Jervis Bay

After leaving the mountains we headed toward Sydney with a stop in Jervis Bay for a few days - one of the many beautiful beach communities along the southeast coast of New South Wales. It was still drizzling as we departed Thredbo - in fact we had to modify our route because of a landslide across the highway in one section - but it gradually started to clear as we passed near Canberra on our way towards the coast. We were finally blessed with sunshine during our time there, and so were able to get out and about to do some exploring - and hiking - in the many National Parks in the area.



The entire bay was absolutely gorgeous, and the centerpiece is Hyams Beach - advertised as having the whitest sand in the world. Like Barking Sands on Kauai, the sands are so clean that they squeak when you walk on them, and the water is as clear as a swimming pool. It was like a bit of the Caribbean plunked down in an Australian Bay. Must say though, that as beautiful as the place was, the sand still wasn't quite as white as the powdered sugar beaches of Pensacola, which really have to be seen to be believed.



Lots of creatures about in the National Park, including this mother kangaroo and her joey. There's a beach not far from here where it's said that the kangaroos actually go into the water and body surf..if you can believe that.





We made it a point to go walking in the evening - about an hour before sunset one night - hoping that the animals would be out and we certainly weren't disappointed. Saw several mobs of kangaroos, lots of wallabies, and flocks of birds including this guy in the picnic area mooching an evening's meal. Not sure if he's a Lorikeet or a Rozella, but there were about a half-dozen of them flitting around.





Got up early one day and drove around to one of the more remote trailheads in the park. We were the first ones to arrive at this beach and pretty much had it to ourselves for an hour or so while we explored the surrounding bay.




One souvenir from the recent rains was this Bluebottle (or "Bluey" in the local lingo). It's a Portugese Man-o-war that rode the winds onto the beach during the recent storm. While the tentacles aren't life-threatening like the Box Jellyfish in Queensland, they will make for a bad day at the beach if they wrap around a leg or an ankle. Some of the popular swimming beaches here have stations every hundred yards or so stocked with bottles of vinegar...to dowse the affected area from a jellyfish sting and neutralize the poison (and relieve the pain).




Our lunch spot on a sunny day.


After four pleasant and blessedly sunny days at the beach we packed up and pointed the car towards Sydney - our favorite city on earth. Will be staying in the northern suburb of Manly - a 30 minute ferry ride across the harbor from Circular Quay and the downtown area. Hoping the weather stays nice.