Jervis Bay

From Sydney we traveled down the New South Wales coast on Princes Highway for 2.5 hours, stopping at Kiama to view the blow hole (cool!) and lighthouse and have ice cream.

On the drive, the views of the beaches with rocky outcrops to one side of us and green hills on the other reminded us of Oregon and the Pacific NW. We arrived at our destination in Vincentia on Jervis Bay and walked out our backdoor to the beach. We had three nights at this cozy beach house but could have spent an entire week. The chilly weather did not stop the kids from getting into the water or digging sand pits to Mexico.

We also went out on a whale-watching cruise. Humpback whales are migrating north and we followed a pair for a while trying to get a good picture when they would surface and hoping that they would breach. Neither happened but it was still a neat experience.

The real highlight of the boat trip were the dolphins. They hung around our boat and played at the bow both on our trip out and then back into the bay. 

Despite the wind and chill, Cady and Asher hung out at the front of the boat the entire trip looking for them. (Asher in orange and Cady in gray puffy coats):

On the way back into the bay, the boat captain took us along a rocky cliff with pancake stack type rock formations. He stopped the boat in a natural cove and we finally got a family picture with everyone looking at the camera! This one may make it to the holiday card.

One of the great things about visiting the beach in the winter is that the sunrise and sunset were not at crazy hours. We would sit at the beach before breakfast while the sun was coming up over the South Pacific and then in the evenings know when it was time to head home for dinner by the sunset reflections in the clouds. The sand was so fine and white and the water so blue – I took a million photos. Sunset and my loves:

Sunrise with my rooster:

We spent most of our last full day in Booderee National Park which is actually in the Jervis Bay Territory, a separate territory of the Commonwealth, and governed by the federal government and ACT (Australian Capital Territory) not New South Wales. We hiked around a lake at the botanical gardens waiting for temperatures to be beach-worthy and then visited both Scottish Rocks beach and Murray Beach. Both had amazing sand and clear water. And were EMPTY! I know it is winter but we were there during school holidays! Amazing empty beaches seem to be the theme all over the country. Scottish Rocks:

Murray:

From Scottish rocks we spotted dolphins not far off shore and just before we left Murray we hit the jackpot  - the Australia story that we will be telling for years. A 2 m (6 ft) smooth sting-ray (the largest string ray species in the world) came right up by us on the beach. It was probably only in 12 inches of water and not afraid of us as all. We kept a healthy distance, while restraining Asher from giving it a cuddle, and walked along side-by-side as it swam the length of the beach. The only other family on the beach said that they have seen these rays near the marina where the fishing boats come in (looking for fish scraps).