THE BEST PLACES TO STAY AREN’T ALWAYS at the beach. Tim’s AirBnB in the bush-town of Wandandian is idyllic; green fields, towering eucalyptus, chickens, horses—even Soxy, the affectionate English Chocolate Lab. I wish every host put this much thought into his place—everything was perfect!
Perfect location, perfect property, perfect host!
Soxy wants John to come out and play
Wandandian is ideal for the “winding down” stage of our Oz odyssey. We have laundry to do, journals to catch up, podcasts and books to download before our Fiji cruise. Yet we are near enough to Jervis Bay National Park for a few more attempts to photograph the frustrating Eastern Bristlebird. We have heard his loud melodic call—evidently even they can’t see each other in the bush. We have even caught glimpses but never enough for a photo.
Not only Endangered but possibly Invisible
Looks like a "birdy" trail to me
There are only three locations where these shy, ground-dwelling songbirds live and Jervis Bay NP is one of them. On our first attempt we met another birder who claimed he saw two that very morning but once again we only heard them. Two more trips were just as frustrating, possibly more so since we (usually Connie) had to “break trail” though the sticky webs of numerous Golden Orb Spiders, aka “Yucky” spiders. The silver lining; it didn’t rain, the trails were nice, we got some exercise and John managed photos of a White-throated Treecreeper, a Yellow Thornbill and a pair of Leaden Flycatchers.
"Yucky" Spider in her web
Along came a Spider, Golden Orb Spider
Leaden Flycatchers, juvenile and Mom
White-Throated Treecreeper, Jervis Bay NP
We had booked the Princess cruise to Fiji back when we thought it would count to “reset” our Australian visa clock—which we now know it doesn’t. It’s still less than we would spend on terra firma for food, lodging and a car not to mention we can celebrate Connie’s birthday in Fiji. It seemed like such a good deal we even added another week to Tasmania and back—same ship, same cabin.
Notice the Shark Barrier nets, Kurnell Beach
747 taking off across Botany Bay
So now we are in Kurnell Beach on Botany Bay, not far from where Captain James Cook landed back in 1770. The apartment is fine but the view across the Bay leaves something to be desired unless you like to watch planes skim across the Bay from Sydney Airport. Which is where we drop off the rental car in just a few hours. Ta-ta.
