Road Tripping with the Val

I have just returned from an awesome Road Trip up the East Coast from Melbourne to Moruya, NSW (40 kms before Batemans Bay).

It was a great opportunity to pull my old 1963 Chrysler Valiant out of the garage, as it never gets a run anymore and to visit an old friend and former colleague Kerrie, who gave up her job and Melbourne lifestyle 2 years ago to move to the south coast of NSW.

Kerrie and her partner Paul now live on 2 beautiful bushland acres, just 15 minutes walk through the adjoining forest to their nearest 'deserted beach'.

I had been promising Kerrie and Paul that I would get up there one of these days but never quite did until Kerrie made me an offer I couldn't refuse and that was to Dj at her 50th Birthday and spend a few days up there enjoying the local environment and beaches.

As I am now a man of leisure (although the occasional dj job interrupts this), I thought fantastic, 'Road Tripping with the Val'.

The drive up there was uneventful as I pretty much drove all the way through, only stopping to refill my Val with LPG every 200 kms.

As I got closer to Lakes Entrance and then up through Orbost onto Eden, the countryside, forests and beach vistas became increasingly more beautiful.

Pretty much after Orbost the traffic became lighter and lighter along the Princes Hwy, so at some stages I didn't see another vehicle for 10 - 15 minutes at a time. The Val was running beautifully and it wasn't too hot, so the drive although a long one at 8.5 hours seem to fly by (it does when you are doing 70mph most of the time!).

On arrival at Kerrie's place, I could see why she had moved there, the place was absolutely stunning.

It was such a beautiful place just to drive into and I could see what drew Kerrie and Paul there, not only the landscape but the opportunity to live in a house that was designed to fit into the environment.

Talk about home among the gum trees!

As promised when I arrived I was greeted with a drink while Kerrie and Paul were kind enough to put my tent up! The view from my tent across the adjoining property was to the ocean I could hear rumbling in the distance.

It didn't take me long to unpack and settle right in for the rest of the weekend!

Gradually others started to arrive and get their tents set up for the weekend. It started to look like a mini festival site!

After a great night of drinking eating and conversation it was time to head down to that 'deserted beach' I mentioned earlier and true to Kerrie's word it was deserted and the water was cold. Perfect for my hangover!!

The day seemed to slip by slowly with a visit to the local Moruya Market with its local produce on show all set to a beautiful backdrop of the Moruya River.

Kerrie's party on the Saturday night was fantastic with over 60 people in attendance and even a few dancers to my tunes! Hard crowd though!

Happy Birthday Kerrie!!!

While at Kerrie's place I took the opportunity to look around the local area at some of the beaches on Kerrie and Paul's doorstep in the Eurobodella National Park. What I found was what many would call paradise, with golden sand, blue skies, rock pools, no people and endless little coves, hidden beaches and headlands where the vistas were like mirages of the perfect beaches, but there they were, right there in front of me and now you!

After 3 days of enjoying Kerrie and Paul's company and beautiful home it was time to head for home, slowly down the coast of NSW into Victoria. Paul had pointed out some places to stop along the way and this is what I saw...

Near Bingie Point there is a break in the headland rocks and another deserted beach!

View from Bingie Point toward Moruya

Bingie Point Beach

Wallaga Lakes Bridge

Just before Mimosa Rocks

Mimosa Rocks

Middle Beach

Rock Formations, Middle Beach

More pics can be found at: Road Tripping with the Val

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Thanks for your time...

Rob Steer