7TH - 11TH FEBRUARY

We had planned on staying at Ben-Boyd National Park in New South Wales but when we arrived at the campsite we weren’t overly struck on it. There was also a large sign by the toilets telling people to be aware of the large yellow-bellied black snake which had been seen hanging around the toilets!!! So we decided to carry on and see where we ended up.

We drove into Victoria and headed to a couple of tourist parks but they only really had holiday cabins and didn’t take tents. So we looked in the brochures we had and decided on Mallacoota, as it looked nice. We sure weren’t disappointed, we arrived just before sunset and pitched our tent right next to the estuary. It was absolutely beautiful. Mallacoota was my favourite beach place in the whole of Australia, we both instantly feel in love with the place. It just gave you a sense of peace, tranquillity and open

space, you could see for miles over to the distant hills and hear the roar of the ocean. It was as close as you can get to camping perfection! The campsite was full of extremely friendly boating type people, mainly older folk who looked like they were very much enjoying their retirement. The area was teaming with wildlife and there were lots of pelicans which we’re great to watch. It’s pretty amazing watching them take flight, they soar so gracefully over the water before suddenly diving in head first to catch their dinner.

We set the alarm for sunrise as we figured it would be pretty special. I have to admit that I wasn’t exactly keen to jump out of my sleeping bag and head off outside, but as soon as I unzipped the tent and saw the misty dawn and the beautiful pre-daybreak light, I was out of my sleeping bag like a flash! Our tent was in a perfect position to watch the full day unfold,