Cap’n Kangaroo

I woke up to the sunrise on the water. From my bed, I could see a huge orange ball of sun drifting up over the Tasman Sea and then I fell back asleep. It was a day for R&R, so I wasn’t in a hurry to get up. We had a leisurely breakfast and spent the morning on the veranda, simply enjoying the view.

For lunch, Zoe and Diann took us to the Oyster Shed. It’s an old shack, off a dirt road, where the Clyde River meets the ocean waters in Batemans Bay. Zoe noted that the business was a bit dilapidated before they painted it blue and raised their prices. As we waited for our lunch, we noticed that the floor holding the refrigerators was collapsing, and one of the refrigerators was being propped up by a car jack. Why are these kind of dives the ones with the best food? We had oysters and prawns, as well as fresh baked bread, while we sat on the picnic table just off the dock. They literally get their oysters within walking distance, and you could taste the freshness.

We followed up lunch with a long walk on the beach. We started south and then doubled back, and heading to the most northern point. The water here is very clear and transitioned from different hues of blue, getting darker farther away from the beach. There were a few other people on the beach, but it was basically empty. It looked like there might be rain, but we finished our walk without getting wet. Di checked her watch, when we got back to the car, and we had clicked off almost three miles. It felt much shorter, since we spent most of the time chatting and watching the surf.

Kim was clear that her goal for our trip to Australia was to see a kangaroo in the wild. We’ve been here almost two weeks and no kangaroos. Zoe found this unacceptable, so she drove us over toward the golf course. Apparently, kangaroos love golf courses. Within minutes, Zoe made Kim’s dreams come true. A large male, and two smaller kangaroos stared at us from the bush. One hopped away, but the large one stayed with one other. We watched them watch us for a while, then we drove up the hill to find another one, and another one, and another one. Kim was ecstatic about the find and was so very grateful for the opportunity to go kangaroo viewing. I suspect we will be seeing more in the next day or two, as we spend more time in the bush on our way to Melbin (Australian for Melbourne).Read more