Merimbula

Christmas brought another Preston family adventure. While last year, we circumnavigated Tasmania, 2007 saw us on the South Coast of New South Wales setting up camp at the Merimbula Beach Holiday Park. Merimbula is well known as a coastal playground for Victorians who sneak across the border into NSW in search of warmth (although given the water temperature was downright frigid, I think some might have been disappointed).

While our previous adventures in Australian caravan parks were quiet affairs, where we encountered mostly foreign tourists, the caravan park in Merimbula was solidly populated with Australians. We had the place largely to ourselves up until Boxing Day, at which point the hordes arrived - a seemingly endless stream of Aussies on holidays, complete with caravans, tent cities, and all the comforts of home (refrigerators, television sets, DVDs, etc.). It wasn't exactly a tranquil experience, but we had a choice spot on the cliffs overlooking the beach.

We checked out the surrounding beaches (Tula, Pambula, Tathra) as well as the inland cheese-making community of Bega (which I'd previously visited on the job), but ended up spending quite a bit of time at Bar Beach. This small spot was sheltered from the northern winds, and clearly quite a gathering spot for Merimbula's locals. We dropped in on Mandeni "resort" on a couple of occasions for little golf action. Despite being a bit tourist oriented, it was actually a nice place to place a round in peace and quiet at low cost. On our last day, we ventured into Bournda National Park for a little bushwalking, where we encountered heaps of wildlife (Jacky Lizards, Lace Monitors) including a rather exciting run-in with a red-bellied black snake ( better than stumbling upon a common death adder I suppose).

On the return trip, we dropped in briefly on Eden, to the south of Merimbula, and topped things off with some fish and chips at Lakes Entrance, Victoria.


Photos here