Around Australia with the Ralphs 1990 - Bournda NSW 10th-14th January

Thursday 11th January 1990

My prediction has turned out to be true in more ways than one! A clear blue Sky greeted us this morning.

After a slow breakfast, which had to be in shifts as the kids woke up at half hour intervals, we all went across the road to the shelter shed. Here a recreation person was conducting “Life Be In It” games designed for the kids. The best were the ones which used an old army parachute. Laid flat it is big enough for 40 to 50 children to stand around its perimeter. When they all flapped in time the parachute would balloon up into a huge green camouflage mushroom.

While all this was happening Jacqui tackled the large pile of washing which appears to provide supportive evidence for the theory of spontaneous generation. Most of this washing was wet, dirty stuff from Merry beach and two wet beds from Lachlan and Anja. At least today it dried when hung out on the line strung between two adjacent trees.

This is a great place for kids as all three could ride or wander at will, joining in games and playing with newfound friends.

After lunch we drove the 20 kilometres to the Bega cheese factory where, through observation windows, we could look down on the factory floor. Little was happening while we were there, but the gleaming stainless-steel equipment certainly looked impressive. Of course we tasted the numerous cheeses available and ate an ice cream. The kids kicked up a stink because they weren't allowed to eat commercially prepared and packaged ice cream.

The trip to Merimbula is shorter than than I remember and Grandpa’s and Grandma’s old house at 14 Reid St is smaller too. We stopped and recorded a few minutes of video to show Grandma when we return.

Next we drive to the South end of Tura beach where I went spearfishing off the rocks. The water was relatively clear but a howling 15 to 20kn North easterly wind and a 1-2 metre swell didn't make diving pleasant. In general the variety of fish was less than at Merry Beach and I was impressed by the number of toads I saw. The result of my effort was 4 rainbow parrot fish, some reasonable size.

While I was in the water the kids amused themselves by jumping, fully clothed, into the shallow rockpools. They got very cold until we got them into the car where they promptly fell asleep.

After a dinner of seafood and wholemeal spaghetti the kids, except for Rohan who was still asleep, went off to play. Jacqui wandered off to check out the local birds and I washed up.

Gordon Johnson (the park Ranger) arrived to collect their fees and has allowed us to stay until Saturday when he said we'll see what happens. Gordon is a great bloke, fairly tall with a weather beaten face, probably in his mid-50s. Nothing appears to be too hard for him and he is always happy and friendly.

Our time at Bournda was very relaxing, although we did have a constant battle to keep the dark sand out of the van, and the kids were a shade of grey after only 1/2 hr playing.

Friday 12th January 1990

Everyone was up at more or less the same time this morning. Lachlan escaped early at around 9:00AM and went over to the shelter shed to join in a bunyip hunt. This took him off for most of the morning. Rohan hadn't slept well and was grumbly until we gave him 1/4 of an aspirin and Anja decided to hang around with some friends.

Overnight the washing generator appeared to have been operating at full power giving Jacqui her opportunity to chatter with the other people in the laundry. Taking my cue, I took Anja and Rohan to Wallagoot Lake. Here we paddled and played in the warm shallow weed-clogged water. In many ways it reminded me of the time I learned to water ski in Lake Illawarra, even the occasional jelly blubber could be seen along with a skiing boat and skier.

Catching them must have been fun, but they didn't use them and left them and the bottle in the shallow water near where the kids were paddling. Much to my surprise Anja jumped out of the water screaming crab! crab! Me thinks…..fertile child’s imagination, but sure enough there was a fist-sized crab moving steadily in towards the kids probably attracted by the dead fish in the bottles. Even after I caught and threw the crab well out into the Lake the kids stayed out of the water.

Although the day was hot it was very pleasant in the shade of a tea tree with a cool breeze coming off the Lake. In fact, I nearly went to sleep as Anja and Rohan played so well together making sand cakes and putting sticks in as candles followed by a round of happy birthday to you.

Returning to the van at around 12 midday I helped Jacqui hang out the washing and made some lunch.

After the kids had had a sandwich, they were outside when Jacqui called to say a big goanna was walking through the camp. It was big too, mainly black with lighter stripes, and not in the least interested in us or the offered (read flung) salmon and salad sandwiches. Jacqui suggested we give it an egg and sure enough it swallowed the thing whole. The act so delighted the audience we gave it another and were rewarded with a repeat performance and an audible crack as, on its way down, the second egg hit the obviously still unbroken first egg.

Shortly after followed a comedy of errors. Having decided that an afternoon of canoeing on Bournda Lagoon sounded like a good idea - courtesy of national Parks and Wildlife - we agreed that I would set off with the kids and Jacqui would go to the loo and follow-on catching up in due course. Surely anyone could follow the signs to Bournda lagoon.

Tricky indeed!

After five minutes it transpired that the lagoon wasn't just around the corner but 3 kilometres away. Finding this out as we crossed the road, I sent Lachlan back to meet Jacqui and Rohan while Anja and Rohan and I walked back to the campsite via the road. Simple enough? No way Buster! Lachlan got lost and frightened after a few minutes and backtracked to the road where a passing family collected him and returned him to me just as we reached camp.

Of course this meant we had missed Jacqui and she had to walk 3 kilometres to the lagoon while the rest of us went in comfort [in then car]. As things go we wouldn't have met her anyway, if Lachlan had gone on, as she went a completely different road to the lagoon.

The effort was worth it however, for an afternoon of swimming in a warm tea-coloured, grass and reed lined back-beach lagoon. For half an hour we paddled around in a big broad Canadian canoe on the still waters of the lagoon. Once out of earshot of the crowds it was beautifully quiet and peaceful with unspoiled bush all around.

Once the kids got tired of swimming lessons and were too cold, we packed up and drove into Tathra for a paper and some panadol. While there we gave Carmen a call to check on HSC results: Marco [Carmen's older brother] scored 406, Karen 440, and Kathy 425 [HSC scores were aggregated into a mark out of 500 for the purposes of university entry – so these were all excellent results. Karen and Kathy must have been friends of Marco’s and I think Jacqui coached them in chemistry and maths].

On the way back to camp, we stopped in to look at a new estate and were impressed [not sure if we thought this was a lot of money or if we thought it cheap as it's not much by the values in 2020] by the prices of blocks miles from like sea or town. They were $50,000 to $130,000 for 1 1/4 acres.

After dinner we went to the shelter shed for a music wine and cheese night. I took my sax and played along with a 12-year-old girl call Michelle, on a clarinet, and her father on a guitar. They were both excellent players and a few pieces came off well.

Saturday 13th January 1990

Going against the developing trend of doing nothing much in the morning we ventured out at about 10:00 AM to go spearfishing off the rocks near the entrance of Wallagoot Lake.

This turned out to be the wrong thing to do. By the time we reached the main road I had realised that I had left the bandaids at camp. These were essential diving accessories because the blisters on my feet was still very painful and even when I wear socks with my fins bandaids are still required.

So back to camp we went!

The road to the rocks was narrow, winding and in places rough, with deep soft sand requiring a fair speed to get through without becoming bogged. Of course, the kids thought it was great! The mouth of the Lake is like the mouth of Narrabeen Lagoon and the tide was on the way in. Consequently, I swam across the mouth and then headed out towards the rocks. Jacqui tried to climb to the top of the headland to keep an eye on me but the prickles, steep grades and lack of appropriate footwear for the kids forced her back - someone had partially cleared the hill allowing many thistles to grow profusely. The kids refused to wear their thongs hence the hassle.

In the water the highly folded metamorphic rocks plunged steeply to a sandy bottom providing many holes and reefs for me to explore. The water was fairly clear, much clearer than at Tura and there was a good variety of excellent fish. Eventually I managed to spear 6, three blackfish two of which were a good size, a sea trout, a leatherjacket and something else “reefy”.

Swimming back in through the entrance to the Lake I was surprised to see hundreds of large toads, half buried in the sand, with only their head sticking out facing into the current.

On the way out before the dive I had packed glasses, a knife and a 2-litre jug of apple cordial in our esky. Over the bumpy road the esky had tipped over, the cordial jug spilt its guts and the juice leaked out all over the interior of the car. Luck would have it that the only thing to get seriously wet was an air bed - the worst part was Mum's excellent fruit cake awash with cordial.

The drained esky served as home for the fish while we went to Bega to shop for essentials. Coles New World was convenient but too highly priced for fruit and vegetables and we were unable to find a fruit market anywhere. Jacqui reports that the assistants sniggered when she inquired about the where abouts of vegetarian sausages. Hicks thought Jacqui! Jacqui records that she couldn't see any remnants of old Bega or large stores like GBs or DJs. Eden still looks like a country town with its Commercial pub on an awning lined street.

By now it was after 2:00PM and when we returned to the van it must have been 2:30 PM. A little late for lunch but we had quieted the kids with hunks of bread stick.

After a swim at Bournda lagoon at 5.30PM we collected some wood and made the first fire of the trip. The kids were fascinated with the fire and difficult to keep at a safe distance. I cooked potatoes in foil in the coals and the fish was cooked with butter and basil in the new camp oven. Yum!

Tomorrow we move to Mallacoota Inlet in Victoria.

Sunday 14th January 1990

My internal alarm clock seems to go off at 7:00AM when it's time to pack up and leave. An interesting generalization since we have moved only once before!

Jacqui says we packed up quicker this time than last, to me it still seemed to take forever. In any case we were away by 10:30AM on our trip south to Mallacoota inlet.

The people next door, Chris et al, will be pleased to see us go. Not because we smell or play loud music but because their friends can move into our site. They have been camping here for 12 years together with the same people! Why leave home I asked myself?

Chris had an interesting tent which was folded down into a trailer. It was large when set up. He spent at least half an hour fixing his mantels for his gas lights and each time he lit them they would end up with a hole – he was very persistent.

The trip South to Mallacoota was pleasant and relatively short. We had a short break in Eden for Sunday morning phone calls [2020 note: we called Elaine and George and Jo each Sunday from a pay phone - mobile phones were not widely used in 1990] and to buy some expensive fruit - 10 oranges cost $3.98 and bananas were $2.99 per kilogram.

Lunch in a rough road parallel to the highway and before we knew it we had arrived [in Mallacoota]. Even though we had decided not to stay at the biggest park with hundreds of sites, that's where we ended up.