Ulladulla – Kiama –Pete does an interpretative dance

We left Ulladulla in sparkling sunshine…it did look pretty, but I didn’t set foot onshore. We were on a mission to get to Kiama! No trouble getting out of the gap; the waves were every sedate and we cruised out with nary a horrified glance sideways…. As we headed up the coast, I saw what looked like a reef, with waves breaking splashily just near us. Pete was in the cabin, working on his computer, so I called him, a bit anxiously – “Is this a reef or WHAT!” It was “what”, ie not a reef but a big pod of dolphins very energetically out hunting. WEE and HEE!!!

Yes sunshine…but brrr…still so cold… I had to go and huddle in the cabin again, lying on the couch under my mohair blanket, listening to my ipod and eating one of my very last chocolate elephants (thank you Claire) to stave off hypothermia. Pete kindly turned the gas heater on for me, but it took me ages to thaw out; I still had to wear gloves, beanie, Stormy Seas, the whole lot, on deck when eventually I came out to watch the headlands of Jervis Bay as we went by. So very beautiful! “Not beautiful!” says Pete. “Spectacular!” nd indeed yes, spectacular! Perpendicular cliffs, not all that high, but very steep and dramatic. Every so often, there is a big square or pyramid-shaped target on a cliff top – Jervis Bay is a naval training area. We could see where they had occasionally blasted away big bits of cliff. Pete was very happy with this concept; I think he wanted a great big rocket launcher, to have a go for himself. I imagine that the days of being away to blast away bits of Australian landscape are in the past…poor Pete has missed his chance.
Birds? Whales? Yes and yes…a few last remaining albatross(es), a lone sea eagle soaring above the cliffs of Jervis Bay, and – whales! Not very close to the boat, but quite a few of them, spouting, and making their way quite swiftly up the cost.
Lots of very pretty (from the sea) coastal towns, and then – Kiama! Two (and I only have two…) of my brothers have lived in and around Kiama over the years gone by. I had no idea it was so very beautiful. Chris worked here; Pete surfed here and worked nearby. It took us a very long time to get moored in the small sheltered area, full of fishing boats. We are very conspicuous, the only boat with a big tall mast… No wonder we attracted – ahem – such a big crowd of onlookers…
The trouble was, they have a strange way of mooring in this little sheltered area. No jetty to tie up on, no anchorage… We had to pick up a buoy at the front of the boat and attach two ropes to the wharf at the back. Some men off a fishing boat appointed themselves our Helpers. They had Pete and me scampering back and forth around and across the boat, hooking up the buoy, attaching ropes (Pete), acting as a human fender (me…) … At one stage I found myself kneeling below the interested crowd (the tide was low) with my bottom in the air as I attempted to fend off the smaller boat next to us…SUCH a good look. I managed to manoeuvre into a more elegant position, and found myself sitting fending off the mussel-infested wharf with my legs. A husband and wife from Wollongong stayed to chat for quite a long time. The husband was entranced, gazing at me, and 2XS, with dewy eyes. When he went back to the car, the wife looked at me with narrowed eyes, shuddering faintly, and saying, “Paul would LOVE to get a catamaran and do what you are doing. But I,’ she said firmly, “do NOT want to!”
Once we were – finally – in place, we found that we couldn’t get off the boat at all, let alone get our darling bikes off. So – no riding! We got the tender down and tootled off to a jetty around the corner, so we could go for a walk around this very lovely little town. So prosperous, picturesque, with steep streets rising from the bay, shops, cafes, a post office with a pink bell tower. And an inordinate number of well-appointed public toilets – “More than you could poke a stick at!” said Pete, happily.
We walked up to the supermarket and bought a few veggies; just enough to fill the backpack. On the way back we were, apparently, PARCHED, so we stopped at the Kiama Leagues Club for a quiet beer or two. I haven’t actually spent much time in leagues clubs… It was very orderly, huge, with lots of pokies, and tables full of men intently watching the rugby. And a nicer man with a guitar and a synthesiser in the front dining room, crooning, “and then I went and spoilt it all by saying something stupid…” to…nobody at all…
Yesterday the wind changed over the course of the day, from East, Slouch, North, West (approximately…) As we were coming into Ulladulla, I was at the wheel, idly watching Pete in the cabin. He had an intent, concentrating expression and was standing with his left arm outstretched. He would mutter something, then turn gently to face another way, once again with his arm outstretched. Then I realised…he was doing an interpretative dance for The Wind!