Sketches of Merimbula Seven

February 27 to February 28, 2015

The morning of Friday February 27 saw us once again heading off in a packed car toward Merimbula. The load of course included fishing and golfing gear, but not much in the way of cooking utensils other than a balloon whisk. Our first stop was no further away than Yarragon, some 90 minutes away from home. The reasons for this early stop are many and varied. First, it is an opportunity to meet with our cousins who live in this area. Second, there is an excellent art materials shop, and Ann wanted to take the opportunity of stocking up on a few bits and pieces for her watercolour painting. Third, there are good toilets in the main street. So, whilst Ann went into the art shop before our cousins arrived, I took a wander along the street, and spotting a sign for an “Olde Fashioned Lolly Shoppe”, headed in that direction. Unfortunately, as I neared the door, a whole bus load of school children descended on the shop, presumably with permission to spend some pocket-money on lollies. I followed them into the shop, and immediately wished I had not done so. They were behaving like, well, like kids in a lolly shop, and the noise of the high-pitched voices was more than mortal ears could bear. But I was determined to buy some of my favourite Olde Fashioned Lollies, being ‘humbugs’ and ‘bullseyes’. I eventually found these delights in a corner of the shoppe, packed with a dozen or more children. One child picked up a bag of bullseyes, studied the packet for a few seconds, and put it down again. Another then picked up a packet of humbugs, and did likewise. Unable to resist, I asked if any child could tell me the name of Bill Sykes’s dog. This met with very blank expressions on the childish faces. “Does anyone know who Bill Sykes is” I asked. The blank looks continued. “Oliver Twist?” I asked, but still not a flicker of recognition of the name. I felt compelled to enlighten them, telling them the dog was Bullseye. I then asked who was it that said of Christmas, “Bah Humbug!”. Nothing. “Scrooge?” said I. Still nothing. “A Christmas Carol?”. Still nothing. “Charles Dickens?’ the nothingness and blank faces continued. By this time I had lost interest in the bulls eyes and humbugs and left the Shoppe empty-handed.

I bent my steps toward the café at which we had agreed to meet, and ordered a coffee and a raspberry muffin. In response to my question, I was assured that no, the muffin had not been purchased from the United Metropolitan Improved Hot Muffin and Crumpet Baking and Punctual Delivery Company, and what was more, the café proprietor had never heard of the company, and even if he had, he would continue to bake his own muffins fresh every day. I am really amazed at the general ignorance of matters Dickensian displayed by most people!

Anyway, we had a nice, but brief time with our cousins before hitting the road again for Lakes Entrance, where we had decided we would spend the night.

We stayed at the Esplanade Motel, which is clean, comfortable and very moderately priced. In fact I would be happy to recommend it to anyone wanting a brief stay at Lakes Entrance. Right opposite the motel is one of two floating restaurants, which is very good, and not over-priced. So that is where we had dinner, preceded, and followed, by walks along the wharf.

Now apart from the lakes, the surf beaches, the golf course, the mild climate and the surrounding countryside, there is not a lot to recommend Lakes Entrance. And I suppose by that I mean that there is not a building in the town of any architectural significance. The shops and cafes along the esplanade are all single storey buildings, and most other buildings are holiday accommodations of one sort or another. There are increasing numbers of houses on the slopes inland overlooking the lakes that appear to be constructed for people with more money than taste, so really the built environment does very little to enhance the natural attractiveness of the place. But there are some very good examples of chain-saw sculptures along the Esplanade. Unfortunately, the sun was at the wrong angle to get a good photo, but this is one example.

Saturday morning, and we continued our journey. First stop was Cann River, a couple of hours from Lakes Entrance. Good coffee is to be had at a café called Pelican Point, near the eastern end of the small township. And then rather than drive to Merimbula by way of Mt Drummer and Eden, we chose this time to travel inland to Bombala. The road is excellent, and follows the Cann River valley. At this time, the valley was very pretty indeed, with lush green grass on either side of the river which winds up the valley. On the couple of occasions that the river gets very close to the road, it is very pretty, with crystal clear water tumbling over rounded boulders, making little waterfalls into the pools below. Unfortunately, at these spots, there was nowhere to safely stop and take photos, or to establish the likelihood of there being any trout in the stream.

The road is almost one continuous up-hill drive, as Bombala is at the south-eastern end of the Monaro High Plains, some 700m above sea level. It is a very pretty little town, with a population of the order of 1200, on the banks of the Bombala River. The local industries are mostly cattle grazing and timber, but at one stage it was seriously considered as the site for the Capital of Australia because it is roughly equidistant between Sydney and Melbourne. Tourism is now becoming increasingly important, one of the attractions being the very large populations of platypus.

From Bombala, the road drops down the 700m more steeply than the route up from Cann River, as it winds through Cathcart and Wyndham, joining the Princes Highway at Pambula, which is then only 4 or 5 km away from Merimbula. The Bombala route is a little longer than sticking with the Princes Highway, but makes a very nice change, if you have the time.

Well, this sketch has not even reached Merimbula, but the next one certainly will.