So after a week in Sydney it was time to pack our bags and head south. The wind and rain had lashed Coogee over night and it was still raining as we packed. I jumped in a cab over to Sydney and collected the rental car and slowly drove back to Coogee and tried to re-orientate myself with driving on the right/wrong side of the road again!
After checking out of the hotel and loading the car with a lot of bags – not sure what we had acquired but there was a lot. For the drive down to Hyams Beach we had a choice of two routes – the scenic coastal route or via Kangaroo Valley. In the end it didn’t actually matter which way we went as we couldn’t see a blooming thing because the rain and fog was so incredibly dense that we could barely see 20 yards in front of the car! For the record we took the coastal route but I’m not sure we saw the sea at all!
We stopped at a supermarket in Nowra to get food for the house and to have a McDonald’s – checking to see how an Australian Big Mac compared to an American one. Interestingly enough I can say that they’re the same! Although it was very wet when we stopped, what was nice was that it was still warm with the temperature holding steady around the low twenty’s.
As we got closer to Hyams Beach the road signs had been warning us to look out for kangaroos. With our hopes raised and excitement building we did slow down and try our best to spot some but it wasn’t to be – there were no kangaroos for us. We arrived at Hyams and our home for the next few days just before 3pm. The rain had eased off and we took the opportunity to unload the car and unpack.
As we relaxed for a few minutes Tracy and her newly found animal sense kicked in. For no reason at all she decided to draw the curtain back and looked out the window and there it was – a kangaroo in our front yard having a munch on the fresh green grass. We all grabbed our cameras and started snapping away – this could be our first and last ever chance to see a kangaroo in the wild (in our garden!). After taking some pictures we decided to go outside and see if we could get some closer pictures without it kick boxing us.
After a car went past the kangaroo bounced round to the back yard and spent a good hour of so munching on the grass until a tiny little dog walked past on a lead and scared it! Silly thing!
With that excitement past we decided to take the short stroll to our local beach – Chinamans beach. Although it overcast it was still warm and it was lovely to hear the waves crashing onto the beach. As usual Harry and Toby decided that they wanted to play near the sea but they wouldn’t get wet. We all know how this story ends though and this time was to be no different. As a big wave came crashing in we all turned and ran to avoid getting wet. As I clung to my camera I looked to my left and saw Toby falling flat on his face on the beach and the sea washing round him. He lifted his head so it stayed above water and then as the sea withdrew a soggy, laughing Toby stood up:
With a soggy boy in tow we walked back to the house. The rain started to fall again and we all relaxed listening to it get heavier and heavier until it was time to head to bed. At least the rain was falling at night time – tomorrow was bound to be a beautiful day.