Jambaroo to Morton National Park campground
Distance Travelled - 182.8 km
Woke at about 7 am and decided there was no rush to get up so turned over and tried to go back to sleep. Having been unsuccessful got out of bed at 8 am and got breakfast ready while waiting for things to dry out a bit. No real dew to speak of but some condensation on bottom of stretcher due to cold air last night. I was surprised I didn't feel colder during the night given the forecast. I am still able to sleep in shorts and t-shirt with the sleeping bag used as a doona rather than a bag at the moment.
After everything was dried out and packed away I got ready to leave. Apparently I was the talk of the campsite last night, even though there was only about 5 sets of campers there. I had talked to one guy when I got there and we discussed travels etc and he said he was from inner Sydney. I asked if he knew of the Vaucluse lights that I hadn't been able to find but he did not know anything about them but he told me his wife grew up in Point Lonsdale in Victoria and that she really liked the lighthouses there and how they had been a big part of her upbringing. Anyway, after tea when I had left to go back to do more photography at Kiama lighthouse, several people must have said something about me leaving and then when they heard what I was doing said how mad I was to be out in the cold doing that sort of stuff. I heard this from 2 separate groups of people to stopped to talk to me about it this morning while I was packing away.
Finally got away about 9.30 am and went back to Kiama to see the lighthouse in clear skies, post my blog at the information centre there and get a few more specific directions for the next couple of lighthouses. While I was in town I spent a bit of time looking through some shops and wandering about the streets before leaving at about 11 am.
Headed out to the Crookhaven Lighthouse. It was an ok drive, pretty in parts and slightly better than mundane in the rest. Got to the carpark and walked the 5 minutes or so to the lighthouse to discover a small room and tower is there but the light part is gone as it is no longer used, apparently. Wandered down to the beach and walked there for a while before going back to the car and heading for Point Perpendicular.
Point Perpendicular lighthouse is based inside the Beecroft Weapons Range that is used for Navy exercises in bombing and live firing. There is a controlled security point that you pass through where they take your license details from your drivers license, mobile phone number and rego then issue you with a pass with times out and gate codes. You get access for the day and if you are staying overnight on the campgrounds you can come and go as you please although the main road in is closed between 8.30 pm and 2 am. When I mentioned night photography of the lighthouse I wss told to either finish it before 8.30 pm or go back after 2 am. NO EXCEPTIONS!
Went up and had a look at the lighthouse. It was a really nice looking lighthouse which for some stupid reason they stopped using in 1993 (I think) and replaced it with a modern solar powered one that looks hideous - a metal lattice tower with absolutely no aesthetic value at all, in fact I can't think of even one redeeming feature about it.
Having realised the real lighthouse was not operational I changed my ideas of night photography. Took some photos and headed out to find a camp spot for the night. The lady at the Shoalhaven Information Centre I called into on the way from Kiama to Crookhaven told me of some places in the National Park "not far from the Point Perpendicular Lighthouse" where you can camp for free. About 50 km after leaving the lighthouse I found the spot she was talking about and settled in for the late afternoon and night. Made tea and set up camp in increasingly chilly weather and then sat in the car to write my blog and sort photos from today.
Tomorrow I will look at visiting the lighthouse ruins at Cape St George near Huskisson and Warden Head Lighthouse near Ulladulla. Monday I will see where Burrewarra Point Lighthouse is in relation to Bateman's Bay and if it is before or very close to the Bay I will go there and then head into Canberra otherwise I will go to Canberra first and then come out and do the Bateman's Bay lighthouse on the way down the coast again.
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