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2019 South Coast Adventure
 

Sunday

2019 South Coast Adventure
SUNDAY MORNING at camp In the morning, a young kangaroo stops by to visit. It is used to humans but still a bit wary. SUNDAY MORNING at camp She doesn't like the strawberries I offer . . . SUNDAY MORNING . . . so she wanders off into the bush. SUNDAY MORNING To Wallagoot Lake While Jenni rests, I go for an early morning explore.
SUNDAY MORNING Wallagoot Lake This is a disappointment. The foreshore is muddy and lined with dead weeds. It doesn't smell but it's particularly uninviting. SUNDAY MORNING Lake Wallagoot In 2016 a sand berm blocked the connection between this lake and the ocean. Since then, tidal flows have stopped flushing the lake. The lake's temperature has also risen because of global warming (according to the Dept of Primary Industries). A few weeks ago, hundreds of dead fish washed ashore because of low oxygen levels in the water. SUNDAY MORNING Lake Wallagoot Last week, Australian school children joined a world-wide protest condemming the lack of action about climate change. The conservative Federal Govt snickered and sneered and told the kids to get back to school. I think school children use logic and evidence whereas their parents identify global warming as a "leftie" political issue. I wish politicians would come and see a disaster like this. SUNDAY MORNING Lake Wallagoot A flock of ducks takes off in the early morning sunlight.
SUNDAY MORNING Lake Wallagoot The "beach" is interesting: it's composed of ground up sea shells. I pick up a handful and there is green algae growing underneath it. SUNDAY MORNING Lake Wallagoot This is the first time I've seen evidence of global warming with my own eyes. This lake needs intervention to bring it back to life. The last time the entrance blocked, it took 15 years to clear by natural oceanic wave action. The kids who were ridiculed last week will be adults by then and maybe they'll do something about it. SUNDAY MORNING Back to camp There's our very private camp spot at the end of the track. SUNDAY MORNING South Tura Beach We're on our way to Merimbula for breakfast and stop on the way to see Tura Beach.
SUNDAY MORNING Tura Beach The Tura Beach township was originally developed in the early 1980s and was the first purpose-built integrated golf course and housing development in Australia. SUNDAY MORNING Tura Beach The portal to the beach. SUNDAY MORNING Tura Beach It's only 1.5 kms to the south but the sand is very soft and fluffy SUNDAY MORNING Tura Beach Tura Beach continues north for 1.9 kms. This is a holiday weekend but there's not a soul on the beach.
SUNDAY MORNING Tura Beach We decide not to walk in either direction but to just enjoy the moment. SUNDAY MORNING Tura Beach Another reason to just enjoy the moment is that it's hard going on our feet and ankles because the sand is so light. The sand is a really lovely, golden colour and the sea is the deepest blue. SUNDAY MORNING Tura Beach According to the 2016 census, Tura Beach had a population of 3,158 people with a median age of 57 years. This is 19 years greater than that of the median Australian population. Houses here are not expensive though, only around $500,000. SUNDAY MORNING Tura Beach There's hardly any surf today and, right now, it's about 22°.
SUNDAY MORNING Tura Beach Beautiful. I love the sound of the waves. SUNDAY MORNING Tura Beach I walk into a group of terns and seagulls. The terns take flight but the gulls can't be bothered and walk out of the way (centre left) SUNDAY MORNING Tura Beach Then they settle into two separate groups: terns to the right, gulls to the left. SUNDAY MORNING Tura Beach Dogs are allowed on the beach and yes, there was dog poop. I hate this. This mutt found a dead fish and would not give it up (not that anyone wanted it).
SUNDAY MORNING Driving to Merimbula We go down a steep hill and the speed limit changes to 50 KMH all the way down into Merimbula. SUNDAY MORNING Merimbula for breakfast We find a likely looking cafe, order breakfast and sit at the tables outside. Right next to us is this late model Mustang 5.0 litre hardtop. I'd even have the colour as well. SUNDAY MORNING Merimbula for breakfast It's still fairly early and the streets are empty. SUNDAY MORNING Merimbula for breakfast My bacon/egg roll was processed bacon with overcooked egg on supermarket bread. Jenni's was similar. We're not off to a good start here. The coffee was adequate.
SUNDAY MORNING Merimbula for breakfast As we dine, another Mustang pulls up opposite us. It turns out that there is an American Car show on in town. SUNDAY Bournda Beach After breakfast, we return to camp but detour to Bournda Beach. Bournda Beach is accessible by a 3km dirt track near the camp ground. The track is really rough and dusty but it's completely isolated and pretty much as it was when Captain Cook "discovered" it. SUNDAY Bournda Beach Looking to the north, the beach stretches for 3 km. SUNDAY Bournda Beach Looking to the south, it's only 600 metres. It's a unanimous decision to go south.
SUNDAY Bournda Beach As we walk south we see these very unusual trees. They have no leaves on their lower branches but the tops are knitted together in a leaf canopy. Weird. I've never seen these trees before. Anywhere. SUNDAY Bournda Beach A google search back home reveals them to be Melaleuca Armillaris which is also known as the Giant Honeymyrtle. SUNDAY Bournda Beach After quite a slog through the soft sand, we reach the headland. In front of us is Bournda Island. It is joined to the coast by a beach that is exposed only at low tide. It's high tide so we don't go any farther. SUNDAY Bournda Beach These weathered rocks are interesting. Even though the cracks are vertical, the sedimentary layers are horizontal.
SUNDAY Bournda Beach These are the remnants of the rocks that, over eons, wore down to provide the sand, both here on the beach and out to sea. SUNDAY Bournda Beach Not that I would lay money on it, but the rocks appear to be metamorphic. That is, created in layers on the earth's surface, subducted back into the mantle and then pushed back to the surface again. As Darwin realised, these processes take a very long time. SUNDAY Bournda Beach This is Sandy Beach Creek which leads to the Bournda Lagoon. At the moment, it is closed to the ocean. SUNDAY Bournda Beach Having left my sandals back at the portal, I climb the headland in my bare feet. It's very painful and I don't get far.
SUNDAY Bournda Beach We do not see these birds on our walk. They actually collect small bivalve moluscs which they prise apart with their specially adapted bills. SUNDAY Bournda Headland From the headland I get a better view of the Melaleuca forest and the Bournda Lagoon. SUNDAY Bournda Headland These trees remind me of scary trees in the fairy stories. They really are unusual. SUNDAY Bournda Headland Damn. Our feeling of isolation is ruined as the crowd arrives.
SUNDAY Bournda Island Looking at the island from the headland. SUNDAY Bournda Beach Here it is: the full 3.6 km (2¼ mi) stretch of sand and not a soul on it. Wonderous. SUNDAY Bournda Headland SUNDAY Bournda Beach Jenni captures the sights and sounds of the ocean from her new iPhone X. Brilliant. The movies this camera takes is massively better than her Sony Video Camera from a few years ago.
SUNDAY Bournda Beach It's a difficult trudge back to the access point to collect our footwear and the car. SUNDAY Bournda Beach On my way back to the car, I see these goanna tracks . . . SUNDAY Bournda Beach . . . and I get a better look at the Melaleuca trees. SUNDAY Back at camp Lunch time has been and gone but, after the sumptuous breakfast, neither of us is hungry. I decide to explore the "lagoon" situated directly behind our camp and as I walk, I hear the rustle of a goanna. He runs and hides behind a tree so I circle around so that I can take a picture.
SUNDAY Disher's lagoon This area was once a lake. In aerial pictures it shows a lake filled with water. SUNDAY Disher's Lagoon It was probably fresh (nonsalt) at one time because the foliage grows into the desiccated surface. It may have been good enough for the animals to use as a watering hole. SUNDAY At the campground Last night was cold so while we were in Merimbula this morning we bought another doona and a king-size cover. SUNDAY At the campground Travelling over dirt roads raises a lot of dust. Luckily, none of it enters the car.
SUNDAY To Walagoot Beachd We walk to Walagoot Beach from the camp ground. SUNDAY To Wallagoot Beach On the short walk to the beach we pass through another stand of Melaleuca trees. It looks as though a giant storm passed through and ripped them to shreds. SUNDAY To Wallagoot Beach The park rangers had been through with their chainsaws and opened the path again. SUNDAY To Wallagoot Beach I've never seen this kind of cyclonic damage before.
SUNDAY Wallagoot Beach This is Wallagoot Beach and it is at the northern end of the beach we walked this morning, Bournda Beach. Our feet are tired so we go no farther than this. SUNDAY Wallagoot Lake The more easterly end of Wallagoot lake is nearby so we take a short walk to visit it. It seems Hobart Beach is on the Eastern end of the lake somewhere but we never positively identify it. SUNDAY Wallagoot Lake The Wallagoot Lake Boat Club is holding a regatta near the shores opposite. This from their website: "The pristine Wallagoot Lake is situated half way between Merimbula and Tathra." Pristine? SUNDAY To Wallagoot Lake At least this end, nearer the ocean, doesn't look completely awful. Tonight, we go back into Merimbula and a have a fairly decent Thai dinner.
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