GOODBYE SUNSHINE

Days 7-8,  May 2-3, 2022

Eden – Mallacoota – Cape Conran – Yarram – Fish Creek

I woke early and walked outside to be greeted by clear predawn sky and a line of four bright ‘ stars’ which I thought might have been planets. It looked so beautiful but my camera and tripod were in the car and I was regretfully too lazy to go and get them. It was only later in the day that I learnt the bright  ‘stars’ were  Saturn, Mars, Venus and Jupiter in a rare straight line alignment.

A bit disappointed in myself as this alignment will not return for another 1,000 years. And we had a perfect viewing platform to the open and clear sky.

We walked through the towns main street before leaving. The township of Eden is soon to be transformed by a huge property development along the main street. It will be interesting to see the impact of this development on the character of the town over time.

The itinerary for this road trip had us heading to Mallacoota, a small Victorian town popular for lakeside fishing and ocean  beaches.  This is where the Tasman Sea off the east coast meets the Southern Ocean.

We got there mid-morning on a beautiful sunny day. So good to be here out of peak-season. Miles of waterways, perfectly still and sparking on this beautiful day.   It was very tempting to stay but being so early in the day we decided to move on. 

Next stop at Cape Conran was even more beautiful.   We had expected to see wild seas but today it was perfectly calm. Huge red granite boulders fringed the shoreline. Similar rocks to those found off the east coast of Tasmania.  This was such a beautiful location that later in the day we regretted not stopping here for a few days, while the good weather lasted. A lesson for the rest of this trip.

Extensive roadside rockfalls and road repairs resulted in a slow drive to Lakes Entrance where we stopped for the day.

Lakes Entrance is an extensive network of lakes formed by the merging of seven rivers, coming off the Victorian Alps, before they discharge to the Southern Ocean. It is also home to a large fishing fleet.

Sunrise the next morning lit the sky a brilliant orange colour. I can only think it’s still the residual high atmospheric dust from the Tongan volcano earlier in the year. In the morning we walked along the deserted ocean shoreline towards the entrance.  A pod of Fur Seals was feeding nearby. Hardly any wind coming off the Southern Ocean, it all looked so peaceful.

Our next destination was Wilsons Promitory National Park where we had planned to do an overnight hike. Weather prediction is not so good. A week of rain with plunging temperatures. Camping is limited and many trails were closed due to water damage and landslides. So our revised plan is to stop overnight at a small town of Fish Creek which is on the way. The next day we would visit  the park and walk some of the remaining open trails. 

Fish Creek is a beautiful town with a vibrant arts community. We are a week early for the biannual Tea Cosy Festival held in town.