On my recent holiday I stayed at the Jervis Bay Caravan Park which seemed so ideal for we AI's skippers I decided to leak the info.
The best scenario for those of us who like convenience or are a bit old & tired is to have your AI setup once and have it always ready for Sailing right by your accomodation and a good launch, JB Cara Park has all this and top-notch modern, clean Cabins with all modcons in a charming bush setting.
There is another local Cara Park on the water which looks conveniently close to the beach on Google Earth but it is a steep, 2-metre sand embankment to drag your AI down to the water and a nearly impossible climb back up without several ppl helping as the sand is very soft and there are no stairs or ramp of any kind.
JB Cara Park is right on Moona Moona Creek only Two Kliks upriver from the Bay itself, it always has a navigable channel even in the low tides I experienced in July and being wide does not have a strong tidal flow. I was always able to time my departures and returns so that I had a favourable tidal period and some days I just let the AI float down to the Pub on the Bay and back with some lazy pedalling.
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ImageShack.usJust wheel you Hobie out of the water, hose it down and go have a hot shower.
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ImageShack.usA safe place to park your AI right next to your cabin.
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ImageShack.usJB Cara Park in Top Center, Huskisson Inlet Bottom center.
Huskisson which is the bayside village at the mouth of the creek has a well-stocked and friendly Hobie dealer, an RSL with the best-cheapest meals I have ever seen, a Bakery with fantastic food that is open for breakfast at dawn and many other quality eateries.
Karen and Waylend, the park's owner's, care about their guests and are professional and friendly and the clean, modern Cabins have Rev/Air, large WS Telly with Austar and Endless Hot Water, yet are less to rent in mid-season than a motel far from the water, even less with a senior's card
JB Cara Park Net:
http://www.jervisbaycaravanpark.com.au/Contact JB Marine Rescue who have a control tower at the Husky Inlet VMR209 on fone # 44415433 for your Safety Watch and local conditions advice.
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ImageShack.usAt Murray's Beach the Pelicans await the return of fishermen while a curious Wallaby checks us out.
There is so much to explore in JB that is only see-able by shallow draught craft like the AI and every cosy bay and inlet is in pristine condition and usually inhabited only by the Seals and Dolphins.
On the Third day near Callala Bay I had stopped looking for Whales yet I did notice what appeared to be a subsurface reef lifting the chop just a little ahead. I altered course to avoid it and looked elsewhere, when I looked again the "Reef" had moved? Then a flash of glossy black broke the surface for just a moment, It was indeed a Humpback Whale moving on a course opposite to mine and only 20 metres away, it was up-sun so I could not take a photo due to the surface reflection.
The Whale was not Blowing or Tailslapping, just cruising in the warm, shallow cove, yet there was something about glimpsing it's sedate, steady progress that made the creature even more mysterious and fascinating. I turned the Bow homewards, raised the Skeg, and ran 12 K's across the bay with a moderate following breeze and a sense of wonder and fulfillment.