PARONELLA PARK

Hello everyone! 

As promised in last weeks blog post, i have a whole feature on the wonder that is Paronella Park! 

This park looks as though it was created as a set for a movie, but it is fact the way the park has developed, due to a serious of unfortunate events. But before i get on to that i will tell you how this place came to be in the first place. 

It all started with a Spanish Immigrant called Jose Paronella, whom arrived in Australia in 1913. For 11 years after he worked hard to earn enough money to marry the love of his life, and so that they could both spend the rest of their lives in Australia. In 1925 the couple married, and returned to Australia. In 1929 Jose purchased the plot of land, that would become Paronella Park, for £120! In 1935 the park was finally open to the public. He built this place from scratch, including planting 7000 plants. The centre piece being the castle that housed the refreshment rooms, and most importantly the ballroom.

Now to the unfortunate events that have helped shape the park into what it is now. Paronella Park is situated next to Mina Falls, a small but powerful waterfall. In 1946 the steam, which runs through the park, became blocked, eventually the water pushed the blockage free, causing the whole lot to fall onto the park, flooding it. More floods came in 1967, '72 and '74, meaning repair work was continuous. In 1979 a fire swept through the castle, causing the park to officially close for the first time. A cyclone battered the building in 1986, and another flooding in '94. In more recent times two more cyclones have hit the park, in 2006 and 2011, causing more setbacks and challenges for the team. 

New owners took over the park in 1993 and their aim was to keep Jose Paronellas dream alive, their aim being to preserve and maintain, rather then rebuilding it into something that Jose wouldn't have wanted. 

It's a truly special place, and the story behind it more so. This place could have easily been abandoned and left behind, but it continues life as a pleasure garden, just maybe in a slightly different form to what it used to be. 

The staircase to the Mina Falls, and the waterfall itself. 

A water feature that sits in front of the castle, and look at all the flora and fauna that fills the spaces.

Whilst here i enjoyed imaging all the couples dancing in the ball room, all the families having picnics in the gardens, and see that magic that used to be.

I just love this place, and it's history. I love how it seems abandoned, it seems as though it is overgrown, moss is growing wherever it can, but i believe this is what makes this place stand out and makes it even more charming. 

If you want more information about Jose's dream, or pictures of how it once looked then head on over to the official website by clicking here

Thanks for reading, xo

*As with all pictures featured on my blog, they are all taken by me unless otherwise noted. I use a Canon S120.

5 HIDDEN SPOTS ON THE EAST COAST OF AUSTRALIA

Hello everyone! 

So i was going through some of my photos from my self-driven trip of the East Coast of Australia, and i realised how many places i visited that you normally wouldn't be able to see if you took the standard Greyhound bus from Sydney up to Cairns...

So i thought i would share with you all the 5 places i visited, that are more or less off the beaten track and not filled with too many tourists! 

1) Wallaman Falls

Situated in the Wet Tropics area in Queensland, this place is Australia's tallest single-drop waterfall! It is about 51km (an hours drive) from the nearest town of Ingham, driving through rural properties but well worth the journey! We managed to find a free campsite situated on the property of the Ashton Hotel, in Long Pocket which is surrounded by mountains and sugar cane fields and is closer to the falls then the paid campsites in the nearest town. 

(A beautiful sky at our campsite in Long Pocket):

(A view half way to the falls, stopped for a spot of lunch!):

(Finally we got to the falls, which you can actually walk down too but it's a very steep hike so we didn't attempt it):

2) Shute Harbour

Everybody has heard of Airlie Beach, which is Shute Harbours neighbour (only 10kms away). We decided to venture into this small port town and although you have to pay to park, we drove around until we found a free parking spot... which also happened to be the car park for a bush walk which lead to the beautiful Coral Beach. So unknown that we were the only ones there, which is why we loved it so much. Views across the Whitsundays and taurtles popping their heads out of the surf! If  you are in Airlie and fancy a walk then this is the place to go! The car park is just off Passage Avenue, before the turning to Harbour Avenue!

(There's a reason why it's called Coral Beach, and that's because it's filled with washed up coral from the reefs, and all these multi-coloured pebbles!):

 3) Inkerman Hill Lookout

This place is hard to find unless you are driving and manage to spot the 'scenic lookout' sign, well i mean Mount Inkerman is surround by flat land so when you're their it isn't that hard really...

The drive up the mountain is quite steep, but well worth it for the views. It makes a great place to stop, mainly because it breaks up a long journey but also it has picnic facilities at the top and is a great place to relax. We also met some of the wildlife, in the form of wallabies!

(The wallabies weren't too afraid of us humans, and stayed for a while so i managed to get some great photos!):

 4) Big Crystal Creek Rockslides

Most people coming though this area would go to Big Crystal Creek itself, but we decided to follow the road until we reached a gate that would let us go no further. We parked up and carried on,on foot, until we reached the rock slides. These are rocks that are naturally smooth and therefore can be used to slide into the water. A lovely quiet, relaxing place.

(On our way to the rockslides we came across this fruit and vegetable stall, owned by someone who lives in the area. The stall was full of a whole range of home grown goodies, which were being sold for almost nothing. We met the woman who was running the place and she was very very friendly, it's nice to support the locals so we really did stock up on food here!):

 5) Millaa Millaa Lookout

So this place is only a five minute stop, but i want to speak about this whole "area" in general. I lost my photos of Millaa Millaa waterfall, and didn't take any in Ravenshoe, but this lookout is in between both places and therefore should definitely be a place to stop as the views are incredible.

It's worth noting that we were on our way to Innot Hot Springs, a place i don't recommend because it's not as great as it sounds. The springs are basically just a puddle that are too hot to touch, with one campsite, that's it. Not worth the journey.

Ravenshoe is the town which is situated the highest above sea level in Queensland, which we didn't learn until we arrived. A very small place, but the main town in the area. A post office, supermarket, fuel, cafes, a few antique shops and accommodation for visitors to the many waterfalls in the area.

Which brings me to Millaa Millaa waterfall, infamous for being the waterfall featured in the herbal essence commercial and also in the video for Peter Andres Mysterious Girl. Easy to get a tour to, but then you don't get to see the surrounding area which is just as impressive.

Before i finish this post, i would also like to mention one more place. Paronella Park. I had found one leaflet on this place, and thought it looked amazing. Then whilst driving the East Coast i saw a sign for the real deal, and didn't realised how close we were. So i made us pay a visit. This place was so amazing that i'm going to give it its own blog post, so look out for that next week!

I know there are many other places on the East Coast, but these are my top five places that are less known in comparison to places such as Magnetic Island, Airlie Beach, Noosa and many more. These places are beautiful too, but can all be reached on public transport. This post i wanted to feature those places which can only really be self-driven to, and therefore gives you places that aren't filled with tourists or backpackers who are drinking at every hour of every day. Please note that none of these pictures have people in them, and that's because there were no people except us. We had all of these places near enough to ourselves, a rare occurrence in the land down under.

Thanks for reading, xo

*As with all pictures featured on my blog, they are all taken by me unless otherwise noted. I use a Canon S120.

GUNNERS BARRACKS

I love the idea of going for Afternoon Tea, especially when the sun is shining and you're surrounded by great company. Whilst in Sydney over Christmas i got to visit Gunners Barracks in Mosman, which offers spectacular views of the harbour, and amazing afternoon tea.

We originally had vouchers for the Champagne Afternoon Tea, but opted to upgrade to the Cocktail Afternoon Tea for $10 extra, bringing the total cost to $60 (around £30, but it's worth it). 

First of all we picked our cocktails. I went for the 'Toblerone' which consists of amaretto, kahlua and frangelico shaken over cream with a shot of caffeine. It tasted like a chocolate milkshake, and went down far too easy!

Then we were served our finger sandwiches and cakes, presented on a three tiered stand, followed by warm scones and savory pastries. Along with a pot full of tea for each individual, served in beautiful china with flowers to match the scenery.

Everything was delicious, and surprisingly very filling. But why should you come all the way to the other side of the harbour, just for the afternoon tea? Good question. This is why: 

The views from the veranda are what makes this place stand out from the rest, especially when there's not a cloud in the sky! There is a small garden at the rear which gives uninterrupted views, and which is great for photo shoots.

There are a few attractions around as well, so you can make a day of it. Taronga Zoo just up the road on one side and Balmoral Beach on the other. Or if you want to take a nice stroll then the actual restaurant is situated within Sydney Harbour National Park.

Be sure to let me know some great places around the world for Afternoon Tea, as i'm always on the hunt for restaurants/cafe's to add to my never ending 'To Visit' list.

Thanks for reading,
xo

BACK TO BLOGGING

So now that i'm back home and settled down into some sense of reality, i want to give this blogging thing another go! 

Almost exactly three months ago to the day, i landed at Heathrow Airport, ending a great year of adventures. A week later i started working and then decided i was too busy to focus on anything else, even though all i do is watch Netflix on repeat in my pajamas. 

But now i think it's time that i start doing something with my life. Which is why i want to start blogging again. 

It won't be half the adventure it used to be, and will only have a small portion to do with travelling. (I've only left my hometown twice since being back.) And although i spent a year adventuring around Australia, it's not what i'm doing at the moment. 

Which is why my blog is going to become a sort of lifestyle blog. 

I have definitely changed as a person in the past year, and  have been lucky enough to have some amazing experiences, which i still want to share with you all but i also want to include some of my other interests as well; from eating and drinking, to makeup and clothes. 

I am also currently a member of Slimming World, which is something not too many people know about and not something that i will dwindle on too much, but some of my posts may include recipes that revolve around being Slimming World friendly, and which is why i am now much more interested in making myself not look like trash.

Photography is a big part of my life as i love having the ability to document everything (and i mean everything) that happens around me. Therefore it will play a big part in the look of my blog. It's also something that i need to bring back into my life, as since being home i just haven't felt that same excitement as i did when taking photos of sunsets, coral reefs, wildlife and other Australian beauty. So this will give me a goal to go out more and enjoy what i see. 

So that's my plans for the next up coming months.

I'd love to make blogging a regular thing, but first of all i need a month trial period for myself, just to see if i can actually put down in words, the ideas in my head. 

There we have it. My first post in a long time, and hopefully the start of many more posts to come this year. Let's give it a shot! 

xo

2 MONTHS GONE

My oh my, has it really been 2 months since the last update? Yes. That is correct.

Since we last spoke i have been all over Australia, currently in a little town called Portland about 4 hours from Adelaide.

We did eventually find jobs in Sydney. Which meant we had to drive 40 hours straight to make it back to the big city in time to begin. It was at a fruit farm, pruning flowers and then the fruit later on. It started out okay, good enough pay for what it was and we had a cheap campsite. Eventually though we had to leave because they were in trouble with the council and then finding somewhere to stay became harder and more expensive. In total it was around 5 weeks before we packed up and left. We had almost two weeks without any work because the fruit was not growing as quickly as expected and we felt we were being treated unfairly. Our friendly employers were becoming not so friendly. So we left. For me it was only two days before i was scheduled to leave anyway but for my companions it was a good couple of weeks. But y'know, some things work out for the better.

We stayed in Sydney for around a week and my friend from the UK flew in. Then we decided to drive to Melbourne and do the Great Ocean Road. This is something me and George have already done about a month into our Australian adventure, but it was amazing and it wasn't entirely the same, we made sure the change it up. Including going to a wildlife sanctuary and seeing the cutest baby dingo i have ever laid my eyes on!

Just before we hit Melbourne we decided to rent a house on Phillip Island, infamous for it's penguin parade every evening. Here we celebrated my 20th birthday and then a few days later got robbed. Yup, this happened to us whilst we were having a lovely walk along a beach and came back to find our lock had been forced and i was short of my wallet. An Ipad and a camera were also in the mix. Not a lot got taken, but the most valuable to us. My wallet has two memory cards full of pictures from the past 7 months, which have now gone forever pretty much and the other two were also full of photos. C'est la vie. We didn't let this hold us back. Just a few tears were shed.

That evening we drove into Melbourne were me and Jordan were booked into a hostel for the night. One of the best i have stayed in so far, might i add. (Discovery Hostel) It was bang slap next door to The Queen Victoria Markets. We went for lunch with a lovely couple he had met on his flight over. We explored the markets, bought an engraved ring for $15! and a dog tag for my dog back home. We also went to the Eureka Tower which is the tallest building in the city and from there we could see the MCG and watch the AFL final! Pretty awesome. We also went to a market called Finders, which was full of independent stores and, dare i say it,  basically Pinterest as a market. Cute little knick-knacks and food and drinks everywhere! I loved the place.

Our next stop was the Great Ocean Road, i have written about it in a post before and nothing has changed. It is just as beautiful. Except this time we went swimming in Loch Ard Gorge and saw an awesome sunset. The weather was in the high 30's for a change so it was a lovely drive.

The next few days are going to consist of wineries, German towns and Adelaide. After that we will all go our separate ways until Christmas! I am going to explore Western Australia, the others are finding work and Jordan is popping back to Melbourne before meeting me in Perth.

I'm excited to see what the next few months bring me! See ya! x

LEAVING BRISBANE, AND BACK IN CAIRNS

Well hello! It's been a while, a few months!

So what has happened since i last made contact with this blog? Quite a lot actually!

I ended up spending two months in Brisbane, a month of which was working for accommodation at Base Central Backpackers. Here i was a housekeeper, which was an okay job and it gave me free rent which saved me $600. I made a tonne of new friends and said goodbye to some other ones, and then eventually to all of them when i decided to pack up and leave just short of a month ago! But we'll get back to that in a moment. First of all, what did i get up to whilst in one city for that long?Many things i can assure you, but quite important to me was the fact that i could finally unpack and not live out of a backpack!

There are lots of little treasures in this wonderful city and although i dreamed of escaping and traveling once again, i wouldn't change this little adventure for anything. Sunday sessions on the green at Southbank played a big part in my ability to stay sane and every weekend we'd go to the bottle shop and purchase the cheapest bottle of wine we could find, pick up some cups and catch the free ferry across the river to the green. Here we could chill out and listen to free music, drink wine and watch the sun go down over the city.

A few times we went to Eat Street Markets which is a big food market (obviously!) which contains may food stalls, serving food from all over the world! My first time i was like a kid Disneyland and it took me a good few loops to decide on what i wanted to eat. I chose yaki soba, langos and a cronut with a syringe on Nutella! Sounds like heaven right? I did try to not get the same thing and also tried the lanksa, currywurst and few other heavenly foods! Some locals do not even know of the existence of this place, we found out, even though it is a weekly event.

We also went to the Soutbank markets a few times, where i purchased a new ring. There was also a food market at the end of the mall every Wednesday where we would go around trying all of the foods.

Towards the end of our time in Brisbane we finally got around to visiting Mt Coot-ha, which is a lookout with spectacular views across the city and surrounds, and therefore became one of my favorite places. Here we were to say our final farewells to the city that became home for a few months.

Me and two friends, one who i've been traveling with ever since we met in our first ever week in hostels in Sydney and one we met in Cairns, decided that we wanted to leave! And that we did. on Gumtree i discovered a camper van that seated five people and slept four, for a reasonable price. The following day we met with the owners to have a look around and then the day after purchase our beloved Trevor. One week later and we were outta there!

Our 3 weeks travelling up to Cairns has bought us to many places we visited on our first East Coast adventure, but now with the ability to drive ourselves we got to see many new sites that Australia has to offer! Lots of lookouts, lot of sunsets, lots of waterfalls and many evenings playing card games. Our waterfall collection includes the infamous Milaa Milaa waterfall known for being the waterfall used in the herbal essence adverts! I have been nominated as chef, which i enjoy. Even though we have minimal room and the smallest pans in the world where i was having to cook for four hungry mouths! But now it's just as easy as cooking in a normal kitchen, though i still cannot seem to get the correct amount of rice and end up with tonnes of the stuff! But somehow we have gone down to two meals a day and eating rather healthy, due to buying mountains of fruit and veg from little stalls along the road where everything is as cheap as chips. Our stomachs have seemed to have shrunk a lot in the past months since leaving the city life.

Now it is back to the job hunting. We are currently in a little place called Ingham staying at a free campsite 20km west, near to Wallaman Falls. (Australia's tallest single drop waterfall, a stunning place) Trying to find farm work is seemingly harder then it seems, although we are at an advantage with our own transport and accommodation. We are thinking of heading down south any time soon, as that's where the promising phone calls seem to come from. But we'll see.

Lots of driving, and being in the middle of nowhere means that i have had the opportunity to read again and therefore since leaving Brisbane i have got back into books. The Girl On The Train, Dracula and now i am currently reading Be My Guest by Conrad Hilton, the man who built the Hilton Hotel empire! It's actually an interesting read and has given me many more facts to add to my random fact collection in my brain!

Oh, before i leave i would like to inform to the fact that i still haven't gotten my laptop fixed and have basically been carrying a dead wait with me for over 3 months. I also ended up braking my phone so had to purchase a new one, and have also been given the crown for most clumsiest and messiest person people have ever met. Saying that though, i have become a much more confident person and can speak to people! Hallelujah!

Anyway, the job searching awaits and i have taken a half an hour brake to finally get round to updating you all, so i must get back!

Thanks for reading!

P.S. Check out my Instagram for photos of all my travels! @wanderlustandfree and give me a follow if you so wish!

THE OUTBACK

Hello!

I know, i know. It's been over a month since i last posted on here. Firstly, i spent almost two weeks travelling through the outback. Starting in Darwin and finishing thousands of kilometres later in Adelaide, which is when i realised that i have a busted laptop screen and still haven't gotten round to getting it fixed because i don't want to spend money on it until it becomes necassary.

So, let's have a catchup shall we?

We decided in Cairns to do the middle, whilst we still had money and weren't desperatley seeking a job. There we found ourselves planning the next part to our adventure.

After a week in Cairns, we took a flight across the country to Darwin. Here was had a good couple of days before our tour started.

The first tour, which took us 6 days and down to Alice Springs was with a company abtly named WayOutback. It was decided into two sections.

For the first 3 days we travelled down to Litchfield National Park, and then across to Kakadu National Park. We spent out time swimming in waterfalls, crusing in crocodile infested rivers (where we saw two saltwater crocs! Crikey mate!), viewing ancient Aboriginal Art, seeking out some amazing views and meeting some awesome people.

The next 3 days we had a different tour guide, taking us down to Alice Springs. Again, we started in Darwin and then drove and drove and drove! Again, we met some lovely people and did some amazing things. Such as swimming in thermal pools, watching glorious sunsets, climbing The Devils Marbles, visiting the infamous Daly Waters, hiking to view Katherine Gorge and also cutting my knee open. Yes, this is something that happened and the following day i passed out at a service station whilst trying to get the bandage off. All fun and games here.

Finally we made it to Alice Springs. One place i have always wanted to visit, one place that isn't high on my list to visit again. It was an experience, and was pretty. But there isn't exactly alot to do without a car and the crime rate is very high. Someone described it to me as 'the bad side of Cape Town, for Australia'. We did end up in a weird little "club" though, which was an experience. On our second, and final, night in Alice we were downstairs and overheard the women at reception telling another women who had just arrived, that she wasn't allowed to go out after 10pm on her own because the risks were too high. Saying all this though, it was a good few days spent with friends.

I preferred the second tour to the first one, mainly because i fianlly got to see Uluru (Ayers Rock), which is something that i have been waiting to do pretty much my whole life. We did this tour with a company called Groovy Grape. The first day we got picked up around 6am and drove straight to Kings Canyon, which is a big canyon with amazing views. It also includes The Garden Of Eden, which is a big waterhole with trees everywhere, in the middle of all this dry sandstone. It was truly beautiful, and a lovely (apart from the uphill climbing) hike. On our drive here we stopped at the only service station, and ended up bumping into a friend we met on Fraser Island and continued to follow up the East Coast... how weird!

We then spent one night at Kings Canyon before continuing on to Uluru. We arrived around lunch time and ate food. Then we drove into the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park and hiked Kata Tjuta, also named The Olgas. They are made up of 36 individual rocks, which altogether is bigger then Uluru but equally as beautiful in my opinion. It is also lesser known, due to the fact you cannot take photos for commercial use or for photography that will then be sold.

Sometime between 5 and 6pm we walked up to the Uluru Sunset lookout, and viewed a pretty amazing sunset. Although the one on the second night was better. When the sun is setting, it glows off the rock creating an intense red colour. The next day we woke up early and viewed the sunrise, which made Uluru go a beautiful purple colour. We then hiked around the base of Uluru, and i took some great photos which are unfortunately stuck on my camera because i can't transfer the images onto my broken laptop.

Finally it was time to leave this incredible, spiritual place and head to a town called Coober Pedy, the opal capital of the world! We had to leave at 4am and the drive was near enough 8 hours long, which meant that i slept for the majority of the morning until we arrived at lunch time. After a bit to eat we headed to an Opal Museum, where i spent alot of money of buying jewellry, we also got to take a look at an underground house. This is what makes this place so special in my opinion, about 80% of the people who live here, do so in underground houses. Which just seems so awesome to me! Next on the list was to go to a Kangaroo Sanctuary, one of the only ones in South Australia. Here we fed the kangaroos and saw a joey who was so tiny and adorable. We then went for pizza and then our tour guide and asked a DJ to play for us, so we partied until the early hours of the morning.

The next day was got a lay in... 7am! And after a night spent in our underground hostel, we were as fresh as a daisy, if not then a little hungover. But we had one more long drive, which meant more sleeping! Sometime in the evening we made it to our last camping spot for our outback adventure. We pulled up at our campsite, situated somewhere in the Flinders Ranges. Here we drunk some more and gave one of our new friends a terrible hair cut, much to his dismay.

Our final day was spent hiking through a section of the Flinders Ranges, before driving to Adelaide. Bringing this incredible experience to an end...

If you are travelling in Australia, then this should all be on your list of cool stuff to do because it was phenomenal and probably my favourite part of my year out here so far.

I then went on to spend a week in Adelaide, which has come to be one of my favourtie cities, and am currently back in Brisbane looking for work. Hopefully i will get my laptop fixed soon, and then i have alot of catching up to do with putting photos on this blog. But i will get there eventually! Anyway, thank you for reading! xxx

MADE IT TO CAIRNS

Hello!

Finally we have made it to Cairns, concluding our East Coast adventure! Not that it's fully over yet because this city has so much to do!

Since Brisbane we have visited ... towns and seen some incredible sights and met some lovely people. My highlights include Fraser Island and The Whitsundays. I think one of the main reasons I loved these two places the most is because they were both tours, meaning we were with a group of 20+ people and both groups were awesome!

But everywhere we have visited has been nice in its own way.

Starting from Brisbane, my first stop was Mooloolaba. Home to the largest aquarium in Queensland. Which I found to be a disappointment because it was exactly the same as my nearest one in Great Yarmouth. The town itself was beautiful, and felt like a typical holiday destination.

From here I went to Noosa to meet with the person I am traveling with. Noosa is a lovely place, especially the national park, which we were lucky enough to see a koala in. Also it was a clear sunny day so the sunset was stunning over the beach.
Our next stop was Hervey Bay which we only visited due to it being our gateway to Fraser Island, and this is were we began our tour. We went with Palace Adventures which is a tag-along 4WD tour, meaning we were able to drive our own cars behind our guide. We camped for two nights on the island and saw plenty of dingos, due to then constantly coming up to the barbecue or sitting and waiting next to a car.

From here we went up to Bundaberg, which has been by far the worst hostel I have stayed in but nevertheless we had a good time on our one night there... We went to the rum distillery!

After drinking two free rums we headed to the coach to make our way to Agnes Water and Town of 1770. Aptly named after the year that Captain Cook landed in Australia. Here we stayed at a little hostel called Cool Bananas, which has so far been the best hostel I've ever stayed in! One day we hired bikes and cycled the 14km round trip to 1770.

Rockhampton was our next port of call, arriving at half past midnight and checking out by 10am. It was a full on day. First of all we visited the heritage village before ending the day chomping on steaks whilst watching the rodeo.

After a night of traveling we arrived at Airlie Beach early in the morning. The day was spent chilling at the lagoon and then getting ready to go on the Whitsundays the following day. I fell in love with Airlie and will 100% be back at some point! If you see my previous post, this talks about the tour I did here with Wings.

After this place we caught the bus to Townsville to get a boat across to Magnetic Island. This place is stunning! One day we decided to hire "Barbie" cars with a couple from our sailing boat and drove to the Koala Sanctuary and then to a walking track which took us to a couple of old WWII forts with an amazing view of the island and surroundings.

From here we went to Mission Beach, our last stop before Cairns, so that George could do his long anticipated skydive.

Now finally we are in Cairns where we will be staying just over a week. Leaving on Sunday to fly to Darwin, where we begin our last trip before seeking out work!

I will talk about my plans and about what we've done in Cairns before we leave Darwin, but until then ciao!

EDEN | PHOTO DIARY

We drove across a lovely bridge which took us over a beach in Merimbula. As we were trying to get to the Victoria border we decided not to stop here and continue to the next town along; Eden. 

It was a very hot day so we parked Julie under the shade and walked across the road to the beach in Eden. This is the last town before the border into Victoria.

The beach was very long and stretched along the bay. 

I had to take a photo of the ship called 'Norfolk', which according to the story dropped anchor in the bay on one of its journeys.