Memory Cove – Lincoln National Park.

So we were told this was the gem of the area – a little more difficult to get to, but worth the effort.  Campers can only stay a max of 3 nights, and there is a locked gate to get through to ensure a maximum of 15 vehicles at any one time.  The road was ok, but long, dusty and fairly bumpy.  I was concerned about the eggs in the camper…  Ben and I were just praying that it was worth the hours’ drive. 

The scenery sure was worth it.  A gorgeous little protected beach, great for the kids with white sand and a sailing boat taking refuge there.  Aqua water and views of the bay from the camper.  There was however a down side.  Bees and Flies.  Poor Nick was terrified.  We spent the first entire day on the beach to avoid them, (which really wasn’t that hard) as they had plagued our campsite due to the heat. One image that I hope I never forget (because it makes me giggle every time I think of it) was Ben trying to cull the number of bees armed with a cigarette lighter and his deodorant can – one bee at a time.  It was hilarious because there were just so many that it made no difference, but hey, as long as he felt like he was winning….  Ben managed to get in the water for a few hours dive, and yay – fish for dinner! (Can’t stand any more Vego dinners – Ben:)  At around 4pm, crisp as anything from the sun, we headed back into the camper to settle in for the afternoon and evening.  Ben and I discovered we had not been as careful with the sunscreen for ourselves as we had for the kids, which made for an interesting and somewhat painful nights’ sleep.

The other thing that makes me smile was Ben’s determination/ pride.  He visited the stinky pit toilet on a 35 degree day, which of course was full of thousands of blow flies.  Believing that I had braved the toilet myself, he sat there for a few moments making room to breath through the flies by fanning his cap up and down in a very quick motion (or so he describes).  I couldn’t help but laugh later when I heard that the only reason he endured the experience was because he believed that I had already done it, and he didn’t want to be “outdone by a girl”.  Ha.  I knew better – there was no way I would tackle such flies – I knew where they had been (which I kindly reminded Ben of later).

A real treat on the way out was stopping the car for around 14 emus - who decided to check us out, slowly.  Fabulous photo opportunity for Nick - who is still in love with them.

PS.  The eggs were ok, it turned out I should have been more concerned about the facial cleanser.

PPS. I just looked back over this post – doesn’t it sound like we are having fun!  I hope it wasn’t too much information sharing.

I just wanted to pay tribute to Sam Kellett, spearfisherman from South Australia who lost his life to a shark on the York Peninsula on the 9th of February.  Our prayers go out to all his family and friends. 
This has affected us all here on our trip (especially Nick who has been processing this on and off for the last few days). I had a few dives not far from where this happened while at Inns national park.