When we setup the van at Merimbula the staff said our site was the only one they had free..... we were all by ourselves after Joe left on Christmas eve and expected lots of vans and campers to fill up the caravan site, but no..... we ended up the only van on the block! Lots of van two lanes down and across behind some cabins but we were all on our lonesome! It was ok for getting our "rumpy pumpy" and no one heard us, but felt a bit lonely when we sat down to Christmas dinner!
Tommy had setup the bbq and I cooked a nice fry up for brekkie and then we opened our pressies! Santa brought me a wee cuddly owl in my favourite colour with some chocolates and Tommy got a new beach towel (he left the last one in the toilets at Lakes Entrance!) and some glow in the dark undies! Later we had a lovely cooked roast on the bbq with veggies and made some friends at the camp kitchen! Not the best Christmas day ever but we had a great relaxing day!
The pictures below are of us on the pier in front of Lakeview hotel where we had dinner on Christmas eve, the other one is looking out from our table before it got dark.
Tathra is a lovely wee village and the caravan park is right on the beach! Its run by a guy from the telly - Frankie Holden who hosts a holiday program(don't ask me which one!), really top class - check it out at https://www.tathrabeachfamilypark.com.au
Will defo stay there if we go back that way! We had breakfast at a wee cafe on the front and then took a walk on the squeaky white beach. Yep it squeaks as you walk through it! What a view.....so relaxing! Then we headed back to the highway and headed for Pambula for a look at the beach there too.... it was awesome! and looks like a lovely wee town and also had a huge caravan site on the beach but a bit more dated than the Tathra one.
Up the next day and met Fran & Billy for breakfast and a walk around the market... no I didn't buy anything Mum! Then Tommy & I got the bikes out and cycled round past their house and around the bay and back ending with a wee swally (a drink or two) with them.
Next day we took a drive to Bastion point and did a bit of rock pool investigating, what a brilliant way to spend the morning! The rocks were so unusual, some had crystals sparkling in the sun, some had gold ingrained(fools gold) and you could see by their shape that at one time the earth had moved and pushed multiple layers up as there were different colours and textures showing through, incredible (as you can see from the photos). Had a great time looking for fish and crabs in the rock pools eroded by the ebbing and flowing of the sea. We drove on a bit further and got to Tip Beach(opposite what used to be the tip) which is beautiful! Then back up the road to meet Fran & Billy for a lovely afternoon at Lucy's restaurant for lunch and to listen to an open mike session. Really enjoyed our day!
As we were thinking of leaving the thunder started, clouds were gathering, then we saw the lightening! Big rain drops started splattering our clothes, the temperature had been 32 when we got out the car but now it had dropped a few degrees and Tommy shouted to head up the steps and get to the car. We headed up and by the time we got to the car the heavens had opened and you could hardly see in front of you. As we drove back the rain got heavier and I thought about the washing I had hung out that morning! Bugger! It would be soaking!
By the time we got back to Mallacoota the rain was lighter and the roads didn't look that wet.... into the caravan site and right around to the washing line to pull the washing in before it got soaked. No! It wasn't hanging up! I went around the corner to the laundry room and there it all was piled on top of the washing machine bone dry! Love the campers! Some lovely person had taken it in for us! As we took it back to the caravan we also noticed someone had put our camp chairs under the caravan out of the rain! Love the campers! Moan the campers! (Scottish saying!)
It soon cleared up and Tommy wound out the awning and setup the table for dinner. I rustled up a wee salad and we sat down to dinner. Just finished and I got up to put the dishes in when we noticed thunder getting nearer and a few flashes of lightening.... Tommy stood outside watching the clouds swirling lower right above us, then a wind whipped up the dust on the road into the caravan site, swirling around him. He walked back towards me as I noticed his t-shirt getting darker with rain drops... by the time he got under the awning his t-shirt was soaked! The thunder was right above us and the wind suddenly got stronger and whipped the awning and one of the legs lowered. Tommy grabbed the edge of the awning just as a huge hail storm started pelting him as he stood holding it down as the wind tried to grab it out of his hands, I grabbed the ipad and started recording... you could barely hear yourself for the hail stones bouncing off the ground, the car, the van the awning it was just a pounding sound and a rattle as it hit the car and the windscreen! It lasted for about 5 minutes and we were so afraid it was going to damage the car but luckily it was over as fast as it got up and when we examined the bonnet when the rain stopped we were thankful there was no lasting dents!
I went inside to get a towel to dry the chairs and as I opened the door to the ensuite I was faced with water dripping down from the open window! Bugger! Forgot we had left the wee pop up window open! The fly screen was full of marble sized hail stones and water was dripping down all over the toilet and sink! We quickly started cleaning up and the manager of the caravan site came around to make sure everyone was ok. She laughed at us for forgetting to close the window but was very nice and offered help if we needed it. Everyone was out and about and talking about the storm... bit of excitement for us all!
I have added a video to the Youtube link on the right hand side.