YOWRIE ► COBARGO
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BEGA ► TATHRA
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TURA BEACH ► MERIMBULA ► PAMBULA ► PAMBULA BEACH
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EDEN
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MALLACOOTA
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THANK YOU FOR BEING PATIENT WHILE THE PICTURES LOAD |
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Day 26
Sunday 13th December 2009 Click on the pictures for larger versions |
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| BEGA | ||
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Sadly we waved goodbye to Dawn and Jack and headed back through the green hills towards Cobargo. We refuelled in Cobargo and headed for Bega. Bega Cheese!! Delicious! |
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The picture below was taken from a lookout just north of the town. |
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| Bega | ||
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Being Sunday, there wasn't a lot of traffic. It wasn't hard to find the
cheese factory. I was hoping to be able to see through the factory, but knew for at least two reasons, that wasn't likely to be possible. One was that it was Sunday and the other was, in today's era of Workplace Health and Safety rules, more than likely the best you'd get was a view through a glass window, well away from the activity. What we found was the usual type of setup. A building beside the actual complex, showing the history of the dairying industry and cheese making paraphernalia. Also an area selling food and plenty of Bega Cheese products. As I had spent a few years in my early childhood living at my mother's parent's farm (my grandparents), I found it interesting and it brought back a lot of memories. As a child, around 6 to 9 years old, I used to wander around the "cow yard" and the "cowshed" in bare feet trying not to stand in warm cow shit as the family milked the cows. I watched as cows were called in by name to be milked. Names such as Plum, Ruby, Duchess, Queenie and Princess. I was always amazed how they knew their names. As a diesel engine, running the "milking equipment", thumped away, cows walked up, suction cups were fitted to their tits and milk started to gush into little glass fittings above the cow. I followed what I now know as stainless steel pipes and rubber back to a large stainless steel vat. A rubber flap opened and the milk poured in. Later they drained it into what I was told was a "separator". As one of the family leaned heavily on the handle of the separator to turn it, cream streamed out of a stainless steel spout and fell into the "cream can" below. I remember an earlier version of the process above where the cows walked up, and their leg was "hitched" with a "leg rope" to the timber frame, so that the cow couldn't kick the person milking the cow. The person milking then sat on a three legged stool or a wooden block and milked the cow by hand. The stainless steel bucket of milk was then poured into the vat, which was then separated. After the "milking" was complete, a wooden lever above was pushed, a door in front of the cow opened, the "leg rope" quickly "unhitched" and the cow walked outside. One of my jobs was to carry the "separated milk" out to the "poddy calves" and feed them. I was warned to be careful they didn't "bunt" me (head butt me) which they tried to do and usually spilled the milk. Then I had to pour what milk was left over into the pig trough. After all cows were "milked", the equipment had to be washed, including every "separator patty". Maybe this was when I developed my aversion to "washing up"! :) At this stage (luckily) I was given a "billy" of fresh cream which I carried back to the house. When everyone arrived back at the house, we all sat around a large wooden table and had porridge drowned in the fresh cream. Yummm. It was usually Breakfast Delight, Uncle Toby's Oats or else something I remember as Gran Uma. Nobody other than mum seems to remember it. It was my favourite. This was followed by toast, fresh eggs and bacon
cooked on the "wood stove". |
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| A Milking Plant | Cream Cans | |
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| Separators | Butter Boxes | |
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| Separator Patties | ||
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| Separator | ||
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After browsing around we had a meal and bought a good supply of Bega Cheese products. |
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It was just after 12.15pm and we had to find a place to camp for
the night and I'd decided on a place near Mallacoota called
Wallagaraugh River. I decided to follow the coastal road as I pictured it as being more interesting so we headed east for Tathra. Tathra was a pretty coastal town. We couldn't stay but had a drive around and headed south. Next was Tura Beach. Another lovely beach. |
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| MERIMBULA | ||
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Following Tura Beach was Merimbula. My memories of
Merimbula are of controlling the speed of the caravan as we
descended a VERY steep hill into the town. I pulled off to the side of the road in the picture below to have a break from controlling the speed downhill. We drove through town around 2.00pm. I wanted to stop but time was against us. |
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1.45pm |
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| Merimbula | ||
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| PAMBULA BEACH | ||
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We needed a comfort stop, so went into Pambula Beach. The Wallabies/Kangaroos below seemed happy with the area. |
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2.15pm |
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| EDEN | ||
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We bought food and refuelled in Eden and had a break beside a park. |
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Judy had seen a real estate ad extolling the virtues of living in
Boydtown. The Tom Tom showed we were approaching it, so we drove in and had a look around. She wasn't really impressed. We drove on. |
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After what seemed hours, we arrived at the turn to Wallagaraugh River
to find a sign saying the road was closed for repair! Our only choice then was to stay in Mallacoota, so we drove on. After winding down the range we arrived. I thought it was beautiful! We checked into Mallacoota Foreshore Holiday Park just on sundown and settled in for the night. |
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