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Stage 13 - Swan Lake to Lake Conjola

We set out from Swan Lake under an unsettled sky. Earlier rains had delayed us by a day and for the first time in a month we were on a time deadline. Having arranged to spend the weekend with our good mate, Trevor the fisherman, at his cabin in Ulladulla, we needed to be at Lake Conjola by 1 pm where he would pick us up (and later drop us off).

Rain clouds gathering over Berrara

Crossing the sleepy streets of Cudmirrah and Berrara, we descended to the beach at Berrara Point. The tide was low and the surf broke over the reef, on which the “Walter Hood”, the fastest sailing clipper of its day was wrecked in 1870 with the lost of 11 lives. A band of rain cloud passed over; fortunately an overhang on a rock platform provided a pleasant place to shelter.

A good place to shelter

Heathland burnt in 2002	As we walked down Berrara Beach, we followed the skeletal silhouette of burnt heathland along the dunes. Here, two years earlier a devastating bushfire had raged through the forest and heath, threatening the local coastal villages and stopping only when it ran out of fuel at the beach. We remembered the ash and partly burnt leaves that littered the local beaches for weeks after.
Heathland burnt in 2002	Monument Beach
The sun finally came out as we crossed Monument Beach and approached the village of Bendalong. with its idyllic setting on a north-facing headland where forest meets the ocean, overlooking a quiet beach for swimming, a big wave beach for surfing and a rock platform for the fisherfolk. A group of “oldies” were out surfing on their malibus. A pair of “oldies” watched for a while and moved on, happy to see that the fire had spared this area.	Monument Beach

Two mates rock-fishing

From Bendalong, we cut across country to emerge at Manyana. The view from the south-facing headland here was magnificent, with a sweeping vista across beautiful Manyana Beach and Green Island.

We walked along the beach and rounded the point to meet our first serious water challenge – the entrance to Lake Conjola. No hire boats were available here and this was to be our first unassisted water crossing. Out with the inflatable mattress, on with the bathers, repack camera, notebook and valuables into watertight bags, packs and all into a large plastic bag on the air mattress, into the water, and after a 50 m paddle to the amusement of those swimming and fishing nearby, we had successfully ferried our gear across to the other side. We were only 5 minutes late – our mate Trevor was only 5 minutes later.

Re-enactment of "The Crossing of Lake Conjola" - the sandals are missing and the load is smaller but this is more realistic than Cecil B deMille's re-enactment of Moses crossing the Red Sea

The crossing point at Lake Conjola

Lake Conjola foreshore

The long weekend in Ulladulla was extremely pleasant and relaxing. Trevor and our fellow guests, Lloyd and Allison, had a successful fishing expedition in the seas off Ulladulla and that evening we all enjoyed a feast of oysters and freshly caught Cajun-barbecued flathead fillets. The next day found us watching the sun set over Rennie's Beach with old friends from Canberra, Andi and Annie, while enjoying wine on the deck of their house followed by a delicious meal of baked fish and tabouli.

Ulladulla – good place, good food, good friends.


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