New South Wales - Singing Cicadas and turquoise water

We're back in New South Wales (NSW) for a second, equally forgettable, stay at the Stamford Plaza Hotel at Sydney Airport. Our flight from Perth had been relatively short, only 3.5 hours, but as I had a long drive planned through NSW, I hadn't wanted to venture far from the airport.

Central Tilba at rush hour

We collected our hire car in central Sydney and, after the inevitable Sat Nav meltdown, soon found our way onto the Princes Highway south from the city. The drive down was very much greener than our previous visit in 2004. On that occasion the ground had been parched red and the trees visibly wilted. This year Spring in NSW has been particularly wet and the trees have benefitted hugely. My favourite is the blue/purple jacaranda, closely followed by the Illawarra flame tree, especially when they are found adjacent to each other.

Fo and Trudy shopping in Central Tilba, unsurprisingly

The drive down to Central Tilba, a heritage village in the Illawarra region, was uneventful and at times beautiful, especially when we caught glimpses of turquoise sea water on our left or crossed one of the many inlets and lagoons with which this coastline is blessed. For about an hour in the middle of the journey we thought our Toyota Corolla had developed a terminal fault, it sounded as though something vital was spinning too fast and, in the absence of sufficient oil, in danger of seizing up. When we opened a window the noise got worse so we were relieved to get to the busy market town of Berry still in one piece. We were flummoxed, however, when we realised that after turning off the engine and exiting the car, the noise had got louder still. In fact it was deafening. Over coffee a friendly Aussie explained that it was cicadas. Every 6 or 7 years these huge invertebrates appear in vast swarms and take to the surrounding greenery from which the males chirp to attract a mate. They're harmless but some species are day 'singers' and species like the Green Grocer and the Yellow Monday produce noise intensity in excess of 120dB at close range (this is approaching the pain threshold of the human ear).

Picture of my finger ruined by Fo and Trudy

Our good friends Trudy and Greg Iive in a wonderful house on a hillside in the shadow of Mount Gulaga. This has twin peaks and is sacred to the local aboriginal people. The unimaginative Captain Cook named it Mount Dromedary and sadly it is this name that is most commonly used. I had forgotten that the road out to their house is not fully bitumined, so our 2 wheel drive struggles a bit on the irregular, slippery surface - it all adds to the spice of this beautiful area.

We've known our hosts for a long time, especially Trudy who is godmother to our rugrats (the predictive text function on this tablet suggested 'regrets,'  instead of rugrats, which I found amusing until Fo hit me for laughing so much), so we had a lot of catching up to do. 

Wagonga Inlet at Narooma

When we eventually stopped gassing and ventured out it was to Narooma, a pretty town at the mouth of the Wagonga inlet. Its name is derived from the Aboriginal word noorooma which translates as clear, blue water, and that pretty much describes the place. Greg kindly took us on a scenic drive along the coast, which has lots of secluded, sandy coves. Three bed, 2 bath apartments overlooking one of these coves can be had for as little as £190K so Fo has already started to furnish one in her head. I'm not overly concerned, she does this wherever we go, but you can never be completely sure.

Skippy paid a visit and offered some dietary advice

The following day, after a session at a local gym and a swim, we drove to Bateman's Bay, another impossibly beautiful inlet. The main purpose of the visit was a dental consultation for Greg but we took the opportunity to visit a farmers' market. Regular readers will know that I loathe markets but I have to admit that I actually enjoyed this one. It was small and all of the produce was local and very fresh. We bought some olive bread and some enormous juicy figs. We had had a substantial breakfast but I still found room for a delicious curried lentil and veg pie. 'What's that you said Skippy? I'm putting on weight? Crikey mate, I'd better get to the gym tomorrow!"