Spur of the moment

I have just finished a six day "spur of the moment" holiday with Maureen on the coast at Batemans Bay. This all started last Monday week when I arrived home from spending 3 days in BrisVegas visiting family. (more on that later).

Maureen stayed at home, as she usually does when I visit my family. This time she got very lonely ending up taking a couple anti-depressants left over from some time ago. This made it worse and she was quite ill. Maureen has struggled the last 10 weeks recovering from knee replacement surgery as well as other problems in the household.

It took only a brief suggestion from Maureen to inquire about a holiday on the coast, possibly over Easter 4 day weekend. As usual I left it to her to find a place as I went to work on the tuesday. Usually our problem is what to do with our 3 dogs when we want to go away. However M found a place at Batemans Bay - Surfside which accepted dogs. The cottage backed onto the beach. It sounded good. I checked and found I could take a few days off work so we booked to go the very next day, on the Thursday through to Tuesday this week at $150/night - espc cheap if you realise we avoided kennel fees for the dogs.

This was our very first trip away with our "children" - the 2 boys Paris and Buttons and the older toy poodle Caprice (Cappy).

Well it could not have been better. Whilst the cottage was older it was still in good nick with plenty of room - beds for 6 people. The owners lived next door and were very friendly and helpful. M found kinship with Jim who also was an avid crime fiction reader.

The six days were filled by long walks along the beach constantly throwing the ball for Paris to collect and return, I think he could go on all day long! Buttons always the more curious looking into all of the backyards facing the beach. Maureen collecting shells, there was an abundance of quality and variety here with the aim of doing some craft/art work with her grand daughters.


The bay is protected so the waves were no more than 20cm high. Th swim we needed to go out over 30m as it was very shallow but the water was warm and very enjoyable.

If we weren't on the beach we were on the balcony playing scrabble or reading. I have started a new book that M gave me for Christmas - Carpentaria, written by the indigenous Australian writer Alexis Wright. So far interesting - may be more on that another time.

Each day we took a trip out somewhere reasonably local. Friday was for dinner at Jamiesons on the Pier. A good seafood and, surprisingly, beef restaurant. On Saturday we went to a fav gallery of ours, the Forrest Gallery about 10 km north of Batemans Bay along the road to South Durras. M particularly wanted to see if any pieces of a exhibition of Stephen Glassborow's work was still there as the exhibition finished the previous week. Stephen is a renowned bronze sculptor. Luckily the gallery owner had kept a few pieces on display. One by which I was quite taken by was a 60cm high sculpture of a woman seated on a pillow balanced on a wheel. The sculptor tends to use robotic joints for knees etc and a fine pattina to depict leather look clothing. Glassborow lives in Sydney and is worth checking out if you spy an exhibition. M has just gone back to the School of Art at the ANU for a term on bronze casting/lost wax sculpture.

On Sunday our outing was to a second hand book shop at Batehaven, some 5 km south of where we were staying. M wanted to stock up on some books by her fav crime authors as well as by some authors suggested by Jim, the owner of the cottage we were staying at. However we found the shop was closed for Sunday so instead we found a great pattiserie/baker instead for coffee and sweets.

The bookshop was open on Monday at 10 and we were there soon after. M picked up some 18 to 20 books for $70. She gets $35 back if she returns them next time we are there. Reasonably cheap reading if thats what you like. As I an more into historical/cultural reads I found nothing there to interest me.

Its just great staying at the beach and hearing the waves breaking on the shoreline espc. at night when all is otherwise quiet. Just sitting on the balcony and watching the variety of bird life has been interesting. Many colorful Parrots and Rosellas that also perch on the seed boxes set up next door along side the Sulfur Crested Cockatoos. Of Honeyeaters in the tall Callistemon's eating the nectar or sometimes fighting others for their territory. Hooded Plovers on the beach and the occasional seagulls.

The beach at Surfside is generally quiet as the predominant population is retired couples. It is also a No Dogs Allowed beach, but as the owner has previously advised us, everyone seems to bring dogs to the beach and as long as the animals are well behaved no one minds. There are always exceptions to the rule! On our last night there we came accross a middle age couple walking along the beach who told us that dogs were no permitted on the beach. They tried to wave our dogs away and as they continued - even at 100 m further on kept waving their fists at us. Funily enough we behaved like the dogs and - ignored them!

This has been the first time M and I have been on any sort of holiday since our Mediterranean sojourn in April/May of 2005. It has been a very relaxing and enjoyable stay for me and done Maureen the world of good ( the main aim) as it has for our relationship.