21.01.2023 from South East Forrest NP to Mallacoota

The night was unusually quiet, no more flocks of parrots producing organic noise. We quickly soak up the sun in the morning after the "fresh" night, and as we continue our journey, we realize why it was "fresh" - we must have been at an altitude of 1000 meters. However, the morning sun makes up for it.

Today we are leaving the state of NSW and entering Victoria. Remarkably, the maps show the state of Victoria in gray on the New South Wales side, Victoria doesn't need that.

We drive down to the coast, along the highway to Mallacoota, a small town just after Eden, if anyone wants to look at the map. Here we hope to find a campground, we want to shower and possibly do some laundry. Yes, there are still available spots, but there are another 500 campers here besides us. "...Exactly what we like..."

We go about our daily work, internet, laundry... and then head to the sea. The water is cold! At first dip, but then we get used to the temperature and it's not so bad. We're not directly at the sea, maybe 100 or 150 meters away from the actual sea, but here we can observe the ebb and flow, the current is powerful, we let ourselves be carried by it, a great feeling. After sunbathing, no more than 45 minutes are possible, we walk along the beach. Will we be able to reach the sandbank? Unfortunately not, we sink up to our knees in the silt and have a hard time getting out of the water without getting our backpack and camera wet. We didn't expect that. The current is so strong.

After dinner, we go in search of koalas, they are said to live here. And indeed, we find 3, including one with a baby.

Daily quota fulfilled. We are satisfied, maybe not with everything, making a fire is not possible here, but understandable with 500 campers.

PS: The Australians were reportedly asked what national animal they wanted, many voted for the koala. The Minister for Tourism said at the time: Do you want a national animal that stinks, is lazy, full of fleas and only sleeps or eats? What would the other nations think of us.

They chose the kangaroo.