I left Nimmitabel after short stop at the café for a coffee and lots of ‘pre-loading’ of water. It was going to be another hot day.
Down the Brown Mountain
It was a relatively short ride to the top of the Brown Mountain. This was followed by a short sharp descent down to Bemboca where I had lunch
Candelo
I decided to skip going to Bega and Tathra and head off the Monaro Highway to the small village of Candelo. The only accommodation available in Candelo was camping in the local park.
There were some other people in this ‘free camp’. There were a young couple from Malta who were travelling around Australia in a campervan and an older couple who were travelling a very large ‘campervan’ which was a converted bus. The bloke in the bus told that he and his wife had been “on the road for 7 years and couldn’t living any other way”.
I ended up having a meal in the Candello Bowling Club after deciding that the pub had a ‘touch of the Faulty Towers’. Neither the pub or the bowling club had EFPOS it was all ‘CASH ONLY’. I think these places need an ATO audit.
Onto the Coast and Merimbula
Leaving Candelo, I headed towards the coast. A short ride brought me onto the Princess Highway which is the main highway running along the coast into Victoria and through to Melbourne.
I had booked into a place that had been the Merimbula YHA. The woman running the place told me that “owners were trying to sell the place didn’t want to keep paying the YHA fees”.
When I was planning the trip I had hoped to catch up will an old Department Foreign Affairs colleague and his wife. They are both retired and have a house in Merimbula. Unfortunately for family reasons that were not in town.
I had two full days in Merimbula. It is a great spot with an excellent beach.
Nano Brewery
It was drizzling when I left Merimbula and headed south. I stopped briefly in the Longstocking ‘Nano’ Brewery just south of Pambula. As the owner explained, his “brewery is smaller than a micro-brewery”.
Big Ship in Eden
As I rode on to Eden, I was passed by a surprising number of buses heading both North and South.
When I got into Eden I headed to the Great Southern Hotel. The main street was a ‘hive of activity’. It turned out that there was a big cruise ship in town and the buses were transporting the passengers to the local sites including Merimbula.
Non-Pedestrian Crossing
I spent a full day in Eden. It has an impressive harbour which was once the site of a major whaling industry.
A feature of the town is the most bizarre traffic ‘control’ system that you will ever see. They are four ‘non-pedestrian crossing’. These are painted blue and give the appearance of being standard pedestrian crossings. However, closer inspection reveals signs telling the pedestrians to “give way to vehicle”. Several locals told me that “they have been the cause of many near misses”. I plan to bring is issue up with the local council and the Roads and Traffic Authority.
Flickr Links
Candelo
https://flic.kr/s/aHsmemNsTC
Merimbula
Eden
https://flic.kr/s/aHskww6YPy
Garmin Links
Nimitabel
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2501388657
Candelo
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2501388696
Merimbula
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2509201675
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