Greetings from Narooma,

I departed home at 7:45, heading south along the Princes Highway. I arrived in Milton ’round 9:30, where I made the usual bakery visit, in order to obtain victuals for morning coffee and lunch.

At Milton, I forsook the highway, heading west, initially along minor roads, and then on forestry roads. Near a half 10, I had a coffee break at a camping area adjacent to the upper reaches of the Clyde River.

I then continued west for a few kilometres, before heading south along a track named the “Western Distributor”, which eventually joined the Kings Highway near Nellingen. I rejoined the Princes Highway at Batemans Bay, and had lunch at the Waldron’s Swamp Rest Area, between Moruya and Narooma, ’round 12:30.

I arrived at the Whale Motor Inn in Narooma at about 1:30, after having covered 310 km.

After settling in, I visited the National Parks & Wildlife Service office, to see if there were any road/track closures in the Deua and Wadbilliga National Parks, and much to my dismay, there were many, due to damage by recent heavy rains, and fallen trees. The ranger said that there was a huge tree across the road on the Razorback Fire Trail, and that they were going to have to get some heavy equipment in to move it (i.e. it wasn’t something that a couple of rangers with chainsaws in a 4WD could handle!).

It looks like tomorrow’s drive will have to be a re-run of the Wadbilliga Crossing track that I did last year, rather than the Razorback, then back to base via Belowra (on the track that thwarted me last year), as the ranger said that it was clear (at least as of yesterday!). My options for Friday’s drive have been severely limited; I may have to venture a bit further afield, or pehaps do some sightseeing, rather than 4WDing.

For a change, I’ve struck it lucky with broadband internet access! When I was here last year, the free (yes, free) wireless access was fine, but in this room, the signal ranged from fair, to poor, to non-existent. Thankfully, they have an ethernet-over-powerline system to serve those rooms that can’t get a decent wireless signal. It’s a great solution, obviating the need to provide ethernet cabling; they simply have to provide an adapter that plugs into the power point for the guests that require access.

Cheers,
Julian