The Lighthouse Song (not in Europe)

Are you surprised dear reader that I have escaped the confines of the city and am once again on vacation? Had the world not gone crazy, I would be tapping the keys from Budapest, awaiting the commencement of our river cruise to Amsterdam. It is a special year. Jayne turns a nice round number ending in zero and we were going to celebrate in style. However, Covid, which appears to be the answer to most questions these days, has intervened and we are restricted to NSW and the ACT. And who holidays in the ACT? No-one.

So we find ourselves in Mollymook and, so far, the locals have all been lovely. We have experienced none of the reported angst that other Sydney-siders experienced being turned away from restaurants and the like, in other parts of the state. Mollymook was not our first choice of destination, I was aiming for something further north and warmer. And then Queensland closed the border. Research switched back to NSW and I came across Pa's Beach House. Pa was how we referred to dad, so it was the obvious choice. I am sitting at the table in the living room looking down the beach to the Mollymook Golf Club. The sun is shining, there are no clouds, the waves are rolling in, there are a couple of steamer clad surfers eking out the occasional wave and the crash of the surf is soothing somehow. I could watch wave patterns all day. And dolphins - although there are none today, they were plentiful yesterday.

Pa's Beach House

The title today is from Josh Pyke's 2008 album Chimney's Afire. We have a clear view to the lighthouse at Ulladulla and I am anticipating a ride over there one morning before we leave. Just a tad concerned about the hills - I'm not getting any younger.

There probably won't be a lot to report this trip and posts may be sporadic, but I will be exploring the similarities between Mollymook and Budapest. Don't scoff my sceptical reader, you may, nay, you will be

Mollymook River(ish)

surprised. I will sprinkle the similarities throughout the various posts. Similarity #1: Mollymook and Budapest have the same number of syllables. Similarity #2: Mollymook and Budapest both have a river. OK, it's Mollymook Creek but it is still water.

Today is our first full day after an uneventful drive down here. We decided not to hire a car but to shoe-horn everything into the MX5. That was until we had packed and then it was a hasty trip to Avis to secure a Kona. I thought that was slang for someone who did too much marijuana. Apparently it is a compact SUV, just large enough to take our bags and supplies and my bike.

Last evening we opted for a take-away dinner from the Mollymook Beach Hut. It was highly recommended on Trip Advisor. Clearly by people who do not understand fish and chips. The service was fine, the people were lovely and the chips passed muster. However, the fish was dominated by the oil and overcooked. Not going back.

After the usual lazy beginning to the day, I went in search of tea bags and discovered a take-away coffee shop on the way. Caffeine hit in both hands I returned to the Beach House for coffee, toast, crossword and newspaper. Not an unusual way for me to commence the day, except for the stunning view of the beach. Recharged after the night, we set off down the beach to the Mollymook Golf Club to ascertain dress regulations, as we are lunching there today.

It is about a 30 minute walk from our end of the beach to the Golf Club. The tide was going out and there were a few surfers riding the small swell and a similar number of people walking the beach and the odd fisherman who appeared to be feeding fish, not catching them. The sun, salt spray and rhythm of the breakers ... who couldn't be relaxed. Golf Club reached, T-shirts are OK, we turned for home, to burn the intervening time before the walk back to the club for lunch. A young couple passed us jogging down the beach. On their return trip they stopped at a point in the sand dune where upon she piggy-backed him up to the top of the dune. No easy feat. Some sort of fitness fanatic mating ritual? I'm not sure we would have seen that in Budapest.

Looking south to the Golf Club

Mollymook Golf Club has come a long way since we visited sometime in the mid '80s. The views are superb looking  north up the beach to our house. Ceiling to floor glass everywhere to make the most of the vista. They have a reasonable wine list and the menu (which offers take-away) is well crafted pub fare. A significant yard stick of quality, for me, has always been the Fisherman's Basket and I'm more often disappointed than I am pleased with what arrives on the table. Not today. The flathead was perfectly cooked, the coconut crusted prawns were a delight, the Thai-style fish cake was a genuine tasty surprise and the chips had a little spice on them too. The corn crusted calamari was the only miss on the plate. All enjoyed with a very reasonably priced bottle of Pinot Gris.

We whiled the afternoon away by watching two people with some sort of implement taking measurements, every 5 metres or so, from knee depth in the water to the high tide mark. They had worked their way about 150m down the beach by the time we left. Our assumption is that they were measuring sand erosion after the recent storms.

Anyway, it was back to the verandah/balcony to sip champagne and watch the shadows lengthen. Supporting the local (and international) economy is never easy.

Until next time ...