COVID19 Conundrum.....A Lockdown Lament.
Well it's us again in the Land of Oz...but not as we know it.
First of all, apologies to our readers for the previous blog which appears to have had a malfunction with the photos. I have, hopefully, rectified it so feel free to have another look. The blog provider we are using is becoming a little frustrating with regards loading photos to post so if any IT guru would like to shed some light on how we can make it easier, it would be most welcome! We are also aware that leaving comments is almost impossible - feedback via vongray1969@gmail.com most gratefully received
In the meantime I will (unfortunately) have to reduce the photos or shorten the blogs.....oh how I hear you weep.
I do feel I now have a trapped audience given a number of people are now in self-isolation or lockdown which is a bonus for me...I think ? What a crazy world we are living in right now. Von and I are currently contemplating our next move in this bizarre game of chess, and beginning to doubt whether we are going to actually finish this adventure in the way we had envisioned. Hard to believe Australia has been dealing with drought, fire, flood and now this and all since we arrived....well, apart from the drought I guess.
As with many people we also have moments of anxiousness as to what the future holds; given we have no house and all our money from the sale is invested...
So, for now, we have to focus on each day and, in part, think ourselves lucky that we can self-isolate reasonably easily in our little house on wheels if needs be. There is talk that the Government will stop interstate travel or all un-necessary domestic travel; quite where that puts us has yet to be fully considered!. Currently we are in a small fishing town, Bermagui, which could be worse. (campsite is on the right hand side of the big bit of green space)
This means we are still in New South Wales; the intent was to be in Victoria for April as Dennis has a grooming appointment. So we wait....in any event we have some options.
Despite 'Toiletrollgate' , 'Pastagate', 'Potatogate', and any other shortage/panic buy craziness, the chef of the household has managed to shop well, and the buying locally mantra seems to be working. All the healthy stuff is still available and we are separating our loo roll to one ply! Thankfully the campgrounds appear to have loo roll supplies for Africa!.
We have still tried to visit those towns who were suffering as a result of fires, and are now enduring further hardship due to lack of tourists/visitors. Local farmers markets, where most of these places ply their wares, have been cancelled so we are making a small contribution we hope.
Last night we had cheese dip & bread from Tilba, wine from Canberra region, tomatoes from Bermagui, and Lunch and fuel from Cobargo.
We have been blessed with some amazing weather, which does lift the spirits, and the nights are cooler which makes for good sleeping. We can be in the outdoors as much as possible, just not within 2 metres of anyone - which is no bad thing!
We have managed to still swim in the ocean, as has Dennis, so can't complain too much despite a nagging sense of guilt that we should be doing this at all when family in the UK are holed up with crap telly!
What have we been doing?
Well Canberra was a revelation to both of us, and we did, in fact, have a brief return. More walking around Lake Burley Griffin, more walking around the National Arboretum,....
and more culture with the Museum of Australia. The museum is undergoing a few transformations but there was enough to keep us occupied. They had even managed to get hold of the fridge that had been used at the side of the road during the bushfires near Bungendore. A couple had set it up for people to donate food and drink for the Emergency Services. It now has pride of place in the foyer of the Museum before being part of a display dealing with the bushfires and associated stories.
A little side trip ensued to Murrumbateman to buy wine for my 'March Wine Fund' (the fund being from my lovely Ryman residents who are also in lockdown so I have their undivided attention!)
Meanwhile back in Canberra more eating, and more 'Yamasaki' time who, once again, were awesome hosts. This time we were able to pay some hospitality back by helping set up their new studio.
Not sure why everyone turned up in stripes ??
We even tracked down the Capital Brewery having already sampled Bent Spoke Brewery on the previous visit. (see previous blog).
Once again we bid farewell to the Yamasaki/Cumming-Thom clan and headed back to the coast and turned right. Two nights in a lovely campground by the ocean in Tuross meant we could do washing, swim in the sea, read, chill and try and plan our next route avoiding Covid germs as best we could. Tuross is a lovely seaside town and one I had visited probably around 20years ago when Jenny and Ronni had a beach house there. Pleased to see it hadn't changed a great deal.
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| One Tree Point in Tuross |
We then followed the coast, stopping briefly in Bodalla to be disappointed that the BIG Cheese doesn't exist anymore. Lunch stop was in Narooma in order to see the Sting Rays .....they were MASSIVE.... Steve Irwin type Massive ! They come in everyday to meet the fishing boats and fight off the Pelicans and the Seals for the scraps. Amazing to see and no requirement for an Aquarium and, more importantly, completely free!
After the wildlife excitement we continued to our next 2 night stop which was in Mystery Bay and, again, was a free camp. It had an eclectic mix of campers within the gum trees and an abundance of mosquitoes which feasted on Von however, the beach was stunning and was enough compensation for Von to take one for the team.
And that duly brings me back to the beginning of the blog and sat in the sunshine of Bermagui. Conversations rumbling around about where to go and what to do. Should we stay or should we go...where do we go, where do we stay?
Troubling and challenging times everywhere around the world.
Kia Kaha.
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