Tag 52: Huskisson/Jervis Bay - Kiama - Sydney

Even today, it would have been nice to stay in bed longer (no wonder with the late bedtimes), but we have to check out at 10am. So, we have to hurry this morning. We'll postpone breakfast to our stop.

We chose Kiama as a stopover on our drive to Sydney. There are blowholes here. Sea water is supposed to spray into the air through holes in the cliffs. Unfortunately, the tides are not right around noon and the sea is too calm.

We have a snack in the parking lot and take a walk. There is a nice playground at the harbor and also a protected bathing area in the sea. There are some people there and we also want to go for a swim. The people in the water all seemed so relaxed, but the water is anything but bathtub temperature. I still take a swim and Michi and the kids decide to splash around. The air temperature is cozy warm at 36 degrees. At the fish market, we buy fresh squid. Then we continue towards Sydney at 3pm. We really liked Kiama, it would have been a nice overnight stop.

It doesn't take long for the kids to switch to sleep mode. We make good progress. You can clearly feel the traffic getting busier as we head towards the city. The last 30 kilometers to the campsite go through the city and are quite tedious. The drive takes 45 minutes longer than planned (total of 80 minutes). The evening traffic is crazy and we long for the empty highway through the Red Center. We wonder how people managed without navigation in the past. We would be lost here in Sydney. We drive our 9,000 kilometers. We arrive at Sydney Lakeside Campground at 6:30pm. The place is well occupied, but there is still plenty of space available. We check in here for the next 3 nights. At the reception, they tell us that a storm is forecasted for the night and they recommend a pitch further back, which we then take.

Michi explores the campsite with the kids and I fry our calamari. They taste great. The kids like them too.

It's not stormy yet. But unfortunately, it starts to rain. Let's see if the weather forecast is right. It is supposed to rain for the next two days. Not great for our Sydney tours. Maybe it won't be so bad after all - hopefully!

We're all pretty exhausted. The short nights, the large temperature fluctuations, and the driving make us tired. At least Maxima is doing better with falling asleep today. Sami resists and fights until he collapses.

12/14/2016

Accommodation: Sydney Lakeside NRMA Holiday Park Big4 (1 night 54 AUD, big place by the lake/sea)

Weather: cloudy, 37 degrees

219 kilometers for the day, total of 9,017 km