rivers and rain

Of course, it would rain my last night out. And not just rain, but torrential downpour! But, first things first: I had a lovely morning waking up to sun over the beach. I drove out of the park to kangaroos hopping along the road.

I found my little Lamont cafe for some a.m. coffee in Bermagui. The Italian owners whipped up a tasty mocha and unbelievable banana bread! I spent awhile there reading on a velvet couch.

Continuing north, I shortly arrived at Camel Rock. I finally donned my swimsuit and grabbed my book and sunscreen for an hour in the sand. I found myself much more entertained to climb on and walk though the rocks on this beach, though!

Having sufficiently sunned myself on this section of the sea, I found myself skipping over more rocks and collecting a few shells at Tuross Head. This part of the Australian coastline is filled with rivers and lakes that meet the Tasman Sea. It makes for a beautiful landscape of green hills, blue lakes, yellow beaches, and aqua sea.

After this stop, and a quick bite to eat, watching a storm blow in over the water, it began to rain, and rain, and rain. I took a break at Batemans Bay to catch up on plans and revise them a bit. I took a wasted trip to Pebbly Beach were, apparently, kangaroos make their home. Arriving at the park in a downpour with high winds didn't seem to be the best way to spend my day. Learning my lesson there I decided to skip my excursion out to the Murramarang Aboriginal Area for a hike and I also drove right past Dolphins Point.

By this time I was looking forward to finding sleep anywhere I could. In Kiama, I found little to lodge at, but I did inspect the Blow Hole there. With high winds, pelting rain, and a receding tide, I should have stayed int eh car for the unimpressive show the Blow Hole gave me. The picture, though blurry, represents about what I saw of the hole in the miserable weather in Kiama.

Arriving at Wollongong, I hoped to move into one of two backpackers for the night. I only came away with a shower at a very clean, impressive YHA Backpackers. So, I left the town in search of an overlook which was socked in with fog, and somehow returned to Wollongong only to realize I'd done a 40 kilometer loop in the rainstorm. Now I really wanted to find a place to sleep. Reaching the Stanwell Park exit, I parked and slept in the car.