Day 1-2.
We are finally on our way!! After talking about this for the last 4 years, we have jettisoned (most of) our non-essential possessions and set off on a year-long tour of Australia. Our little entourage consists of me (Rosie), Scott, our Ute, and our boat – Seadragon.
The trip started two weeks later than planned and with a more sombre feel than we’d always imagined, due to the bushfire crisis surrounding us. But, as soon as we heard that Narooma, a small town five hours down the coast from Sydney, was open for tourists again, we made a beeline for it. We LOVE Narooma and were keen to support local businesses in such a hard time.
On the road to Narooma, we passed through scorched, blackened bush-land – not the rolling green hills that you expect to see on the South Coast. We saw piles of rubble on the ground where homes stood just a couple of weeks ago. The reality of the bush fires.
Narooma itself was spared very narrowly from the fires, and is still as beautiful as ever. However, the town is still reeling from the impending doom they faced a couple of weeks ago. People had packed up their homes, been told to prepare to lose everything. Businesses shut in what is usually their peak season, tourists evacuated.
As such, we were a few days too early to enjoy a boat trip to dive with the playful fur-seals, because dive operators were either still closed, or had no demand (apart from the two of us) to run a tour. Another reality of the bushfires. Businesses now face a tough time ahead and it’s important that the rest of us support them where we can…. so get booking! Come down to Narooma to dive with seals! (Dive Centre Manly are running a trip next weekend!) Scott and I will return to do our diving later in the year.
In the meantime, we took the opportunity to catch up with a friend, Narooma local Megan Fraser, who has not only been busy defending her home, but also playing a vital role in disaster relief for others who were not so fortunate. A wonderful human, we love you Megan!
You can’t go to Narooma without visiting the Jetty – it’s a wildlife hub. It’s worth a snorkel there to see the giant sting-rays cruise by, the schooling fish under the jetty, and occasional big-bellied seahorse. So in the water we went! Having spotted us, a large fur seal plonked himself at the fish-gutting table to see if we were going to feed him, and waited hopefully whilst all I did was film him with my Iphone. (video here).
With fire-affected roads still being closed around the NSW/VIC border, continuing our journey south was not at option. So, inland we went with our little entourage, towards Mt Gambier, SA, to dive the fresh-water sinkholes.
It’s a long drive to SA, so we camped overnight in Albury Wodonga, which happens to be where our Tongan whale-swim guide and skipper, Sione Fifita, has recently moved to. It would be hard to find anywhere less like Tonga, than Albury Wodonga! It was great to catch up with Sione over a cup of tea in our campsite, and get a much needed lesson from him about reversing with our boat trailer (one of the many skills we are learning on our trip!).
Well that was a long update…. but had a fair bit to say. Next installment coming soon. Meanwhile….
BUSH FIRE ASSISTANCE, WHERE TO DONATE:
Red cross: https://www.redcross.org.au/campaigns/donation-selection
Wildlife rescue (WIRES): https://www.wires.org.au/donate/online
Humane Society: https://hsi.org.au/index.…/…/hsi-australia-bushfire-disaster