I first went for a tour with my family in January 1984. We had towed a caravan to Adelaide to spend Christmas with relatives, then spent a couple of weeks visiting places like the Great Ocean Road, Melbourne etc. Narooma was a place where my mum's family regularly spent their holidays, so we pulled up in the caravan park for a few days.
I'd love to be able to say I remember every minute of the cruise & had many photos of it - but alas my memory of it is actually limited to the section where you get billy tea & scones! I can remember the camp fire & the billy tea as well as a bit of the walk to get there. There's a bit of a vague memory that we'd gotten there by boat but that's it.
Thirty years on and I finally got to go again. The kids weren't sure about it to start with - after all we spend quite a bit our time in Narooma on a boat. But they ended up loving it so much they asked to go again next year the minute we stepped off!
The captain now is Charlie. His dad was the original captain when the tours started in the early 80's. When I asked Charlie about it, he said his dad was the only one with the license to captain the ferry so the owners got him to run the tours.
Charlie has a wealth of stories about Narooma & the Wagonga Inlet. As the ferry glides gracefully through the water, he regales you with all sorts of tales - most would be considered tall tales except he has the photos to prove it! There's a few bad dad jokes thrown in for good measure. The kids loved having a go at steering the ferry, all the kids have a chance to have a go with Charlie giving the directions and giving a hand when necessary.
The day we went was overcast so the photos aren't as stunning as they could be (all the more reason to go again next year) - the waters of the inlet are incredibly blue in sunlight. A number of landmarks are pointed out, and so too are any birds that Charlie sights. He hands around folders with a number of interesting photos as well as information about Narooma.
The spot where you go ashore for billy tea, scones & a brief walk is idyllic. This was a different spot to the one I remembered from the first time I went (I asked Charlie about it). It is private land so the only way to go there is on one of Charlies tours. The walk takes you through a remnant of rain forest, with Charlie pointing out the plants & features of this unique environment. There is a steep hill to start with, but other than that the walk is pretty easy going.
Once back near the wharf, you are treated to scones with jam & cream & billy tea (cordial for the kids). Unfortunately there wasn't any gluten free option - we had asked when booking just to make sure in case we needed to take something with us. So I had to take the others word for it that the scones were delicious - my non gluten free kids loved the fact they got my serve as well!
While we were consuming our devonshire tea, Charlie disappeared for a while to collect some oysters. Now I'm not a fan so didn't try any, but all those that liked them seemed to enjoy them. All three kids tried them - only one considered them 'delicious'. The other two wished they had the scones after trying the oysters!
Back onboard & it's time to head home. The tour takes 3 hours, most of it spent meandering around the inlet, so the trip back is relatively short.
During peak times, the cruise runs every day, the rest of the year its Sunday, Wednesday & Friday. Best to check online http://wagongainletcruises.com.au/ or go and visit the Tourist Information Centre in Narooma - they have all the details. The Wagonga Princess departs from Forsters Bay, just next to The Inlet.
