Cheese Factory & Garden of Eden

Day 64 | Narooma | 24.10.2018

Aloha my loved ones back home,

Day 64 began and we woke up early as usual. This morning everything went pretty quickly. Since we wanted to save the $5 per person for the shower, we packed our clothes and went for a short walk in the morning sun along the highway in the small town. Besides a pancake house and a closed Christmas article store, this town had little to offer. So we set off towards 'Cooma' and found a free warm shower there through our Wikicamps app, where we freshened up. After that, we found a park with a playground in the small town and had our cereal & fresh instant coffee 😉 Two buses filled with school children arrived and it became loud on the green area. The maybe 13-15 year old children romped around on the play equipment and left after about half an hour.

We were headed back to the coast on this sunny day. Janina drove our van along the mostly one-lane highway to 'Bega'. Here was the 'Bega Cheese Factory'. We wanted to make a little detour and take a look there. The cheese factory had a nice little cafe or restaurant, a shop where you could buy various cheeses and other goodies, and an exhibition room built under the attic. Here, cheese making machines and tools from the old days were displayed. We browsed through the rooms and in the end bought a cheese toast, which we (Janina 10% and Julian 90% of the toast) devoured outdoors.

As Janina mentioned, we wanted to head north again to 'Narooma' and stay there for the night. Initially, we went to the wrong campground, thinking that we had also called this one. The lady at the reception pointed out our mistake and we directed 'Liu' to the correct place called 'First Choice Holiday Surf Club'. The nice elderly lady at the reception gave us the keys and we checked in to our spot right by the water. But we went out into town again to walk around and go to the tourist information center. For our dinner, we bought some groceries at Coles and then looked forward to a relaxing evening by the sea. Janina and I wanted to grill chicken skewers, eggplants, and bread on the BBQ, but unfortunately, it wasn't quite as fast. It felt like it took hours for our food to be prepared and on the camper table. But it tasted all the better in the end!! We spent the rest of the evening lying in the van, always with a view of the sea...

J♡J

Day 65 | Eden | 25.10.2018

For us, a completely 'normal' morning started in Australia. Get up, have breakfast, shower, get dressed, and go. But before we left the city, we wanted to stop by the small harbor with a special goal in mind. Over millions of years, the salty seawater had 'eaten' a large hole in the shape of Australia into a rock. Janina & I wanted to see this with our own eyes and hoped to possibly spot some animals in the water like whales or dolphins. After a 10-minute walk, we arrived at this rock that had just been described and were amazed. The hole in this stone really looked very similar to the Australian mainland. Of course, the moment was captured in pictures and we were lucky to see some seals splashing around or sleeping on the warm stones. 'Another new species of animal that we have encountered in Australia,' I said to Janina and we were delighted with the seals playing in the water.

Now it was time to go to the next place, 'Eden'. But not without a short stop in the very, very small and popular village of 'Tilba Tilba', loved for its old, historic buildings. The village itself may have had about 50 houses, but each one was more beautiful than the other. Many private individuals offered everything from souvenirs to tea, sweets, soaps, clothes, or dishes, everything that you like to look at or take home. The local 'ABC Cheese Factory' was also at the end of the street, where we naturally paid a visit. We didn't buy anything, but it was still a nice stroll through the streets of 'Tilba Tilba'.

'Eden' was 132 kilometers away, where we were going to stay tonight. Janina had found the campsite called 'Garden of Eden' and we were both very pleasantly surprised! Free mini-golf, tennis, trampolines, and a clean, well-equipped kitchen delighted us. In addition, everything on the site was well-maintained and clean. We immediately felt comfortable and finally unpacked our camping chairs and table. After a quick sandwich, we headed to the nearby lake. We walked along, passing peacefully grazing sheep, both of us, by the lake, on which about 30 black swans were swimming. We had occasionally seen individual ones before, but never so many at once! Despite the light wind from above, the sun was scorching and we walked a few meters further to the sea. The sand here was reddish-brown compared to everywhere else. At the end of the long beach, we came across a natural pool, which was regularly fed with fresh water by the high waves. The tide came in and we stood close to the sea on the cliffs. The water crashed against the rocks, creating loud noises. We enjoyed the time in this place and stayed for a while. After some time, we went back to town for some shopping. Of course, we wanted to play a round of mini-golf on the small nine-hole course. Janina and I played twice and had a lot of fun, as the lanes were slightly crooked and seemed self-built. The final score was a close 2-0 for me 😋But after so much sports, we were hungry. Our dinner today was going to be a classic: spiral noodles with red sauce and looots of vegetables. Janina cooked and I chopped everything. We set the table on the balcony of the camp kitchen and the noodles tasted excellent all by ourselves there. We spent the evening outside with the mosquitoes preferabl in the camper, writing the blog.

Kiss to all of you... 😘

J♡J