Happy Days!

Sydney to Melbourne Stage 3 – Mon 6th March 2017 – Kiama to Nowra (41 Km)

Weather: 17⁰C min – 22⁰C max, partly cloudy, mainly fine, but strong winds

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“It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task which, more than anything else, will affect it’s successful outcome” ~ William James

The first thing we noticed when we awoke this morning was that the birds were noticeably happier than usual. There was a cacophony of sound, from the high pitched screeching of the rosellas in the banksia tree outside the window, to the melodic calling of the currawong birds communicating with their mates in distant trees. Looking out the window to see what was making them so happy, the first thing we saw was large patches of blue sky. And then we felt happy too!

After devouring our complimentary breakfast we attacked the technical issues that had been bothering us most. Magically, Sharad fixed the sound on his iPhone and I managed to get my Garmin Edge 1000 navigator communicating again with my little Acer laptop. This is definitely going to be a good day 🙂

At about 10 am we began steaming up the steepish hill leading out of Kiama, which soon got our metabolism kick started. Although we enjoyed a rain free day we had to battle a fierce head wind instead. In fact the wind was so strong climbing the hill between Kiama and Geringong that it almost blew us backwards. Reaching the lookout at the top of the hill we stopped to look down at the awesome view of the rolling hills and Geringong coastline below.

Now it is time for a history lesson. About 5 Km past Geringong we came to the interesting town of Gerroa where we stopped at the Sir Charles Kingsford Smith memorial park to read the following extract from the Kiama Independent dated 14th January 1933:

“The largest number of people ever seen on the Seven Mile Beach, Gerringong, estimated at well over a thousand, were there on Tuesday to see the world-famous Southern Cross land in the afternoon and then make her departure in the early hours of Wednesday morning with Air Commodore Sir Charles Kingsford Smith at the controls. A perfect take-off was made shortly before 3 am, and amid cheers and good wishes, the flight to New Zealand was commenced.”

Just down the hill after Gerroa we came to a fabulous Kiosk Cafe where we enjoyed an excellent chai latte and flat white, served with a smile by two cheerful young ladies. Although it was only just after 11 am we couldn’t resist an early lunch … delicious pork and beef rolls on special at only $6.90 each.

From there our route took us along a long straight road through Seven Mile Beach National Park. Although the traffic was reasonably heavy we never felt in danger because there was such a good shoulder to ride on. At the end of Seven Mile Beach we turned right into Bolong Road which took us alongside the Shoalhaven River all the way into Nowra.

After dropping our panniers at the delightful AirBNB where we are staying in North Nowra, we rode over the bridge to the township. Luckily we found a good bike shop called “Ultimate Cycles” where were attended to by a very polite, technically competent, young man who did an excellent job of adjusting Sharad’s brakes.

While riding around town we saw a pannier laden bike leaning against the Tourist Information Centre, so we went inside and introduced ourselves to the bike’s owner … an interesting touring cyclist, Robin Brodsky, from California. Like us she had ridden from Sydney, but was now heading over the mountain to Canberra.

To top off another very enjoyable day, we gorged ourselves on a huge serving of fish and chips tonight from a nearby shop called “Perfect Catch”. What a life, happy days indeed!