Update so far....On Boxing Day we packed up ready to hit the road again when we hit our first problem. We forgot to release and latch the door before winding the van down. Result???? The mechanism to wind the van up & down was now stuffed!!!!!! Luckily with the help of Ben and Ken (brother & cousin) and the use of my Uncle Ians' garage the boys re-engineered the wheel and by 3pm that arvo we were on the road again.

That night we stayed in Olney State Forest which was about 30 mins North of Gosford. Ben left early on the 27th Dec to meet with a friend and we continued south. We arrived at Moss Vale that afternoon (Central Highlands) and were greeted with a frosty 10 degree afternoon and even cooler night!!!! So much for Summer!

The next morning we headed towards the coastline to travel south again. This was going to be a very interesting morning!!!! Little did I know and later as we discovered the trip to the coast via Kangaroo Valley was down the Great Dividing Range!!!! "42 Bends" as we later were told the road is also known as had us butt-clenched and white knuckled as our brakes were heating up and the pedal was getting longer and longer. 3 times we stopped to give the car a rest (and cool our nerves!) and we cheered with joy when we hit flat, straight road again!!

But we would soon forget the stresses of the drive when we arrived at Narooma. About an hour south of Batemans Bay we drove around this headland and over a hill to discover the most magnificant place! Green, turquoise blue waters that were so clear you could see at least 10mts down. No hussle and bustle of tourists - we were in love!!! Our campsite was about 10kms out of town at Mystery Bay which was equally lovely. Basic beach camping with cold showers and drop loos but it was exactly what we were looking for!!! We set up for 2 nights and relaxed while fishing and walking around the spectacular beaches.