Roos!

We had a beautiful day, venturing out from our home base in Shoalhaven Heads south to Jervis Bay. As with all our trips, the drive was wonderful, but the destinations were better.

We went to Hyams Beach, which purports to have the whitest sand in the world. I believe it. It was like something out of a postcard. We spent some time shell hunting there, and then we went hunting for a picnic spot in the sun. The weather is nice here, but it is a bit cool in the shade.



The terrain looked a bit like West Texas; rugged and dry, although slightly hilly. As we were driving, a large kangaroo hopped right next to the car. We'd been hoping to see one (one that wasn't dead, that is) and this was it. And boy did we see it. We pulled over, and the roo just stood there, scratching his belly. After a while he hopped right up to the back of the van. Perhaps he smelled our picnic. We opened the side door so Grandpa could get a good look, and then he walked over to the side. Knowing that they could be aggressive, we quickly shut the door. He walked right up to Anne's passenger window, and stuck his face in on us. We'll include our video later. Our friends assured us that such behavior was quite rare.



Bolstered by the excitement, we pressed on. We kept driving and headed south to a place called Cave Beach. Anne and I saw a trail that said "Cave Beach 1.2km." We thought, "That's less than a mile," and so we went for it while the others got lunch together. 1.2 km is farther than you'd think, but the walk paid off. We got to the beach and we were alone. I mean, I know it is winter, but I've never been so far off the tourist map. There was one couple off in the distance that left right as we arrived, and another couple that arrived right as we walked away. It was like our own slice of paradise all to ourselves.



We found our way back to the others and had lunch. Then we headed back towards home. Ironically, we saw about 10 other kangaroos roaming around the town. On the way back, we saw other people stopped at the same spot, with the same kangaroo. He must have been voted as the cutest by the herd, so that he can collect some food for the others.



All in all, we've had a great time here. It has been very relaxing, and just what we needed this summer. One more day to go...