The weather was too good to waste in Canberra, so we made a snap decision—head to the coast for the day.

Rather than follow the usual path to Batemans Bay, we aimed a little further south. Our destination: Meringo, with a stop in Moruya along the way. We left Canberra and followed the familiar route to Braidwood, but instead of turning down the Kings Highway, we continued straight on towards Araluen—a road I hadn’t driven in years.
The descent into the Araluen Valley was as scenic as I remembered—twisting bends through open country, the kind that makes you slow down and take in the view. We made a quick stop in the valley so I could grab a photo of the old church there—just a reference shot for when I come back with proper gear.

From Araluen, the road follows the Deua River and becomes a narrow, winding dirt track in places—barely wide enough for one car in some stretches. It’s a quiet route, hugged tightly between the hills and the river, and the scenery is well worth the slower pace.
Partway along, we turned off onto Larrys Mountain Road—new to me, and a nice change. Eventually, we hit sealed roads again and made it into Moruya. As we crossed the bridge, we noticed a market happening on the riverbank, so we pulled in for a break. It was a good chance to stretch our legs, wander through the stalls, and grab some lunch. While we were there, a seaplane landed on the river—first time the kids had seen one up close, which added a bit of novelty to the stop.
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After lunch, we continued south to Mullimburra Point. I had hoped to check out Cathedral Rock, but access wasn’t really suitable for the kids, so we parked on the other side and walked down to Mullimburra Point Beach instead. It turned out to be a sheltered spot, good for swimming and exploring, and shared with only a couple of other families.
Once the others were settled, I ducked back over the headland to scout Cathedral Beach properly. I wanted to get a feel for the location and light—worth returning another time with camera gear in hand. I took a few quick shots and returned to the beach to rejoin the family.
After some time exploring the rocks with Joel, we packed up and headed for home, this time sticking to the Kings Highway. It was a straightforward return, rounding out a 370 km loop.
A good mix of familiar and new roads, with a quiet beach at the end—definitely a spot worth revisiting.

I had my eye on Bungonia for a while — more specifically, Christ Church, the old Anglican church perched on the edge of town. The forecast wasn’t exactly promising: cold, windy, and a slight chance of rain. But with the camera packed and a small window of time after school drop-off, I took a chance and hit the road.

The drive up the Federal Highway started bleak — low clouds, occasional rain, and not much sign of it lifting. I was starting to think I might be photographing mist and mood instead of sandstone and sun. But just past Goulburn, the clouds began to break apart and scatter, and the light started to shift. Things were looking up.
As I turned off onto Mountain Ash Road, I got my first glimpses of blue sky and a few golden breaks in the cloud. It was still misting here and there, but the light was changing — fast.
Driving into Bungonia for the first time, I passed St. Michael’s Catholic Church on the hill. Beautiful location, but not quite right for the time of day or year — I logged it as a "return later" spot. The rest of the town was a surprise. So many of the buildings carry their history proudly — the old 1882 Public School and former Police Station are now homes, but still marked with signs telling their stories. I could easily spend a day here just photographing heritage buildings alone.

At the far end of town, Christ Church finally came into view — a solid sandstone presence, slightly elevated, with views back over the township. The gate was closed but not locked. I slipped through, parked carefully, and took a moment to read the history sign before unpacking the gear.

While setting up the tripod, the break I’d been hoping for arrived — the clouds parted just enough to let a wash of sunlight hit the church façade. Warm light against cold stone. Exactly the contrast I’d come chasing.

I spent a solid hour working the angles — wide shots, close details, and a few different perspectives around the grounds. I even turned the camera toward the car, now wearing its new tyres — the light was too nice to pass up a quick automotive snap or two.
On the way home, I circled back to St. Michael’s. Took a few reference shots and captured the info signs. Based on the sun angle, it’s one for the warmer months — late spring or early summer should be perfect. I’ll be back.
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And here it is — the first images of the church from the shoot and a couple of the car. The light didn’t last long, but it arrived at just the right moment.

​Today I fitted the Black Duck canvas seat covers to the MU-X. I’ve used these covers before in the Triton and was really impressed with their quality and durability. They held up brilliantly, so I didn’t hesitate to go with them again.

​I recently picked up a 2022 MU-X LSM, and it's been a bit of a love-hate relationship so far. The car tends to complain a fair bit, and there have been a few surprises along the way. I'm gradually figuring out how to switch certain things on and off so it nags me a little less.

But here's a nice little bonus I stumbled upon…
While trying to stash some gear under the passenger seat today (we were heading to the beach), I spotted a small grey box tucked underneath. It caught my attention, and I found myself thinking about it all day.

Later tonight, I managed to snap a somewhat abstract photo of it—just enough to help me identify it.

Turns out, the vehicle was originally a government fleet car, used in the Dubbo region by the NSW Farmers Association. That means it’s mostly done good country kilometres, which is a plus.
​
The mystery box? It’s a CEL-FI Go G31 mobile phone signal booster. I’d originally assumed the antenna was for a CB radio that had been removed, but nope—this thing boosts mobile reception. Brand new, it retails for around $900, though it’s now been superseded by the G41. Even so, secondhand G31 units still go for around $600.
Needless to say, I’m pretty chuffed! Best part? The dealer had no idea it was even in there.

The CEL-FI GO G31 uses the propriety Nextivity IntelliBoost chip to improve 3G, 4G, and 5G cellular coverage for voice and data in stationary or mobile environments.
Features and benefits include:
• Superior Performance: 100 dB Max Gain
• Environmental rating: Outdoor NEMA 4 Rating
• Multi-Carrier Support with Carrier Switching App
• Multi-user support
• Carrier Approved for 3G, 4G, and 5G Voice and Data
• Unconditionally Network Safe
• SMA Female Antenna Connectors

It was time to head back to South Australia. The smoke was present nearly all the way to Narrandera. It was good to be in fresh air again. I stopped overnight at Mildura and the next morning I went for a ride at.....

Coomealla. Mountainless MTB park
What a cracking good fun course. What they lack in climbing/descending, they make up with fun stuff. Especially the A lines. I didn't do two A lines, due to riding by myself and if I fell, I could be in a spot of bother, but the rest were fun.
This course is suited to a hard tail. I had no issues riding this on fully rigid, but hard tail, would make it a bit more fun.

Unfortunately my GPS shut down before I finished one lap, about 1.5Km short. There is a truncated loop that you can do as well, so all up about 16kms, If I had more time, I would've done this as well.
Map of ride.

Post ride, it was back on the road to South Australia, and home.

I will start this post with we made a hasty retreat from Merimbula, as the country was going up in flames. More so the fact that there was a chance of us being cut off from getting to Canberra. This wikipedia article, shows the bushfires and especially the fires on the South Coast which had the potential to affect us.
Subsequently a number of places we visited just days before were engulfed. None more than Cobargo. Here are the photos from a few days ago, when we were at Cobargo.

We made it up to Canberra, only to face incredible temperatures and more smoke from the bushfires. We ended up leaving the caravan park and moving into Rebekah's parents house, so we did not have to suffer the heat and smoke.

Even though it was still stoopid hot and smokey, I was still determined to go for a ride or three.
Smoke on the Ridge
Smoky, dusty, humid ride around Bruce Ridge.
Map of ride.

Returning tools
Always good when you can ride dirt to visit a friend.
Map of Ride.

Hot, hot, hot
Channeling the Cure for the ride title.
The tunnel was sweet bliss.
Had to ride Bruce Ridge trails again.
Map of Ride.

The aborted group ride. :-(
We were meant to do a 50km meander, but the fire ban has closed nearly every place that I was going to take people.
So we went to the pub, as it is better to be safe than sorry.
Map of ride.

Tathra

This route called enduro felt like it was a cross between downhill and xc. 😉
Evil Tom is!
Some wicked gullies to negotiate.
Would be interesting to see how silly it could be on a dual suspension bike.
Map of ride.

Ben Boyd National Park
We went for a bit of a look around the park and checked out some of the whaling history.

Mandeni Mountain Bike Track (Merimbula)
My hands are rooted and so is my cassette. 
Let me say that I recommend a dualie for this ride. So many roots, ergo why my hands are rooted.
Lots of bridges on the back half and a number of things to keep the shore kiddies interested. Then the rocks appeared and some deep crossings.
At some stage my cassette suffered a catastrophic failure.
Then my GPS died (lost satellites due to low battery).

Map of ride.

I then had to ride 6km's with a busted cassette to get back out.

Photos from a road trip from South Australia to Merimbula. This section is From Deniliquin, via Blighty, Finley and eventually camping overnight at Tumut.

Deni
What a great place. Rode the best pump track that I've ever ridden, even if you mulched it, you could still pump back up to speed.
Found some MTB trails, visited a pub and the Ute on a stick.
Fun was had.
Map of ride.

Willoughby National Park MTB trails
I rode the Crater and Echidna trails this morning and although it is flat floodplain area, it was a bit of fun. Would've liked to have explored some of the other trails, but that will have to be another time maybe.
The Echidna trail was the better of the two as it had berms.
Map of ride.

Tumut MTB sampler
What a great bunch of trails. Unfortunately time was once again, against me.
These trails remind me of Jetta trails. Twisty and a few rocks scattered around to make it interesting.
Would be great to have had suspension.
Map of ride.

Day 4- - ​North Largs to Mawson Lakes and our new house (20Kms)

Day 30 - ​Melrose to North Largs (284Kms)