Tuesday 20 October 2026 Ocean Grange: Arrival

 First a bit of background.  Eight of us were booked for a return trip to Baranguba/Montague Island at this time.  With only two weeks to go until our departure we read the news that bird flu had been detected on the island. The next day I received a call from NPSNSW to hear what we had long been expecting; the island was being closed to the public and all bookings cancelled.

So, it was a mad scramble to find an alternative venue. All my ideas were proving fruitless and I was beginning to despair when KT suggested Ocean Grange Homestead across the lake from Paynesville. Checking out the website we liked what we saw and after looking at google maps we were excited by the paddling opportunities. L gave the idea a big thumbs up as he spent a number of much loved,  adventure filled family holidays camping at Ocean Grange when there was only the homestead and two other houses - some 60++ years ago!

With fingers crossed I rang David,  the owner of Ocean Grange Homestead. And yes it was available for our dates however the only access to Ocean Grange was by boat. David was very helpful and suggested a couple of possibilites for boat charter and he held the booking until I could find someone to take us from Paynesville to Ocean Grange and return.  H20 Boat Charter seemed to be the only boat big enough to transport us our luggage, food and five kayaks. However the were not available to pick us up from Ocean Grange on Friday but could do Saturday. After more phone calls to see if everyone could spend an extra day and to David to see if the homestead was available for another night we eventually got the bookings locked in with only about eight days to go. It was then KT's turn to knuckle down and co-ordinate the catering, especially as there would be no going back for anything forgotten or run out of - ever growing and amended lists of breakfasts, lunches, dinners, nibblies, snacks & drinks were delivered to our inboxes on a seemingly daily basis. 

Those of us with longer drives elected to head down and spend Sunday night in Paynesville so we would be ready for loading at 11.00am on Monday.  Sitting on our verandah relaxing after the drive we were visited by a pair of swans looking for a handout. A few oats pilfered from P&G's muesli went down a treat.

G&R arrived with a few items for our eski and then we went to the Cruiser Club for dinner and from whence we would be departing the next day.

Looking down the canal from our bedroom just before 6.00am on Monday morning. A pretty good start to our holiday :)

We arrived at the club about 10.10, and the boat arrived at the jetty shortly after. KT&G arrived about 10 minutes later and Rob, the owner of H20 Boat Charters came and said we could start loading if we liked. The Kayaks went on first followed by the food and luggage. And all of a sudden we were off! We were going to arrive at Ocean Grange at least an hour and a 1/2 ahead of schedule. I rang David to check it was okay. He was most gracious even tho' it must have been a mad scramble for him to get ready for us.

Departing Paynesville

David wasn't the only one madly scrambling  - these were too,  to get out of the way of our boat. A fifth cygnet got left behind and we all watched, with baited breath as they dwindled into the distance, until it eventually caught up.

The channel leading to Ocean Grange was quite narrow and we had a good view, looking across and down to the many nesting swans on the long thin spit of Cresent Island and Rob warned us not to paddle close to the shore on any island where birds were nesting or congretating.

There were a couple of trolley carts and a wheelbarrow on the jetty awaiting our arrival and by the time we got the first loads to the end of the jetty David arrived with a buggy and trailer to take our luggage up to the house. Several trips later the luggage was done and only the kayaks remained. Rob and his side kick handed them to us over the back railing of the boat and we carried them off one by one, a suprisingly smooth process.  After stashing them under a tree in the shade we walked up to the house to properly introduce ourselves and get the grand tour. After a good explore we chose our bedrooms and David left us to it. We unpacked and stowed the mountain of provisions - a walk in coolroom with shelving making it very easy. After a lunch of chicken and salad rolls made by G that morning as we thought we would be lunching on the boat we took the short walk to the ocean

for a quick peak 

before returning to the solar heated pool to laze away the remainder of the afternoon

Later that evening we supped on Duck in a light Peking Sauce and Asian Greens, the first of many culinary delights.