and learn about its history and culture.
We woke up early that next day to give us time to enjoy a hearty breakfast before we had to catch the city tram for the ~20 minute ride to the Melbourne Docklands neighborhood where we needed to meet our tour guide by 9:45. Though we got out of bed somewhat grudgingly and bleary eyed when our alarm went off at 7 AM we were quickly energized when we looked out the large picture windows that wrapped around our corner room and saw a “flotilla” of colorful hot air balloons hovering over the Melbourne skyline. Apparently, sunrise hot air balloon rides are one of the many tourist attractions available to visitors. We may have sailed across the Pacific Ocean but being carried in a wicker basket high above the tallest buildings by a balloon that has its air heated by a large propane flame (right over your head) is not our idea of fun. Thankfully, others don’t share our views. As we got ready to start our day, it was really lovely to watch these majestic balloons as they gracefully glided across sky in the golden early morning light creating a living postcard. (See the post capturing pics of our Australian mainland tour (part I) in our @sailingchefigata Instagram account for a great pic of this scene.)
After breakfast and the tram ride we arrived at the meeting place of our bike tour right on time. Though we definitely considered the bike tour a success, it got off to an inauspicious start and ended on a rather odd note. The inauspicious start was due to the late arrival of two of the riders, a mother and her 8 year old son. The 10 minute wait was not really a big deal but the 10 minutes turned to 30 minutes when they encountered an issue with their bike. They had rented a bike with a trailer added to the back which would allow mom to power her regular two wheel bike while her son, on the trailer attachment, sat in his bike seat with his own set of pedals. This would have been great if mom wasn’t so petite and incapable of balancing the bike that became somewhat unwieldy with the trailer cycle. No sooner had they both climbed onto their seats when the bike toppled down pinning mom under the bike’s mainframe. (Galant Zack cane to the rescue and lifted the bike off mom while she layed on the ground.) Fortunately, no one was hurt but it was very clear that this mom and son pair were not going to be able to ride on the bike with the trailer attachment together. Our ever resourceful tour guide, Craig, offered to ride the bike with the attachment (which also came with a kid) and off we went. After we finally pulled away we only got about 5 minutes from the starting point when one of the tour bikes malfunctioned and Craig had to take that bike back and get a new one while we waited.
Once all that was sorted out, things went well and we covered a lot of ground — about 12 miles in all over 4 hours as we rode all around the city which, thankfully, is mostly flat though it definitely had some steep inclines, particularly on the east side of the City Center. Our route included rides to and/or around many iconic Melbourne sites including the Eureka Tower, the Royal Botanical Gardens, the Shrine of Rememberance, The Exhibition Hall, Federation Square, Melbourne & Olympic Parks, and Lygon Street in Carlton (referred to by tourists, but not locals, as “Little Italy”) where we ate lunch in a delightful Italian pizzeria. As we stopped at various points of interest, Craig shared information about Melbourne history with a real sensitivity to the fact that people like him are living and enjoying Melbourne today because of actions taken generations ago that displaced the various tribes who lived on the land, largely in harmony, for thousand and thousand of years. (Incidentally, this sensitivity is a common theme throughout Australia. All of our tour guides and even the flight attendants on each of our flights acknowledged the “Traditional Owners” of the land and paid their respects to the “Elders, past and present.”)
By the time the tour ended we had largely forgotten about our shaky start. That is until only 6 of the original 8 participants returned to the tour office at the end of the ride. Somehow between lunch and the return trip to the office we lost two. Craig, leading the pack up front, was not aware that we were not all together until we alerted him. Once informed, he quickly took off on a bike to recreate our route in an effort to find them but without success. Presumably, given that they found the tour office on their own in the morning they would find it again on their own now that the tour concluded. We hung around a few minutes but they never re-appeared so we said our good-byes to those present and took off. By this time it was almost 3 PM and we had just enough time to visit the Royal Botanical Gardens. Bike riding is not permitted in the gardens so while we rode past the gardens during our bike tour and walked our bikes into one of the entrances, we hadn’t had the opportunity to explore the nearly 95 acres that make up the property. The Botanical Gardens is truly a special place with impeccably manicured lawns and rock gardens next to ponds and beautifully curated and dense forests with mature trees making the grounds feel like an arboretum. The added bonus during our visit to the gardens is that we happened upon a large flock of white cockatoos perched high on the branches of a nearby tree. (We checked the box for another key Australia wildlife sighting.) We can understand why the Botanical Gardens is a favorite spot of tourists and locals alike. Between our bike tour and botanical garden visit we had a really full and wonderful day.
Day two of our Melbourne stay began with a visit the Fitzroy neighborhood — an area not covered on our bike tour. This neighborhood is very artsy and a bit gritty with lot of cafes and fun shops. It reminded us of one of the neighborhoods (Prospect Heights) near our Brooklyn sublet. From there we walked back to Lygon Street (Little Italy) to spend more time in that neighborhood. We ended our day at one of the cafes by the river we had discovered during our brief self-guided tour the afternoon we arrived. We replenished our electrolytes while we watched small motor boats make their way up and down the river.
As you can see, daytime was for biking and walking and we had two 20,000+ step days. What we haven’t mentioned is that nighttime was for food and we had 3 amazing gastronomical experiences. The first night we ate at Tian38 which serves contemporary Singaporean Chinese cuisine. We were joined that evening by the daughter of sailing friends of ours from New York who is working in Melbourne for a year as part of a special program with her consulting firm. While the food was very good at Tian38 the real epicurian treat was our dinners at Cumulus, Inc. and The Farmer’s Daughters. At Cumulus we chose the chef tasting menu that included about 7-8 courses (we lost count) of small plates bursting with flavor in somewhat rapid fire. (Still, it was a 2 hour+ dinner.) Joining us for that meal was the daughter of a law school friend who works as an early childhood educator in Melbourne. The Farmer’s Daughters only serves a tasting menu which they call the Gippsland Getaway Menu. This is an authentic farm to table 5 course meal featuring fresh seasonal produce from the nearby Gippsland farm region, famous for its agriculture which includes livestock and dairy as well as fruit and vegetable farms. We were fortunate to be seated at the chef’s table for this meal. Naturally, to ensure that we had the complete Farmer’s Daughters experience, we elected to partake in the evening’s wine pairing. Both restaurants accommodated Jill’s vegan diet with delicious, innovative and thoughtful plant based dishes that stood on their own. Jill had no food envy as Zack ate his various courses. These restaurants, particularly the last two, were a splurge but with many “self-catered” meals in Tasmania we figured we were due for some indulgence. Besides, Melbourne is known as a foodie paradise and we couldn’t visit without taking advantage of the food scene. No regrets there! Fortuitously, for our waistlines, all of these restaurants were within walking distance of our hotel — between about 1/2 a mile to 1.5 miles away — giving us the opportunity to work off at least a portion of our dinners with our walk from and back to the hotel. The post dinner walk, which included a segment through a park, also allowed us to hear and observe the large fox bats that make the city gardens their home.
During our brief stay in Melbourne (population 5.3 million) we fell in love with the city. It is a clean (not even a gum wrapper on the streets), multicultural city filled with beautiful architecture (both old and new), functional bike paths, large gardens and people who are welcoming and inclusive. Melbourne is a true melting pot with residents from 200 countries and territories who speak over 233 languages and follow over 100 religions living together in incredible harmony. Only 59% of Melbourne’s residents were born in Australia and nearly half of Melbournians speak a language in addition to English at home. There is a common sense of pride that binds the community together. That was a consistent theme among the Melbournians we had a chance to chat with. Incidentally, it is this diversity that makes Melbourne a food lovers dream — the melting pot of cultures is reflected in Melbourne’s food offerings. We both agreed that our time in Melbourne was too short. We could have easily filled another few days exploring the city (we would have like to visit some of its museums and other neighborhoods) and we would have had no trouble finding great places to sample foods from the many cultures that contribute to the richness of the city.
As much as we would have liked to extend our stay in Melbourne, we had an itinerary so we left Melbourne for the Wilsons Promontory region on March 27. Wilsons Promontory, referred to simply as the “Prom” by locals, is located on the southern tip of the Australian east coast making it the southern most location on the Australian mainland. (All the islands visible off the coast are part of Tasmania.) The Prom is known for its large national park, granite coastline, vast beaches (with squeaky sand — more on that below) and wildlife. We stayed for 3 nights/2 days in the “Boutique Barn” — one of the self-contained offerings that are part of the Buln Buln cabins. We had a spacious living area on the lower level with a kitchenette and large table for dining along with a lofted bedroom. What made this accommodation unique for us was that it was situated in the middle of working farms — not entirely surprising given that Wilsons Promontory is located within the Gippsland farming region. We were surrounded by sheep and cows and our refrigerator was stocked with fresh eggs “compliments of the Buln Buln chickens.” (Zack enjoyed them atop Jill’s famous avocado toast.)
We started our first full day in the Prom with a 2.5 hours boat tour among the coastline. In addition to viewing the area from the water and seeing some amazing geological formations including Skull Rock (https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-ideas/adventure/skull-rock-the-australian-island-which-has-had-less-visitors-than-the-moon/news-story/a8fb297325733a73ae486df286dbbf76), we learned a lot about the geology of the area. For example, Tasmania and Australia’s mainland used to be connected which explains why so many of Australia’s unique species can also be found in Tasmania. We also enjoyed seeing white-bellied eagles, along with their 50 year old nest, and a large colony of Australian seals. Following our tour, we hiked up to Mount Oberon. This hike entailed a gradual, but steady, ascent up a dirt road that weaves around the mountain for 2.4 miles until you reach the summit. Once at the summit we had a 360 degree panoramic view of Wilsons Promontory including its beautiful bays with their turquoise water and the small islands scattered off the coast. Definitely worth the effort. As we often do, we rewarded ourselves with dinner out. That evening we choose a very casual local restaurant located in the Foster Exchange Hotel (everyone in the place knew each other) where we enjoyed “Thursday Curry Night”. For $50 USD (total — not per person) we each had a large bowl of curry, roti, rice, salad and a beer. Inexpensive and, to our surprise, very delicious!
For day 2 of our stay in the Prom area we choose two different hikes. The first hike was the 2.6 mile hike to Squeaky Beach and back. We were excited to visit this beach because, as you can probably tell by the name, the sand supposedly squeaks under your feet. We were so enchanted by the squeaky sand we encounter in the Bay of Fires region in Tassie that we wanted to recreate the experience in Australia’s mainland. Alas, the “squeaky” part was a disappointment. Not sure why but there was definitely no squeaking going on as we walked across the beach. In addition, the sand itself didn’t have the same fine powder like quality that the sand in Bay of Fires had. Though the squeaking was a bust, we did enjoy the hike. The hike offered sweeping coastal views as we climbed over the headland separating two bays before descending on Squeaky Beach. And Squeaky Beach itself was another magnificent deep sandy beach. For our second hike we choose the Lilly Pilly Circuit. Truth be told, one of the reasons we selected that hike was because we became enamored with the name — how could a Lilly Pilly loop trail be anything short of spectacular. (“With a name like Smuckers it has to be good.”) Of course, we also liked the description of the hike and we were very pleased with our choice. This hike was 3.6 mile loop trail that climbed across the southern face of Mt. Bishop through a forest before descending to a lush rainforest gully rich with ferns. While walking the loop there was an option to ascend Mt. Bishop along a side-track which, naturally, we did. That track ascended for ~ 1.6 miles to a rocky summit with commanding views of the Prom’s west coast and offshore islands. After this 24,000+ step day we treated ourselves to another dinner out at a local dining hall — this time in the Fish Creek Hotel. Like the previous night’s meal, our dinners were delicious and very affordable though it did cost us $20 AUD in raffle tickets (how could we refuse to support the Fish Creek Fire Rescue) and Zack did break the bank with his $27 USD miso glazed salmon fillet served with yummy soba noodles in a sesame dressing.
After 2 consecutive days of all day hiking we were tired (as well as sore) so it was early to bed. Besides, our next accommodation was located in Burrogate, a small rural town in the Bega Valley of New South Wales about 325 miles up the coast from the Prom. Check in time was between 2 – 4 PM so, with a 6+ hour drive ahead of us (you don’t drive even 1 mph over the speed limit in Australia!), we wanted to be up and on the road no later than 8 AM. It was our longest drive between locations but we made several stops along the way — first to enjoy the superb lattes we have discovered in Australia (who knew that Australia is know for their coffee beverages — more on that below) and second for a small bite of lunch. Still, when 3:30 PM rolled around and we finally reached our destination we practically jumped out of the car. What we didn’t know was that we were entering the Australian equivalent of Eden: the Currajong Retreat. The impeccably landscaped Currajong Retreat is co-located with a working Angora goat farm, Currajong Commons, next to the Towamba river. Guests stay in one of only three luxury safari tents that provide a queen-size bed, an ensuite bathroom with a waterfall shower, a kitchenette, a lounge and dining area complete with a wood burning stove and a very large private verandah with lounge chairs, a bistro table and chairs and an outdoor bath which, of course, overlooks the river which is just a stone’s throw away. Breakfast and dinner is delivered to your tent and, if requested, you also receive your choice of pre-dinner cocktails, oysters and cheese. The cocktails are delivered with a long board that has two notches to hold stemware so that you can enjoy your drinks in the outdoor tub. Was our Travel Essence (our travel agent) under the impression we were honeymooners? It certainly felt like it though we are not complaining!
Currajong Retreat is another location where we could have easily curled up with a book and not left our “room” for 3 days. But, drats (!!!), there was too much to see and do. Currajong Retreat is located close to the South East Forest National Park, a treasure trove of nature particularly known for its temperate rain forests. We ventured into the forest on our first full day to walk one of the rain forest trails. While we enjoyed the lush hike through a dense fern gully underneath a tall canopy and across a few creeks what was most memorable was the bird sounds. It was another one of those melodious cacophonies of different whistles, clicks, chortles and screeches that literally stop us in our tracks. We stood for a long time in silence just smiling as we absorbed the various calls before continuing on the path.
We had planned to spend 2 full days hiking in the forest but we became enamored (or maybe obsessed would be a better word) with the goat farm operation. One of the courtesies offered to guests at Currajong Retreat is an educational tour of the farm. Ordinarily it’s a brief experience so we figured why not take advantage of the opportunity to learn a thing or two about something we know nothing about before venturing off to the forest. Grant, one of the farm’s owners, led the tour. Before we got started though he walked us through what is special about mohair (that’s the wool produced by the Angora goats), the qualities you look for in the highest grade wool and how it goes from goat to market. We then followed Grant as he led us through the sheering shed and the paddocks explaining what goats were in which paddocks and, importantly, educating us on their adoption of regenerative farming practices using the Holistic Management principles of the Savory Institute. Apparently, they were among the first Angora goat farmers to do so. [Briefly — and I am sure we won’t do this concept justice — regenerative farming is a grazing management method based on planned rotational grazing that seeks to mimic nature. The idea is to continually improve soil naturally by taking advantage of, rather than working against, natural processes. There is little (if any) reliance on chemicals such as synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. Instead, through the right pasture rotation, regenerative farmers preserve the biological structures that soil microbes (such as bacteria and fungi) build underground that produce nutrient rich diverse grazing lands. With fewer toxic chemicals and nutrient rich pastures these farmers can produce healthier animals and, in turn, higher quality mohair.] Unfortunately for Grant we were so mesmerized with the complexity of goat farming that our 1 hour tour turned into a half day affair. Of course, lingering in the paddock with, and hand feeding, the beyond adorable baby goats definitely contributed to the length of our tour. We could write volumes about what we learned during our time with Grant — from the intense record keeping and planning that is required to keep track of the many moving parts to how they maintain a healthy herd and grazing land — but, fortunately for you, we won’t.
At the end of our time with Grant he mentioned what was on tap for the next day: it was mating season and he and Jenny, the other half of the farm operation, needed to move the female breeders from their paddock to the shed where they could assess and sort the potential breeders based on health status, their coat quality and, if applicable, the quality of the kids they had produced in the past. Once sorted and separated they needed to lead the ones not selected for breeding back to another paddock. Sensing our interest, Grant asked if we wanted to help. We readily volunteered and agreed to meet Grant and Jenny at 9 AM the next morning. We were so glad we raised our hands. Aside from getting to know Grant and Jenny during the process (a treat in and of itself — they are so lovely), it was fascinating to watch as Jenny lead the flock out of the paddock and up over a tall hill to the shed with her “come on” call. Grant was in the rear riding an all terrain 4 wheel cart and our job was to keep the goats moving forward and in line with a clap of our hands and “shshshshsh” sounds if they veered to the side or stopped for a nibble. Once in the shed, Jill’s job was to open and close the gate to the area where the selected breeders would be kept while Zack controlled the gate to the area that would house those going back to the paddock. We were exhausted when the process was complete at 1 pm. Overall, we think we were more help than hindrance though a few strong goats did take advantage of Jill’s small frame and, despite her morning ritual of pushups and planks, managed to push open the gate and place themselves in with the breeders before they had been officially sorted. Ooops! Guess they didn’t want to miss out!
When we weren’t exploring the rain forest, learning about goat farming or helping with farm chores, we enjoyed exploring the property (which included several walks across the bucolic pastures down to the river) and relaxing on our verandah with a glass of wine and a good book before dinner and cocktails were delivered to our tent door. Following dinner we retreated to the couch in front of the Franklin stove, sipped our Paper Plane cocktails and listened to the pitter patter of the resident possum running back and forth across the top of our tent and to the distinctive monkey-like call of kookaburras. What a civilized way to be enveloped by nature. It all felt very decadent.
After 3 nights in paradise it was time to move on the Mystery Bay, just a few short hours up the coast. Mystery Bay is located on the South Coast in New South Wales. Another area where there is a convergence of rugged coastline, pristine sandy beaches that are long and wide, beautiful farmland and green forests with tall trees and a lush fern-filled understory. In this area we were booked at Mystery Bay Cottages, a 32 acre property bordering the Eurobodalla National Park. Our cottage had 2 bedrooms, a large open living area with a vaulted ceiling and exposed rafters, a wood burning Franklin stove and small kitchen alcove. Sliding glass doors off both the master bedroom and the main living area opened up to a long porch overlooking an expansive lawn with the forest off in the distance. As lovely as it was, it underscored to us how spoiled we had become. Under the “Thumper” doctrine we subscribe to (if you can’t say anything nice don’t say anything at all) we will simply say that there were areas within the cottage that needed attention and we missed the personal touch we had become accustomed to with our previous hosts providing tips and recommendations to help us enjoy the area to the fullest.
That said, we were thrilled to see that the cottage came equipped with a washing machine. When you are living out of duffles for 9 weeks you learn to take advantage of those whenever you can. So, our first order of business upon arrival, was to do a load of laundry and hang our clothes out to dry on the clothes line. By the time we finished with the laundry the dinner bell was figuratively ringing so we treated ourselves to dinner at the “Drom” — a local pub in the Dromebary Hotel. We had a great time chatting with locals, particularly our server Venessa who had spent her last year of high school in Tacoma, WA on a basketball scholarship. While we choose to eat at local pubs primarily to meet people from the area we are generally delighted by the quality of the food served as well as the availability of vegan options even in the smallest and most remote villages. The Drom was no exception. Zack thought his fish and chips was some of the best he ever had and Jill loved her miso and maple glazed eggplant covered with arugula, cherry tomatoes and figs. Yum!!!
Unlike all of our other stays to date, we were booked in Mystery Bay for just 2 nights/1 full day. With limited time to self-explore our travel agent, Travel Essence, very wisely set us up with Steve at VIP Private Tours to maximize our short stay. Over the course of 7 hours with Steve we visited the historic and incredibly quaint town of Central Tilba (where we savored lattes at the Lolly Shop), enjoyed 2 hikes (one across a beach and through a forest connecting us to another bay with stunning views along the way and the second through a rainforest) and saw iconic natural landmarks including Horse Head Rock which really does look like a horse’s head bowing to take a drink. (We posted a picture of this rock formation on our @sailingchefigata Instagram account in a post capturing Part I of our mainland Australia tour). We really enjoyed the entire day but we were particularly tickled to walk across the fine powdery squeaky sand at Glass House Rocks Beach after being let down by the decidedly not squeaky sand at Squeaky Beach. There’s just something irresistible about hearing that squeak with each step — sort of like popping the bubbles in bubble wrap. You just can’t stop. Steve was very knowledgeable about the area’s history as well as local plants and birds so we packed a lot of sights and information into a single day. After saying our goodbyes to Steve, we capped the day with our own walk down to Mystery Bay. Mystery Bay got its name from an unsolved mystery that occurred in 1880 when a boat was found on the rocks in what was then known as Mutton Fish Point but the 5 men who had been on that boat disappeared without a trace. The bay includes a lovely beach with soft light tan sand and some unique and truly stunning rock formations, both at the end of the bay and along the beach. (We also posted pics of these in the Instagram post referenced above.). In the end we felt ready to move onto our next location, Paperbark Camp in Jervis Bay.
Located in the Jervis Bay area and situated within a dense forest of eucalyptus and paperbark trees, Paperbark Camp was another “luxury” safari camp experience though a notch or two lower than Currajong Retreat. (More on that below.) In fairness and to be clear, the Paperbark Camp was truly lovely. We had the most comfortable queen sized bed with oversized feather pillows we have experienced to date and the mosquito netting around the bed was both functional and romantic. There were also 2 small day lounges (one for each of us) near the front entrance of our tent, perfect for curling up with a book and a bourbon after returning from the evening meal. Our package at Paperbark Camp included breakfast, afternoon tea and dinner. Meals were served in the Gunyah (which is Aboriginal for meeting place), located in the heart of the camp. The Gunyah was a cozy structure filled with warm earth tones and built high up on stilts. With its elevation we felt like we were dining in a treehouse. Before diner we enjoyed cocktails or wine on the overstuffed couches in front of the gas fireplace. Between the beautifully prepared meals (both vegan and non-vegan), the warm welcoming staff and the relaxed and intimate ambiance we felt more like cherished family friends of gracious gourmet hosts than paying guests.
This all sounds very decadent, and it was, until you entered the bathroom area of the tent. The bathroom was located outside, off the back of the safari tent. Though outside, the bathroom area was covered with a v-shaped canvas tarp that covered the tent as well as the platform that extended out the back to create the bathroom. Being an extension off the tent and limited by the length of the tarp, the bathroom area was only about 11 feet wide and maybe 6 feet deep. The challenge is that the camp owners decided to include a full size soaker tub in the bathroom area between the toilet and shower. Lovely to look at but it took up a lot of the room leaving a very small space for the shower. With the shower head and faucet handles located at the far end of the narrow stall there was no way to turn on the shower without getting wet. And, being largely exposed to the elements — save for some siding and the tarp — the bathroom became quite wet and slippery when a storm cell passed through during our visit. We enjoyed a very soggy roll of toilet paper and there was definitely no walking out into the bathroom with socks on (unless you like wet socks). Great in concept — described online as “Private open-air ensuite bathroom with free standing bath and separate shower” — but not in execution. Of course, had we splurged on the King Deluxe Safari tent we would have experienced an “indoor ensuite with double vanity and sunken bath” with a “separate outdoor bush shower.” Shame on us. Next time we will read the fine print! (It actually reminded us of that scene from Last Holiday starring Queen Latifah where she complains about how close together the seats were in the economy cabin where she was booked and the flight attendant informs her that had she booked in first class she would have had plenty of room. It’s a very funny scene and one of many that make that movie worth seeing. But again, we digress.)
We had two full days in the Jervis Bay Area. Unfortunately, our visit coincided with an unfavorable turn in the weather. The forecast called for 2 days of strong winds and heavy rain with local flooding. The good folks at Paperbark Camp even had us park our car on a higher elevation about a 1/2 mile up the road from the camp due to the flooding they’ve experienced in the past with similar weather conditions. We were very fortunate that, up until then, we really had phenomenal weather. Mostly dry and somewhat cool (high 60s/low 70s), perfect for hiking. We were definitely overdue for some inclement weather. But our luck held out for our first day. Though a boat tour we had scheduled got canceled due to the heavy winds and resulting high seas, the rain held off for most of the day. That gave us the opportunity to enjoy a long hike on a loop trail in Booderee National Park that started at Murray’s Beach and took us along a path that ascended next to a commanding sheer face cliff and then back around through the dense bushland. Within the forest the trees on both sides of the trail grew inward towards each other, creating a wonderful tree tunnel. In addition to spectacular and diverse scenery we had some great wildlife spottings including a large black possum that literally leaped across the trail in front of us, a lovely kangaroo that stopped and posed and the majestic white bellied sea eagles. (Glad we remembered our binoculars!). We later learned that this track is also known as ‘Munyunga waraga dhugan’ which means ‘white-bellied sea eagle’s home camp’ in the Dhurga language. Very appropriate.
After our hike we hoped to visit the botanical gardens but what started as a light sprinkle at the end of our hike progressed to a full on downpour by the time we reached the entrance. Time to return to the comfort of Paperbark Camp and the warmth of the Gunyah. While the rain mostly held off our first day, unfortunately, it came on with a vengeance during our second day. This was not all bad. The great weather we had meant that we had a growing to do list related to tasks we needed to accomplish in advance of our sail to Indonesia. That included coordinating with the vendors performing Che Figata repairs and maintenance in our absence and, importantly, organizing our spare part acquisition strategy to ensure we were covered while we sailed through remote areas where neither marine labor nor spares would not be readily available. Self-reliance and redundancy would be key! We needed to map out our needs vs wants and understand which spares we had to acquire ourselves either at a chandlery or online and which ones we needed to get from vendors. We also had to make decisions about whether to proactively replace functioning but older mechanical equipment — like our auto pilot system (that steers the boat for us to set points) or our electric windlass that pulls up our anchor — with new systems and use the removed equipment as our spares. We already have a spare autopilot but not a spare windlass so whatever strategy we adopted could entail buying a spare and also engaging a vendor to do the swap. All of this took us the better part of the day. On a positive note, by the time we completed our work at around 3 PM the rain had stopped and the sun had started to peer out through the clouds. That gave us just enough time to visit nearby Hyams beach which is reputed to have the whitest sand in the world. We are not so sure that is really the case (the sand in the Tuomatus, Fiji and Tasmania was pretty darn white) but it was definitely up there. A visit to the beach was a lovely post chores/pre-dinner activity.
After 3 wonderful nights at Paperbark Camp it was time to move onto our final destination in Australia before flying out to New Zealand. Our next stop was the Rustic Spirit Bed & Breakfast located in the Blue Mountains. We stayed in the Flint Cabin which was considered one of the tree house units because the cottage was built into the side of a hill so that the entry was ground level but the rear of the house, which included a veranda, was perched on a boulder high above a tree filled gully with a nearby stream and waterfall. The cottage itself was simple and rustic (hence the name?) but it had character and the location could not be more idyllic. The added bonus — the cottage was equipped with a yoga mat giving Jill a reprieve from doing planks on hard wood floors. (Ouch!) We loved it.
We only had one full day in the area so we chose to do things that would give us a good sampling of what made the Blue Mountains special. After a really helpful discussion with our host, Adrian Emery (author of The Art of Nourishment and The Art of Personal Sovereignty — interesting and delightful guy), we decided on 2 separate short hikes, a drive through the heritage garden village on Wilson’s Mountain and a visit to the Botanical Gardens. The hikes were incredible. Though we only hiked about 2.5 miles between the two — Mount Banks track and the Rigby Hill track — both took us up to summits that gave us glorious panoramic views of the surrounding mountains with their vibrant red and amber rocky cliffs that jumped out against the green and blue (yes, blue) hews of the mountaintop forest across the valley. (The feature photo for this blog post is Zack basking in the glory of these magnificent mountain cliffs.) Fun fact: The Blue Mountains get their name from the blue haze that emanates from the eucalyptus tree forests. We can attest that this is not hyperbole! While the views across the plateaus and gorges between the mountains were stunning we also enjoyed seeing the rock formations we came across during our hike. Some were fascinating sculpture like outcrops while others were large smooth surfaces that almost created a natural skateboard park complete with curved curbs.
We also enjoyed our brief drive through the heritage garden village on Wilson’s mountain as well as our stroll through the botanical gardens. The village consisted of a small schoolhouse, church and stately manor home built in the early 1900s by European settlers. The manor homes were built on very large plots (10 to 30+ acres) of land that have been transformed to enchanting, highly curated private gardens. We are not sure why but most of these private gardens were open to the public for tours. We marveled at this ambitious undertaking, building a community high in the mountains without the benefit of today’s excavation equipment. If we had more time in the area we would have come back to spend a day exploring some of these gardens to learn about the families that first settled there. A brief visit to the botanical gardens added the final flourish to our day. While the property had so many beautiful features we particularly enjoyed the rock garden, the bog filled with carnivorous plants — some (like the Venus flytrap) looking very ominous and others (like the pitcher plant resembling a lily in bloom) looking deceptively innocent — and the colorful birds nibbling on chestnuts including the king parrot and lorikeets.
And that ended our successful tour through mainland Australia. We were flying out of Sydney the next day for our visit to New Zealand. We drove to Sydney that evening to stay in an airport hotel and minimize the angst that would have been associated with a really early morning 2+ hour drive to catch our 10:20 AM flight. (In this case the angst was augmented by the low bridge that was out due to flooding caused by the torrential rains we experienced while at a Paperbark Camp. This bridge was part of the main route from the Blue Mountains to Sydney and meant that we would need to take one of several alternate routes crowded by others doing the same.)
As mentioned at the outset, we are now in New Zealand and cannot wait to explore both the South and North islands. All of that will be covered in future blog entries but, before we go, we want to share some final fun Australian facts (not in any particular order) that you don’t necessarily read in the guidebooks.
Australians love their white cars: Australians love white cars. In fact, depending on where you are, between 30-50% of the cars could be some shade of white. We were struck by the surfeit of white cars so we Googled “why are so many cars in Australia white.” It turns out that it was not just our imagination. It is a thing. With most roads outside the major cities narrow and very dark at night Australians like the visibility of white cars. This preference for white cars increases their resale value over other colors, further driving demand.
Australians love their coffee: When we thought of Australia we always thought of tea but it turns out that Australia is the land of premium coffee beverages made, upon request, with any type of milk substitute you might want. Australians love their coffee and they have perfected the coffee beverage. We enjoyed the best lattes ever throughout our tour. But beware: If you want a cup of coffee you must be specific. Do you want a long black, a short black, a long white, a latte or a cappuccino?
Australians follow the rules: Unlike the states where many rules seem to be a suggestion, Australians take their rules very seriously. Generally, this results in incredible civility (no one crowds around the baggage carousel at the airport) but don’t plead for dispensation if you arrive at a cafe 1 minute after closure. Breaking the rules also comes with heavy consequences, especially on the road. There are speed cameras everywhere and driving even 1 kilometer over the speed limit results in fines. Signs everywhere remind you of this warning that traffic rules apply “everywhere, every time to everyone.”
And finally, Australia is the land of abbreviations: It seems like almost every word with more than 1 syllable is abbreviated. Trucks are “utes” (for utility vehicles), mosquitos are “mossies,” sunglasses are “sunnies,” Brisbane is “Brissie,” Tasmania is “Tassie,” and toilets (like a public bathroom) is the “dunny” (not sure of the origin of that one).
Cheers!
