south coast odyssey part two: bodalla, mogo and berry

We woke up on Monday morning to this:

Tee hee! I think the family in the campsite near us had sprinkled some bread around. But they were very friendly, especially the curious one in the first photograph!

A quick shout out re our accommodation - we stayed at the Island View Beach Resort which is in fact a caravan park, which you definitely can't tell from the name! I was a little trepidatious about staying at a caravan park for the first time in my sheltered life, but we had a great time. We stayed for 2 nights in a cabin with an ensuite, and found it very handy to have a kitchen. We'd actually tried to book at Easts Narooma but got a call saying that it was in fact fully booked (despite the online booking system accepting the booking). I was glad in the end that we stayed at Island View because it's a little bit (approximately 3km) out of Narooma - all the more peaceful and relaxing, while Easts was in fact in the middle of town.

After checking out we headed back north. First stop, Bodalla Dairy Shed which features in NotQuiteNigella's twin posts on the South Coast (which of course I'd printed off as reference material before our trip - thanks NQN!):

We sat out on the back deck where I noted home decorating idea number one:

And here is home decorating idea number two:

In fact, the table top was made out of an old door! Yes, we I do plan to have small plastic animals scattered about our home.

All that being a plastic animal is thirsty work! And who could resist a butterscotch milkshake in an old school milkshake cup? I slurped mine up so quickly (and noisily!) that the waitress asked, "would you like another one?"

There was a slight mix-up with our order but in the end we did receive one traditional scone with jam and cream and one cheese scone. No photos as I was too distressed at not receiving two traditional scones as we had ordered (can you tell I really love scones? They're in fact just a vehicle for jam and cream in my opinion. The cheese scone was still quite nice - reminded me of the vegetarian muffins that I used to get from Muffin Break during their end-of-day buy one get one free promotions. Now it's buy two get one free. I'm showing my stingy side here...)

After this delicious morning tea, we headed north to Mogo, where I had my heart set on going to the zoo. I was pleasantly surprised by how clean and well-maintained Mogo Zoo was. We went to Taronga Zoo last year for the Roar and Snore, and I have to say I was a little distressed at the behind-the-scenes tours where I honestly found the conditions, particuarly for the chimpanzees, a bit too crowded and bare for my liking. The animals at Mogo all seemed fairly content, with plenty of room to play:

Look at that little darling face. Chapflap said that I wasn't allowed to have one, unfortunately (I'm not sure it would've got on that well with catflap anyway!)

Meerkat getting annoyed at the fact chapflap was taunting it with a bag of kangaroo/deer feed.

The village of Mogo was also lovely for those into trinkets and crafty things (i.e. me and not chapflap). I spent a bit of time pottering particularly around Jellybeads and Amanda's of Mogo, picking up enough supplies to keep me occupied for a little while. By the time I finished, it was late afternoon and the lunch places around Mogo were a bit empty for our liking. We ended up heading to Ulladulla where we picked up some take-away which we ate here:

Anything would taste good with a view like this! Although saying that, our fish burger, hamburger with the lot and scallops were very fresh and tasty. Perfect holiday food (along with oysters and gelato!)

We passed Hayden's Pies on the way through Ulladulla, which we worked out we'd actually tried before on a previous trip down the South Coast. So much for threatening chapflap with the prospect of camel pie! They mustn't have had camel that time, because we do remember having the rabbit pie.

Speaking of perfect holiday food, this is pretty much the perfect pick-me-up spot on the drive back north - particularly for the bargain basement price of $1 each? (6 for $5.50! Not that we got 6, as that would pretty much mean heart attacks for both of us)

With our oil levels satisfyingly elevated, it was left to chapflap to endure the end-of-long-weekend traffic jam while I blissfully snoozed. This is the life...

Island View Beach Resort
7323 Princes Highway (approximately 3km south of Narooma)
Narooma NSW 2546

Information and bookings here

Bodalla Dairy Shed
52 Princes Highway (on the right hand side of the road as you head north)
Bodalla NSW 2545

More information available here

Mogo Zoo
222 Tomakin Road (approximately 2km off the Princes Highway, just before Mogo as you head north)
Mogo NSW 2536

Recently featured in SMH. We in fact first heard about it on Getaway

Berry Donut Van
Princes Highway
Berry NSW 2535

Cute article about the van here