A great pub & some bagpipes in Berry, then a tent at Depot Beach

Last weekend (25-27 May), we decided to get out of Sydney for a little while & head down the south-coast of NSW. On Friday evening, we ended up in the lovely little town of Berry. We’d been through a couple of times before on our way south and had resolved to check out the shiny hob-caps adorning the local pub! So, just over two hours after leaving work on the Friday evening, we had checked into the Berry Boutique Motel (friendly people but the place nothing to write home about) and were having the first of several beers in the Great Southern Hotel. What a superb bar…a bit down-trodden but some real characters in there, and a roaring fire in the corner (much needed on the chilly evenings we are experiencing). The décor was a cross between 70’s novelty (pool ball lampshades, pyshedlic coloured benches), biker chic (there was a large motorbike & leathers in the corner) & Australian themed junk….. superb! Felt a little bit like an Australian ‘Cheers’ bar…only the post-man was replaced by someone sat at the corner of the bar in his ‘rail-man’ uniform. Around 11pm we realized that we hadn’t had anything to eat & so went in search of some food…. The only thing that was open was a ‘donut van’…. Bit random but we had to make do & had a couple of deep-fried donuts – not something I will be in a rush to do again.

Saturday we had breakfast & the people at the hotel informed us that their was a Celtic Festival on in town, so of course we decided to check it out. It seems that both Australia & New Zealand are places which are extremely proud of their Celtic (Scottish in particular) routes…..and they certainly take up any opportunity to have a parade! We spent a couple of hours watching the various events (lots of bagpipes), walking around the stalls (bought some excellent home-made chilli & coriander jam), admiring the cairn terriers (a lot friendlier than Buster – Lucy’s parents dog) & eating haggis. Highlight of the morning was the strong-man competition, notably the event which involved the contestants picking up stones (ranging from 100kg – 165kg) and placing them on top of large barrels….only one managed to lift the heaviest weight.

After picking up some supplies (cheeses, pate, bread, etc) at the excellent Berry Emporium Food Co – lots of top food to choose from, and very friendly & efficient service – we continued on with our journey. We eventually got to Depot Beach (after getting lost at Pretty Beach) at 4.30pm…..leaving just enough time to get the tent up, get ourselves organized & stroll to the beach before dusk. Had a tremendous evening, listening to music, eating great food, drinking some quality wine & port (brought from home) & talking late into the evening. At one point a possum almost joined us (Lucy was delighted) & it seemed as though one of the many kangaroos was about to join in with our conversation when it coughed (Lucy thought it was me clearing my throat!). Whilst I wouldn’t want to do it every night, the camping was actually a nice idea and I slept like a baby. We awoke in time to see the dawn – the fantastic colours rising over the ocean – and marveled at how nice it was to have the wildlife around us.

We packed up, headed to Bateman’s Bay for breakfast – very annoying woman on the next table – and then back to Pebbly Beach for a walk, game of boules & a doze in the sun. On the way home, we stopped off at Sussex Inlet to catch up with friend’s of Lucy’s family - had a nice chat, went over stories of bush-fires of years gone by. And then headed to Kiama for fish & chips - the flathead is really much tastier than the cod at home!