Sydney to Canberra and Sapphire Coast

From Katoomba we decided to make a detour to Canberra, as I wanted to visit an elderly cousin of my mother's. On the way we drove past Lake George about 30 kms long by 20 kms wide. It was totally dried up. There were even road tracks marked across it, yet on the map it is marked as a water lake. First sighting that we had of the drought situation here, yet most place so far look quite green and fertile. We found Ted and June at home and spent a very pleasant afternoon with them catching up on all the family news and memories. I was so pleased that we were able to see them.

We then went to Lake Burley Griffin in the centre of Canberra from where you can see the National Library, the Carillion (whose bells were made in Loughborough) amongst other sights. It came over stormy so we headed for the camping park and settled down for the night. We were parked next to another Calypso Campervan with a friendly young Swiss couple.

Next morning we paid a visit to the Anzac War Memorial an impressive building with many monuments around it and a fine view down Anzac Parade to Parliament House. Canberra has obviously grown since we last visited but the heart at Burley Griffin Lake is still the same. We then took the road to Bateman's Bay back on the coast. Varied scenery – still quite green and very much cattle grazing country. As we dropped off the Blue mountains plateau, we travelled down through forest which was quite picturesque. We camped on the beachfront at Bateman's Bay and enjoyed a pleasant walk along the beach, good surf but very windy and a bit chilly! Met our Swiss friends again and shared a bottle of wine and conversation, as you do!

The following morning, we went to see the pelicans at the fishing jetty in Bateman's Bay then we followed the road along the coast, stopping at various coves/beaches for photo stops. We arrived early afternoon at Narooma and relaxed by the pool, before having a walk along this beach. Saw some bluebottle jellyfish on the beach. We had company for tea – some rosella birds who fancied our bean sprouts. They attached themselves to the awning guy ropes twittering away!

Sunday again and we find ourselves meandering along the pretty coastal route (not unlike South Wales UK) with folds of hills rolling down to beautiful beaches with pristine white sands and turquoise sea. We came across a little town called Tilba which was delightful. The buildings dated back to beginning of last century and all the stores were selling traditional craft wares, woodcarvings, clothing made from hemp or alpaca wool, a small cheese factory and teashop with home made fudge and an old fashioned sweet shop. We continued on to Bermagui, a fishing port and treated ourselves to a dozen oysters for lunch, sitting by the jetty. Our stop for the day was Tathra – another swim and another walk along the beach. While I was typing this blog, Peter was busy watching Manchester United playing Liga de Quito in the World Club Championship match. There's no getting away from football even at 12,000 miles away!

As I write this, now we have travelled on and we are in Mallacoota just inside the Victorian border. We are pitched right at the water's edge of the inlet with pelicans perched on the mooring posts in front of us. It is a beautiful spot and I hope to photograph the sunrise in the morning across the inlet.