Day 5 - Jindabyne to Batemans Bay

After a continental breakfast, we left Jindabyne and headed southeast towards Cooma. Rather than simply following the main road, I took a short detour across the high plains through Dalgety. It was a much more enjoyable route, with open countryside, sweeping views and quiet roads that make a roadster trip so rewarding.

Arriving in Cooma brought back distant memories. I had been there before, but not since a family holiday in the late 1970s. Known as the gateway to the Snowy Mountains, Cooma has a strong connection to the Snowy Mountains Scheme and the thousands of migrants who came to the region to help build it. It was interesting to return after nearly fifty years and see the town through very different eyes.

From Cooma, we continued southeast towards Bega, descending from the tablelands towards the coast. Bega sits in a beautiful dairy-farming district and is, of course, synonymous with Bega Cheese, which originated there. We then joined Highway 1 and headed north. The change was immediately noticeable. The road became wider, straighter and much less picturesque, certainly nowhere near as much fun in an MX-5. By mid-afternoon, we reached Batemans Bay, our stop for the night, ending another wonderfully varied day on the road.