Memories
Sydney to Melbourne Stage 8 – Sun 12th March 2017 – Narooma to Bermagui (30 Km)
Weather: 17⁰C min – 24⁰C max, partly cloudy, but fine
“Fortune favours the brave” ~ Publius Terence
For Kevin, Narooma bought back fond memories of happy family holidays spent there in the 1980’s. When his daughter, Sophie, heard that her dad was going to be riding through Narooma she requested that he take a photo of the “interlocking rocks” which she and her sister, Trudy, loved to climb on, so before we set off this morning he rode down to the breakwater bar to satisfy her request. To his delight he received a bonus … some photos of seals basking on the bar and a video of two seals frolicking in the water. On the way back to the motel he stopped to look at the boat jetty where he used to watch the Sports Fishing contestants weigh in their catch of tuna and marlin each morning. In town he stopped to talk to an interesting local couple who have been living in nearby Dalmeny for thirty years.
So far the NSW Coastal Route has not let us down. Even today, in spite of some gravel sections, it was pleasant, safe and scenic, winding around the Old Princes Highway (Narooma Bike Trail 03) before rejoining the new highway at the 14 Km mark. After 3 Km we branched right to pass through the National Trust Village of Central Tilba. We were blown away by this amazingly pretty village with its old-fashioned shops and quaint houses … memories of times gone by.
Coffee and chai latte was enjoyed while sitting at a table outside the general store where a series of Nescafe ads were filmed years ago. The store was one of several we browsed through while strolling through the village, before finding our way to the famous ABC cheese shop. There we ate lunch consisting of a whole block of Super Blue cheese and half a packet of dry biscuits! Two young ladies, Gemma and Jane, approached us when they saw us in our riding gear, and were amazed that we were riding to Melbourne from Sydney … typical of the reaction whenever we have met people along the way.
Finally dragging ourselves away from Central Tilba, we cycled peacefully through rich, green, grazing land. Contented dairy cows were grazing on the pastures to produce the milk that makes such wonderful cheese.
Tonight we are being treated to marvellous hospitality by our hosts Mary and Jack. After a fabulous dinner that Mary had prepared we sat around the dinner table for hours, listening to their incredible stories and getting valuable local input about the route and towns ahead of us.
This has been a day to remember!
Beautiful pictures, Kevin. And a nice up and down, as I’ve seen on Garmin;) The area is a bit like our Schwarzwald.
You would love riding in this area if you ever come to Australia Rolf. Lovely countryside and ocean panoramas.
There was lively discussion in the Bunker Bar at MVGC on Sunday afternoon involving a group who had all looked at some parts of this blog. There was Adam, Dan, Gill, Mike and myself. The consensus was that to ride a bike over 1200km while staring at Sharad Tank’s backside was not on anyone’s Bucket List. We all had a good guffaw.
And Dan had a golf question in relation to Narooma Golf Course and a couple of photos shown. Did Sharad go and have a look at Hogan’s Hole – the 3rd hole at Narooma made famous ‘cos of an advert for Winfield cigarettes filmed at that site involving the Aussie legend, Paul Hogan? What a hole!!
Hi Pikey. Pleased you have been following our progress so closely. Your faces and my backside are a perfect match! Perhaps this could be a matter for further discussion in the MVGC bar after the golf next Sunday. Cheers, Tank.