A SLICE OF SHOALHAVEN
For those of us who call this part of the world our backyard, the bushfire season’s relentless tally of ash, debris and shattered lives left many of us wondering what had become of our little slice of heaven, and how were the locals managing to make ends meet in such a trying time? Well, with the fires well and truly gone, roads re-opened and local businesses trying to recover lost ground, we reckoned it was time to get back to the beach. So, we hit the roads to do the ‘magic loop’ from Canberra to Nowra, along the coastline to Batemans Bay, and return. And we’re sure glad we did.
Most of us know that the fires burnt through the string of National Parks that trace the Great Dividing Range from the Victorian border to Kangaroo Valley and beyond. Along the South Coast, Wadbilliga, Deua, Budawang, Murramarang, Morton and Jerawangal National Parks were in the direct path of the bushfires and there’s still some work for the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NWPS) to do before many of our favourite camping and bushwalking locations will be safe for recreational use.
But the Australian bush is remarkable. Just a few weeks after the fires passed through, vast tracts
