Batemans Bay and surrounds

One week after we arrived in Batemans Bay (BB) we bought a second hand 18 speed bicycle (the front tire is completely bald but it’s good enough for one month)for $40.00 from a teenager who had just bought himself a car, we also bought a helmet at Kmart for $10. for Lucille. David burrows the bike/helmet from the manager from the holiday apartment. So now, it takes us 15 minutes to go downtown instead of 50 walking. We use the bikes just about everyday.

We have some sort of a routine now, i.e. breakfast, read, 1 hr walk on the beach, bike around town, David goes fishing/Lucille reads at the beach covered in sun cream/umbrella, do our daily grocery shopping; we have a real good mini mall just ½ block from the apart , i.e. IGA, butcher, fresh fish/seafood, newspaper agency, fresh fruit/ veggies, video store, pharmacy and the last but not the least, the ‘bottle store’ which is a drive-in to buy beer and wine (at an excellent price, we might add). We also have a second-hand book store where we sell and buy our books.

James and Karen (friends from Canberra) came to BB one Sunday, and drove us along the coast to Narooma, Central Tilba and Tilba & Tilba (T&T). T&T is a historic village built during the gold rush and still retains much of its pioneer character along with many of the original 19th century buildings. Both are very pretty and picturesque villages. We had lunch in 1 of the 2 cafes in T&T.

Two days ago we went to the cinema to watch the movie “The bucket list” which is a very good by the way. We wanted to have a beer in one of the bars but they were all closed by the time we came out of the theater around 4:00. So we went home and had one in the apart.


We also took a cruise along the Clyde River on a beautiful hot and humid (28C) day, with fish & chips for lunch. The cruise lasted 3 hrs and we stopped at a small village where we had a good ice cream! The Clyde River is where the famous Sydney Rock Oysters come from. We had some the other night and they were delicious, of course, accompanied by a very good Aussie wine. The boat goes under a bridge which lifts vertically (apparently you call a telephone number when you want them to raise it).
















Yesterday we went to the bird sanctuary where we saw lots of beautiful parrots and kangaroos/wallabies/snakes, etc. David held a baby wombat (9kgs) which was very furry and sleepy. At that stage they love to be cuddled, however once they reach adulthood (60 kgs) they become quite aggressive and bite, needless to say that they are not cuddly anymore… The parrots are especially beautiful and so colorful.

Batemans Bay and Canberra

It took us almost one hour to drive out of Sydney. If we had realized that the airport was at the south side of the city we would have picked up our rental car at the airport and headed off for the south coast immediately. We drove along the coast of New South Wales (NSW) to Kiama where we had a delicious lunch of fish and salad on a pier overlooking the ocean.

As we crossed the bridge into Batemans Bay (BB) and drove along the waterfront where the fishing boats are moored, we couldn't help but recall some of the sites and smells from our last visit some 18 years ago. It felt good to be back! We went to the Information Office and the officer was very helpful and gave us the names and addresses of at least 1/2 dozen holiday parks and private homes for rent. Fortunately, the second place we visited is managed by a very nice fellow (Alex) who offered us a 3 bedroom place overlooking the pool for a very reasonable price. As soon as we saw it, we jumped on it. The place is a block from the beach and shops. In fact there is everything we need including an IGA, a great pastry shop, butcher, fish & seafood store, newspaper stand, etc.














We spent the next couple of days getting settled and exploring the area. We even went to Mossy Point where we used to rent a place when Justin was little. This brought back some really good memories of the time we spent playing on the beach with Justin. It is hard to believe that almost 20 years have elapsed since we were here and that Justin has grown into a man now.














On Wednesday we headed off to Canberra to see some of our old friends, especially Fred and Olga. We spent 2 wonderful days getting reacquainted. It was great to see some of our closest friends after all these years. It was like we had never left and we were soon laughing about all the good times we spent together. These 2 days alone made our entire trip worthwhile!

Justin will be pleased to know that we drove by our old house in Torrens and Lucille went to visit one of her friends (Valeria, who used to be Justin's teacher) at the French/Australian pre-school.

We left the rental car in Canberra since it was the nearest drop-off point to BB. We then took a bus back to BB which dropped us at the shops mentioned previously. Everything went very smoothly.

We have really settled in now and have purchased a used bike for Lucille and David is borrowing Alex's bike for the duration of our stay. As a result, we will give Alex, Lucille's bike when we leave. David also bought a fishing rod and the rest of the stuff needed for fishing from the beach/stone jetty; it should be a good way to pass the time. We also intend to play a little tennis on the 1/2 size court at our apartment. The tennis court is just the right size since we can't run as fast as we used to! We are also hoping that some of our friends will come to visit us since we have lots of spare rooms. David may also go deep sea fishing once or twice during our stay here.

We will try to post any noteworthy information which may happen during the course of our stay.

Lake Tekapo, Christchurch and Sydney

We spent one night on a farm approx. 1 hr from Lake Tekapo, I'm not sure why our travel agent booked us here but the people were very nice. It was interesting to see how the average farmer lives (if one can judge after 1 night only)but they seem much like Canadian farmers in as much as they are not rich by any means and have to face significant challenges to make a "go of it".


The next day we drove to Lake Tekapo where we ended up staying for 2 nights (we were originally booked for 1 night only but realized that our booking in Christchurch was not for 2 days). Fortunately, our travel agent came into the office on her day off to send an amendment to the motel for an extra night after receiving our email. We were very impressed with her professionalism and how helpful the lady at the motel was as well. It was great to have 2 days in Lake Tekapo since we had a wonderful view of the lake and it was good to relax. Lake Tekapo is a popular distination for thousands of visitors each year. Unfortunately, the lake is too cold to swim in (8-10C) but is a lovely turquoise. The glaciers in the headwaters of Tekapo grind rock into a fine dust on their journey down towards the lake. This "rock flour" is suspended in the water and when combined with sunlight creates the unique water colour. We have never seen anything quite like it. We also visited the small church which was built in the 1930s and is used by 3 different christian denominations. Very cozy and a beautiful setting with the lake as a backdrop.


We dropped off our car at the rental company and they offered to drive us to our hotel. Really first class treatment and so friendly. We spent another 2 days in Christchurch where we took long walks in Hyde Park/botanical gardens which was filled with beautiful flowers and plants. It also had different varieties of wonderful old tress which seem to grow a lot faster here since there is no harsh winter like in Canada. We even went to a movie "Death at a Funeral" which is a British comedy (very funny). We also had a number of great meals!

Our flight to Auckland and our connection to Sydney went off without a hitch. We soon found ourselves at the Cremorne Manor B&B which is just a short ferry ride from Circular Quay. The manor has a large verandah on the second floor where we were able to have a drink while taking in the view of the harbour. We spent a most enjoyable day touring the harbour on the local ferries (we bought a day tripper pass for the princely sum of $16 each). The rest of our time was used planning our trip down south and making the necessary arragements. We were not really too disappointed since we had visited Sydney before and we were not interested in doing the tourist thing again.