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Washing day. Drizzle rain came through. Creep is back, have to get away again. After the blood test plus a few days re the new doctor’s appointment.

Meanwhile, zoomed in on sunlight on the distant Great Divide, early at breakfast.

Rainy morning view from “the bedroom”. Actually, the bed. Woke at 3, again in the dark at 5. Rain started an hour ago, intermittent now. Glorious.

1.39PM

On the south side of this rest area the sites are closer. Back from Narooma and a quick visit to Mystery Bay, around 1PM, all north side plus ‘my’ old’ spot were taken. I have this one, but my door and sleep aspect looks straight onto this and them into the van. And then there’s noise potentially. Others could handle it but not me. Those things have generators and air conditioners and big TVs, and usually little yap control freak dogs. So a coffee in the spot and on to Moruya, I think.

It’s not bad, but it too easily could be.

2.45PM

This place to myself; no creep, too, which frees the vibe wondrously. Just excellent.

Why bother with the strange stress of spots at Bodalla State Forest?

It’s an extraordinary place once you’re settled in a certain no one can ruin your stay. But because it’s so coveted and the spots are designated and that they vary, top notch to slopey and problematic, there’s a distinct unpleasant redux to animal vibe.

Here instead is a free for all, and no spot better or worse intrinsically (better or not so for personal requirements though) so nothing is coveted, speaking for productive travellers that is.

Let’s see how long my being hassle free lasts.

5 PM approx

Oh no. A bloke in a swag set up before I left, here for two days, is here again. He sets up in the right hand side counterpart to the creep, spread out all over the place, dog that smells everything.

If he’s a permanent it means I can’t use that bin. I don’t like how these people use prime areas, stopping others from using the best spots (I don’t) and setting the vibe, heavy and burdensome, and the visual amenity, ugly, and forcing people to go around them to use the bin – there’s no way anyone would try to eat there with them, so using the only covered table and seats is out. It’s just so imposing. Imposing themselves on the place and all visitors.

If they were considerate it would be different -:there’s an entire grounds they could move into (although they shouldn’t, and should come and go and give the place a break) but they takeover the central area and prime position utterly unnecessarily. A tent can set up well away.

It’s horrible. I can’t wait to get the final car fixes, windscreen and linkages, all paid for, and get right away moving around.

And then of course it hurts to see people down and out.

And lastly this: This bloke has set up his chair – in a completely empty rest area – directly at me in the van. Truly horrible.

Morning breathless but for the moving airs of a thousand various birds in song. A full blown concert.

9.28AM

This is a gorgeous rest area but it can also be challenging. I expect others on the coast will go the same path.

Yesterday afternoon after the unbearable generator was turned off next door there were a couple of hours of extraordinary peace in nature. Then people started driving through and soon it was a case of frantically finding a spot.

Caravans were jacknifed in reverse, forced over crevasses off the road, uphill. Other cars whizzed around three times after the compulsory two. It went on until about 10PM.

One desperate car reversed in dangerously close to the van, stopping barely twelve inches away, alongside. This person paid no heed to it being a one-vehicle arrangement in these designated spots throughout the park.

I paused then thought the hell with it.

“Fuck off!” I shouted loudly.

Nothing. This is potentially conbative grounds, but anyway, after giving it a try to see if I could sleep with another bloke two feet away, and really couldn’t, I switched on the spotlight that side. Boom. Flooded the bastard with unsleepable light.

Out he comes. A clueless international tourist promising to be quiet.

In a bit I told him quiet he had to be, and resigned to a bad mental night.

Ten minutes later he drove out, having walked another recce.

It’s hard to get the lay if thevpark, too, in the dark.

Today now I’m trying to work out when to have a shower, and how the blazes to get away from a generator sure to run for two hours next door. So far thus morning all the spots are still taken, so there could be some long stayers.

10.30AM

Saw the imposer up near the bins and asked if he found a spot. He pointed and it was a commonly enjoyed spot so he just needed to look a bit more. We had a fabulous chat for half an hour about various places. Cheeky bastard but great spirit and out to get the most out his visa. Good sense of humour, especially. Good on him

Shower was excellent. Painting, I guess, today. Depends on next door.

3.11 PM

So I caught the generator guy next door, and suggested we coordinate, if he’d like to run the thing. Did so and I left with a frightful noise, returned a bit latet than agreed to silence. If only they were all so smart and so approachable. Generator people aren’t. So cheers to this bloke.

Walked to the water through the bush, but earlier I was warned of a 2 foot eastern brown snake heading my way. I never saw it, but the bush track was very dry and screamed snake bite.

I came back and walked down the highway to the mountain bike tracks, had a good look around. Absolutely packed with cars and riders all the same colour, of dust, and all pumped. All ages. Wonderful thing.

Badly signposted though. Without someone to explain it, all those high end folksy maps don’t tell you where to go, clearly, at all. What happens when enthusiasts do stuff. They don’t get what it’s like to know nothing.

Before that, before lunch, got to painting on the new batch. Coming along nicely.

I put them in the sun to dry. The battered windscreen is cracking further but hanging in there. Here, reflecting the trees.

7 PM

So old mate next door charged his batteries with the generator while I went for a walk, half an hour later he packs up and leaves.

That meant the generator that had started meanwhile, next spot up, in a pretty permanent looking set up, got a straight line to the van. It ran for 3½ hours. Van got stuffy hot with everything closed. This place is sensational when everyone is in harmony but it’s super susceptible to generators due to foliage cover, plus selfishness.

Empty space next door; we’ll see what happens. Getting dark now.

Lovely shapes:

Drizzle. Sensational. Cool, too: magnificent.

Off to Narooma this morning, safer on the road with new tyres.

A bit later, in sun:

UPDATE 9.28AM

Back from my first shower at Moruya pool. They have a sign up, on the counter top, so they obviously welcome it. Woohoo.

Off to Narooma.

UPDATE 3.08PM

Narooma. Unbelievable pleasure. Bumped into a gentleman who invited me onto his wooden boat, then made me a coffee. We had a terrific chat. He has a daughter in Coffs. I offered to work on his boat.

Then met a particularly beautiful woman at the same place, and talked about my use of the place to live, paint and sell – but it would be too expensive and I made that clear. Good to speak it though and she is a wonderful, thoughtful listener with good humor.

Then to a doctor’s appointment who explained to me that I have Type 3 diabetes and one of my medications isn’t doing me any good. He’s sent me for blood tests and knows what he’s talking about.

Then to Bodalla SF rest area, scored the very last spot, and no sooner in the quiet as I’m writing these words a prick of a generator starts up right next door. Headache material.

UPDATE. The generator was just too stressful and disruptive, I had to cook dinner by a certain time and couldn’t remain with it going; tapped on the door of the motorhome. You never know what you’re going to get. It could be physical. This was a soft big fellow and understood; we organised a cut off time, unbearable until then but he honoured it. Enjoying a night amongst the big gums.