Narooma and Bermagui

In late January, we took an end of the summer trip a few hours south to the coast of New South Wales. On our list were two towns- Narooma and Bermagui. 

Narooma

Narooma is famous for its beautiful beaches/water, seals, and a rock formation known as Australia Rock. The first thing we visited was Australia Rock.  It is an eroded section of the headland at the tip of Wagonga Head. It has a hole in the middle that looks remarkably like the shape of Australia (minus Tasmania).  It was easy to find and fun to take pictures of it.  It was also a good chance to get our first sighting of seals that visit Narooma.

 

 

 

 

The next morning Mike and the girls returned to this part of town to join Under water safaris for a trip around Montague Island to go snorkel with the seals.  Shannon wasn't feeling well so she skipped the snorkel trip.  It was just as well, as the girls say Shannon would not have enjoyed the trip out to snorkel as the water was a bit rough. Little did we know, the inlet to Narooma is known to be rough crossing.  We had simply been told by some colleagues that snorkeling with the seals was one of the COOLEST things they had done while living in Australia.  They had said that many people with families had done the trip.  It seems that your feelings on how bad the trip is or isn't depends greatly on whether you are a thrill seeker or not.  Mike and Lauren thought the trip out was fun!  Caitlyn not so much. However, despite the difficulty getting to the seals, Caitlyn is glad she stuck it out and had a chance to snorkel with the seals.  

Here are some pictures from that day:

The girls had to wear two wet suits because the water was cold and the tour operator said that two wet suits would help.  Our kids are so tiny, it was only so helpful. Lauren got too cold and had to get out of the water.  It was unlucky for them that despite it being January and usually quite warm, the weather was much cooler than usual the weekend we were in town.

Ready to get on the boat!

Here is a video of the boat leaving Narooma bar.  The UnderwaterSafari boat captain did a great job of carefully leaving the bar.  Watching the video, I can 100% understand why Caitlyn did NOT enjoy the boat ride.  

Here is some video Mike took while snorkeling:

After the snorkeling with seals, the other thing we did in Narooma was take a walk on a somewhat hidden beach with BEAUTIFUL rock formations.  The rocks (or the beach?) are called Glasshouse Rocks.  The Rocks are believed to be between 510 and 440 million years old. 

The beach is not easy to find. Sadly, typing in ‘Glasshouse Rocks’ on Google Maps sends you to the wrong place. Instead, make your way to the Narooma Cemetery and park there.

Head inland past the cemetery towards a small white fence. You’ll walk around the fence and enter a small area of coastal bushland. There’s a fairly obvious track to follow from this point heading towards the rocks.

We also spent time spotting wildlife on the beach:

Bermagui

The next day we got up and drove further south down the coast to Bermagui, because I really wanted to go check out the Bermagui Blue Pool- a spectacular (salt water) ocean pool (well two pools- a small toddler pool and a larger main pool that is long enough to swim laps in) built into a seaside cliff.  Water naturally splashes in from the ocean, and you could even do a little practice snorkeling in there.  I have never seen anything like it, and I doubt the girls fully understand just how awesome this was.

 

Mike and I could have stayed here all day, but the girls were tired, and despite it being late summer, we managed to be here when it was colder than usual, so the girls didn't feel like the water was quite warm enough.

 

This is definitely a place I want to return to, and if you visit Australia, you should 100% check it out! 

This is Lauren, we also visited some shops and bought little wooden cats and a puzzle box.