We continued further south yesterday to Eden, as we get closer to crossing the border back into Victoria. On the the way we stopped off at Bega and was disappointed to fine the Cheese factory and museum was closed. Just another “COVID” cause I’m sure, I know we have to be careful but apparently there has not been any cases of COVID in this region. Everyone is walking around without masks, so its hard to understand why the museum was closed.

Eden has a very big harbour and wharf area. Probably more known for where the Sydney to Hobart Yacht racers that have troubles sailing down the south coast end up. We had a quick look around town yesterday and bought some local seafood from the Co-op. We will miss the fresh seafood we’ve been feeding on all the way down the coast since we arrived in Cooktown in August.

Today we headed back north to Pambula and Merimbula. Merimbula is one of the biggest tourist areas on the south coast and unfortunately today we had to endure gale force winds, so Merimbula did not really excite us. I’m sure in calmer and warmer conditions it would be a different place but we didn’t see anything that would bring us back. Pambula was a nice little village but funny how a lot of shops were closed on a Saturday afternoon after 12. With businesses trying to get back after COVID, why close when you have a town full of tourists, beats me! Tomorrow we’ll see a bit more of Eden before we head of Monday.

Yes, more of my CRAPP for those of you interested. I played Narooma Golf Course today, which is another course on my bucket list. Thankfully I was out early (7 am) before the wind picked up as it would have been a difficult course to play in the wind. Particularly the first 7 holes, which are very open and situated on the top of the headland.

The course is basically two courses in one as it maximises the land available. The first 7 holes and the last 2 are on the open part of the course, basically a links style, similar to King Island in some regards. The other 9 holes are on the lower ground close to the beach in a more parkland setting, along the same lines as Mollymook up the highway.

Interesting the last 5 courses I’ve played have been top notch and all of them have 7 day memberships at around $1000 per year. Certainly way less than what you have to pay in Melbourne for something equivalent. What has been disappointing on the south coast is the cost to play as a visitor. As I mentioned last week Mollymook was way too much and whilst Narooma was less, I still think its over the top especially when compared to Blackheath which is basically a Sydney course. Maybe its a south coast thing, with plenty of visitors and willing to pay the cost. Although if you were staying here for a few months I think you’d be best to invest in a short term membership if you wanted to play regularly.

So here is my ratings for Narooma.

Design – 18 out of 20 (The course does maximise the available space but the walk between the 16th green to the 17th tee is very long and steep. Obviously its a result of the 2nd nine being built long after the original 9 holes, other than that the design was very good).

Condition – 19 out of 20 ( the course overall was in great condition. Rain over the last few months as it in great nick. The greens were pure but the fastest I’ve experienced on any course on the trip. I’m sure you’d get used to them after playing them for awhile but very hard first time up)

Cost – 15 out of 20 (Per my comments above, I thought $60 was a bit high for 18 holes and this was mid week, not a weekend rate).

Visual Appeal – 19 out of 20 (No problems here, as the photos below show).

Facilities – 20 out of 20 (Top notch, nothing is missing and it would be a pleasure to be a member here).

Ambience – 9 out of 10 (Right from the time you park your car you feel comfortable. The local members I played with were very good to play with and made my time enjoyable).

So the overall score comes in at 89, which places Narooma, equal second tied with Toowoomba City Golf Club. I did feel like I was back on King Island at times and I’m sure had the wind been up in the morning it would have been similar. I managed a respectable 31 points but like Mollymook, I fell apart on the last 4 holes, mainly because I was buggered from walking and pushing my buggy. The time has come now for the next step in my golfing life with a proper electric buggy!

After I played golf in Narooma this morning (more on that in my CRAPP report later), we ventured out and about Bermagui this afternoon. It’s certainly a nice seaside town and I can understand why Victorians and Canberrans have such a strong representation in the town.

Unfortunately in our time here it hasn’t been beach weather but the town and ocean beaches look great and there’s the Blue Pool if you want a sea swim without the “sand”. Certainly a place we’d come back too, although I don’t think it would be a winter getaway from Melbourne as it would not be warm enough, need to go further north for that.

We drove down to Tathra today which is about 60 k’s south of Bermagui. Always wanted to visit this place after my youngest brother raved about it when he was much much younger. I can understand it being a very busy place during the holiday season. It has a great surf beach and is much smaller and therefore relatively quieter compared to the other south coast towns. I’m sure in a few weeks time the Caravan Park will be full and the hotel and motel units will all be taken. Hopefully it will be warmer then, it was only 22 today and a bit cool.

With us now into December we are into our final month of BBOT. Counting our Tasmania trip late last year, we have been on the road in the van since mid November last year, with a small interlude over Christmas and New Year at home in “The Cottage” @ Kallista. Whilst we plan to be home in 2 weeks, “Be Brave” will still be our home for sometime to come as we renovate our new place in Emerald.

Today we travelled from Burrill Lake to Bermagui, via Bateman’s Bay and Tilba. After the cool change Bateman’s Bay was a bit gloomy, although the sun came out later when we stopped in Tilba. We drove around Bateman’s Bay and I’m sure it has many attributes but not that we could immediately see (other than a pretty nice golf course). Whereas Tiba was a great little historic town, we had a quick lunch in the pub and a walk around the town. Bought some cheese from the Cheese Factory and generally enjoyed our visit to Tilba.

It’s rather funny but the whole south coast region is known for its dairy/cheese industry, Bodalla, Bega & Tilba to mention a few. The landscape is certainly dairy country with green sloping hills, very similar to west Gippsland in Victoria, but we haven’t seen one cow yet! Maybe as we head further south to Eden on Friday, they might surface.

After our 2 days of 40 degrees and gale force winds at Burrill Lake, its cooled down considerably, although the winds were quite strong last night and I had to batten down everything. I’m sure its nice living on the coast but the one constant we’ve had on the eastern side of Australia during the trip is strong winds. All the way down the coast from Cooktown in the Far North, we’ve encountered wind of various strengths. As we’ll be following the coast all the way home, I think the winds will stay with us.

Yes its more of my CRAPP, this time the course under inspection is the Mollymook Hillside course. I’ve always wanted to play this course since the early 80’s. The annual inter-service golf championships were played at Mollymook and I was never good enough to force my way into the RAAF team, so it was always going to be a private visit, unfortunately its taken nearly 40 years to come to fruition. It’s by far the hardest course I’ve had to play on my trip with a slope rating of 137, hence the couple of extra shots on my handicap today.

As I mentioned in my BBOT blog, the winds here have been horrendous and I did talk to the pro whether it was safe on the course when your playing in 100 kph winds. Standing on the 17th tee, we were held up because of the wind, all of a sudden a tree branch fell right next to me. If it had hit me on the head I would have been dead. Now I’m used too tree branches falling after 30 years in the Dandenongs but this was frightening (no wonder I 3 putted on the par 3). Low and behold just after I teed off on the 18th a branch did hit me on the head, thankfully it was a Sammy one and my hat softened it somewhat but I do have a sore head and a bump, 7 hours later. Golf courses should have a duty of care and I considered it was dangerous and let the pro shop know. Unfortunately all I got was a bit of lip service, which was very disappointing.

Forgetting about the King Island courses , where is is really no comparison, Mollymook Hilltop would have to be one of the most picturesque courses going around. I did not get to play Bonville which is also up there apparently, Australia’s version of Augusta. Blackheath last week was fantastic but Mollymook beats it. If I ever get back here I won’t walk it, its not called a hillside course for nothing. After the 15th hole, and the 3rd long uphill climb in a row, I was knackered. I’m sure I left a few points out there because of that. My playing partners were all in carts, should have followed the locals.

Despite the conditions, I didn’t play to badly with 33 points, hopefully a bit of form is coming back. So here is my rating of Mollymook.

Design – 19 out of 20 (the holes really flowed nicely and there was a minimal walk between holes, pity it was so “hilly”)

Condition – 18 out of 20 (certainly a well maintained course although the greens showed a far bit of wear. No doubt from the amount of players it sees, as there is a competition everyday)

Cost – 10 out of 20 (this is were Mollymook let’s itself down. Blackheath at $37 for 18 holes was great value but Mollymook at $87 for 18 holes I don’t think so. Mollymook is not worth $50 more than Blackheath if your using comparisons thats for sure)

Visual Appeal – 20 out of 20 (just look at the photos below to see why I gave this rating)

Facilities – 7 out of 10 (whilst everything was there, I just felt the course didn’t have the facilities to match the cost).

Ambience – 6 out of 10 (now I have to say this rating may have been influenced by the reception I got in the pro shop after my safety comments but Mollymook did remind me of Albany golf club. It did not have a welcoming feel about it, like Albany a bit elitist)

So after all that, Mollymook comes up with a score of 80. Rather disappointing I have to say, I was so looking forward to this course but that’s the way it goes. My next course is another that I always wanted to play, Narooma Golf Club, hopefully it lives up to expectations better than Mollymook and the weather is more kindly as well.

What an interesting day and a bit its been since we left Gerringong. The wind yesterday was very strong making the drive down here “interesting” to say the least. Burrill Lake is a few k’s south of Ulladulla , as Mollymook, is a few k’s north of Ulladulla.

The wind developed into gale force overnight with many people packing up and leaving early. The wind was horrendous during today (its only stopped just now at 5 pm), which made golf (more in my CRAPP report to follow) even more difficult. Plus the fact it was mid 30’s after yesterday’s 40, so it was basically sit in the van with aircon on and hold on!

We did mange to tour around Mollymook and Ulladulla, both small coastal areas although Mollymook’s golf club (the 9 hole course) is situated right on the beach and has a great view over Mollymook Beach and we had lunch there today. Susan was hoping to get to the Mollymook Markets today but due to the winds they packed up early too. We are here to Tuesday and the wether is supposed to cool down with less to no wind so hopefully we can get out and about tomorrow.

Spent the morning in Kiama today and then toured thru the Jamberoo Valley in the afternoon. Have to say that Kiama was a delightful town, I had visited it before back in the early 80’s and I honestly don’t remember much other than the blowhole. A lot of cafe and eateries, which seem to be the main fare of most costal towns nowadays. The walk thru the parks overlooking the water were great, I’m sure the locals appreciate this walking track as much as the tourists. It must be great to come down each day and walk along the coast, I know I’d love it.

From Kiama we followed the tourist drive to a small town called Jamberoo, in the Jamberoo Valley, where else would it be. Stopped off for a quick bite of lunch in the old pub and then travelled out to the Minnamurra Falls but unfortunately there was minimal water there, although it was a nice drive thru the mini rainforest of the National Park.

After the falls we travelled up to Saddleback Mountain lookout. It provided a spectacular view of Kiama and the coast as well as the Jamberoo Valley. A very steep drive down the mountain followed as we headed back into Gerringong. Tomorrow we head off to Burrell Lake which is just south of Ulladulla for 3 days. Getting very close to Victoria now, it will be rather weird hitting the border after nearly 11 months away.

Spent most of the day in Bowral, which is only 5 k’s south of Mittagong, also in Moss Vale which is another 10 k’s further on. Bowral is basically the home of Sir Donald Bradman and its where the Bradman Museum and International Crickey Museum is located, so of course I had to visit. Even Susan walked thru the museum (all be it very quickly).

Bowral is a beautiful town, as is most of the southern highland towns. After the museum and visiting the lookout, we had lunch and did some Christmas shopping, or should I say Susan did. I’m getting used to standing outside shops checking emails and news on my phone. In Ireland when we visited, I could sit and have a Guinness at the pub which was central in the town and watch Susan from shop to shop but its not that easy here in Oz. So the old mobile becomes my focus.

We travelled to Gerrigong from Mittagong yesterday, you could say we’re very decorated as we been gonged twice in the one day (for my overseas readers, receiving a medal or honour is known in Australia as receiving a “Gong”). Whilst it was only 100 k’s its was thru rainy weather and very steep declines, especially on the M1 coming thru Wollongong (there we go, another “Gong”). Being in control of nearly 7 tonnes on a steep decline on wet and slippery roads is no fun, I can assure you.

We’re staying at the Werri Beach Caravan Park in Gerrigong, which is about 30 k’s south of Wollongong. Some beautiful houses here and its a pretty popular surf beach, about 90 minutes drive south of Sydney, its a bit like NSW’s equivalent of the Mornington Peninsula, although its an ocean beach against the bay beaches on the MP. After nearly 3 weeks travelling inland, its good to be back to the coast and hearing the waves of a night time. We’ll be following the coast all the way down to the Victorian border which we should cross in just over a week.

Today we visited Berry, Kangaroo Valley, Nowra and Shoalhaven Heads. Susan has not been down this way before whereas I have, especially Kangaroo Valley which I visited regularly back in the early 80’s. Berry is a lovely small village, similar to Berrima, very tourist orientated but the landscape is very green and lush, with historic buildings and houses. Kangaroo Valley is similar but on a much smaller scale. The drive from Berry to Kangaroo valley is spectacular in its own right although the road is very small and rough, glad we did not bring the van this way.

After stopping for lunch in Kangaroo Valley we drove into Nowra for a quick drive around. It’s a big regional centre for the Shoalhaven region and also the location for the fleet air arm of the Royal Australian Navy at HMAS Albatross. There has been a consistent number of RAN helicopters flying around since we arrived yesterday.

Nowra is on the Shoalhaven River so on our drive back we took the coast road via Shoalhaven Heads, we’re we stopped off for afternoon tea. From there it was back to Berry for the weekly farmers market at the Showground. After our purchases there, it was back to the caravan park. It was a full day, covering a fair chunk of the Shoalhaven region.