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Map courtesy of Ride with GPS
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This was a huge day, not in the sense of riding but it also included a cruise around Jervis Bay with Dolphin Wild Cruises.... http://www.dolphinwild.com.au/ . Before I elaborate on the cruise, lets start at the beginning in Nowra.
Nowra with a population of nearly 35,000, is situated on the banks of the Shoalhaven River some 160 km south of Sydney. The first winner of the Melbourne Cup, Australia's premier thoroughbred race meeting, was Archer, trained in the district and went on to win the 2nd Melbourne Cup as well. Arthur Boyd, a famous Australian artist, also lived in the district and the list of famous inhabitants goes on and on.
Our accommodation at the Park Haven Motor Lodge was good, probably not up to Sebel Harbourside standards but comfortable none the less. After breakfast which was served in our rooms, we embarked on a ride from Nowra to Myola where we had to board a ferry by 12.45 pm to take us to Huskisson, otherwise we may have missed our cruise departure.
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| You would be forgiven, if you thought you were in Finland or dreaming as it looks pretty authenic |
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| Not all travel is on a sealed road |
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| Serene |
The ride initially took us along the river for approximately 10 km before making a sharp right hand turn heading overland to Callala Bay and then on to Callala Beach, where we stopped to have some refreshments.
We stopped at a cafe adjacent to Callala Beach which had a great little deck, large enough to accommodate our group perfectly. Our ride notes recommended stopping here and buying some lunch before boarding the ferry a little further along at Myola. Of interest here was that management gave us a sample of their dry fried chips (fries) which were quite tasty and probably were more healthy eating than the usual fried chips. Having a group of 18 hungry cyclists descend upon a lonely little cafe unexpectedly probably helps their daily profit quite nicely.
It was at the end of these steps that we boarded a small ferry which took us to Huskisson.
I took the above photograph of the sea birds as we emerged from the creek to enter Jervis Bay.
Our first glimpse of Huskisson, a small coastal town in which we were to spend the next two days and to me was one of the highlights of the tour.
I couldn't help taking this sneaky photograph of one of our group relaxing on the wharf whilst awaiting to board the Dolphin Wild Cruise boat, dolphinwildcruises.com.au/
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| Similar to the boat we cruised on.....plenty of grunt! |
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| Jervis Bay, looking east. |
The above photographs were taken as we cruised along the northern escarpment of Jervis Bay. There are some quite remarkable formations, colours and caves caused by the elements eroding sandstone.
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| Hyams Beach. The dark change of colour in the water is sea grass. |
We certainly got our money's worth, the tour of Jervis Bay was slick, professional and educational added to a heady mix of adrenaline and adventure as the four large outboard motors made mixing it with the large waves coming in through the heads look like child's play. One moment we were ploughing through the waves and the next, airborne. There was a gentle side to the boat as well as it nonchalantly glided through a pod of local dolphins playing and feeding. These beautiful wild mammals certainly love the lime light as they graciously performed for us as if in repertory.
The temperature out on the bay was quite cool as we cut through the spray and I was pleased that I put my hand up when offered a storm jacket at the beginning of the tour. The tour gave us some insight into the vast Jervis Bay ecological systems at play.The sandy beaches bordering the exquisite crystal clear water is said to have the whitest sand in the world. One wonders at the force of nature as the wind and wave motion, over time, sculptured patterns in beautiful colours on the cliffs and over time, burrowed and moulded the caves so easily seen from our boat.
