Leaving the Blue Mountains, it wasn’t a long drive as we stopped at the V8 Supercar Capital of Oz, Bathurst.  Unhitching the van, Grant had great delight in doing a “hot lap” in the Paj (if you can call it that!)  As the track is a public road, unfortunately regular speed limits apply   The question is, did we stick to the limit???  So around we go the track, not once but twice!

We spent some time at the National Motor Racing Museum which showcases both racing cars and motorbikes, including a section dedicated to Peter Brock which was a good tribute.  On our way to Goulburn, we stopped at Cowra to learn more about the WWII POW camp there.  Visiting the site (as all buildings were dismantled in the late 1940’s), it was a sad reminder of Australia’s history, but full of information and well worth the stop.  A special mention here has to go to the Cowra Tourism Centre as it has a great 9 minute hologram movie which explains the Cowra Breakout in detail and is definitely worth a look.

Have we mentioned how cold the weather seems to be getting as we move further south? Arriving in Goulburn late in the day in shorts and T shirt, it was a miserable 12 degrees and raining.   As the area is “sheep country”, we took a short visit to the Big Merino which showcases a lot of wool products and funnily enough products made from NZ possum “wool”???  Think they’ve got a bit confused somehow…

Ok, back on the road again, we zig zag back to the coast and yep, you guessed it, that meant back over the Great Dividing Range.  Staying just out of Bateman’s Bay at Broulee, we set up camp for a few days, but the weather wasn’t exactly suitable for the beach.  What’s happening to Spring?  It’s quite a pretty coastline and yes, we were lucky enough to see more whales doing their thing which was a highlight of our stay.

Leaving Broulee, we went to the “cheese capital of Australia”, Bega.  The scenery around here is to die for and would be heaven for the milking cows!  Doing some obligatory cheese tasting, we stayed just out of Bega for a few days at Tathra, and made it our base for heading up to the Snowy Mountains.  The temperature was quick to drop as we arrived at Cooma, and dropping further at Jindabyne.  By the time we arrived at Thredbo in the Mt Kosciusko National Park, the maximum was a low 6º, the mountains still had snow, and it was raining a plenty!

Back at Broulee and wanting to keep to the coast, we travelled a little further south to Eden, where we were able to spot many whales from the shore which was another treat.  Finding it to be another pretty area with a lot of whaling history, we stopped for a short while, but still, the weather was not warm enough for spending much time at the beach.  Ho Hum.

Leaving Eden meant that our NSW leg of journey was ending as we were now going to cross the border into Victoria and continue around the coast to Lakes Entrance.  These last few months have gone so quickly, and it now feels like before too long we will be home.  Very sad.  Wouldn’t it be nice just to swing by home, catch up with family/friends, restock, and take off to do it all again??? (sorry Mum).  Having said that, there’s still heaps for us to do in Vic first, so I better perk up as our next post will see us visit some more wine districts, gold regions, and the magnificent high country.  Bye for now.

Stay safe,
Grant & Linda.

Kms Travelled Total  36,090