PEBBLY BEACH
Call us crazy, but after months of rain and localised flooding, we decided to run away down south for some off-grid camping to bring in the Easter school holidays. We must of done something right, the weather was superb!
Here we found ourselves at the end of another crazy term of not just navigating COVID restrictions but flooding and rainy days that seemed like it was never going to end. We were in drafting stages for our new van so we made the most of awaiting our van by camping somewhere where a caravan wouldn't permit. Pebbly Beach, on Yuin Country, has been on our list for many years so we were stoked that we could book a site for a few nights with short notice. Located in Murramarang National Park, Pebbly Beach is a little further south than Pretty Beach and north of Depot Beach.
|
|
And when we say off-grid, the most luxurious feature you will find here are flush toilets! There is one shower for the whole campground and it's cold but does the job. There are gas BBQs, picnic tables with shelters and fire pits on the camping sites. Bring your own water too as the water in the campground is bore water. There is absolutely no phone reception which we froth over and no shops nearby so be sure to bring all of your food. Closest take-away / cafe is at North Durras where you can buy a coffee, take-away, milk and bread. It is roughly a ten minute drive. Ulladulla is a 40 minute drive north and Batemans Bay is a 25 minute drive south. As we were coming from home, we already stocked up on our food but stopped at the BP Truck Stop at Termeil for some ice for the drink esky.
We camped on site 19 which was a very short walk to the toilets and the beach. Sites 18 - 23 are for trailers, campervans or small caravans (under 15ft). As we wanted to camp beside our Amarok, we chose one of these sites. Sites 1-19 are for camping with tents too but your car needs to be parked in one of the designated parking areas. To be honest, the camping sites were rather muddy after the rain we recently had had and were close in proximity to each other. Site 23 looked the most ideal as it was rather private and had the most direct sunlight. These sites don't have a fire pit but you can use your own fire pit as long as it is off the ground, contained and has a base. We asked three National Park rangers who all said the same thing so we didn't hesitate to get our Darche firepit cranking!
We camped on site 19 which was a very short walk to the toilets and the beach. Sites 18 - 23 are for trailers, campervans or small caravans (under 15ft). As we wanted to camp beside our Amarok, we chose one of these sites. Sites 1-19 are for camping with tents too but your car needs to be parked in one of the designated parking areas. To be honest, the camping sites were rather muddy after the rain we recently had had and were close in proximity to each other. Site 23 looked the most ideal as it was rather private and had the most direct sunlight. These sites don't have a fire pit but you can use your own fire pit as long as it is off the ground, contained and has a base. We asked three National Park rangers who all said the same thing so we didn't hesitate to get our Darche firepit cranking!
Besides swimming, surfing, fishing, picnicking, there are many walks that you can do during your stay. The two most popular walks to do with children in tow is the Pebbly Beach to Snake Bay walk which takes 2 hours return and follows the coastline and then through the forest, and the Pebbly Beach to Depot Beach walk which is an 1.5 hour walk across the rock platforms. Be sure to be mindful of the tides when walking to Depot Beach and respect the strong Aboriginal history by leaving the ochre and fossils where they belong. From Depot Beach, you can do the Rainforest Walk which takes 30 minutes or continue walking to North Durras which is 40 minutes one way. As the forest floors were rather damp, leeches were out for a feast! One wise ranger once taught us that the best way to remove a leech is to "roll it up like a booger!" Something that our warriors haven't forgotten but the advice has never let us down! It really does work so forget the matches and salt! While we were staying, National Parks was upgrading the path to the beach by concreting over the pavers and building a new viewing platform.
|
|
|
There is an abundance of wildlife at Pebbly Beach too! Eastern grey kangaroos, swamp wallabies, red-necked wallaby, lyrebirds, honeyeaters, kookaburras, sea eagles, sooty oystercatchers, possums and goannas! Nothing beats waking up to the kookaburras singing! Possums like to party at night too so be sure to secure your food and rubbish.
We are so glad to have finally stayed at Pebbly Beach! If you don't have a tent, campervan or trailer, there are also cabins available for booking which are on prime beachfront sites! Remember to pay for your park entry fee which is $8 per vehicle per day and you can pay at the pay machine with cash or card.
Peace + love,
We are so glad to have finally stayed at Pebbly Beach! If you don't have a tent, campervan or trailer, there are also cabins available for booking which are on prime beachfront sites! Remember to pay for your park entry fee which is $8 per vehicle per day and you can pay at the pay machine with cash or card.
Peace + love,
wandering wildfolk
| copyright WANDERING WILDFOLK © 2021 | all photographs are owned by us |
| logo by gypsyandbearstudio | watercolour images by beatriceviyiwi |
| logo by gypsyandbearstudio | watercolour images by beatriceviyiwi |