Chapter 8 - New South Wales

We awoke in New South Wales on Monday 18 August. I went for my regular early-first-day-in-town walk which was a 6 km stroll—mostly along the beach.  It was a quiet morning, catching up on some jobs, before we caught up with friends Fran & Colin at the Tweed Heads Bowls Club. 

After an excellent lunch Colin and I watched some of a top-level indoor bowls tournament, featuring some top bowlers.

It was a quiet evening.

Tuesday was a day for some exploring.  We first visited the local Giants Causeway at Fingal Head—a similar geological phenomenon to the place with the same name in Northern Ireland.  It is well worth a visit.  The area is overlooked by a lighthouse that was the first public building in the Tweed area.  It was completed in January 1879.

Giant's Causeway, Fingal Head, NSW

We then had a long chat with a lovely lady at the Murwillumbah Information Centre.  She advised us which towns to visit and (more importantly) where the good coffee was to be found.  We had the good coffee, and great cake, before we ventured further.

We were surprised by the amount of sugar cane in the area as we were not aware that sugar cane was grown as far south as NSW.

Our next stop was Mt Warning, an impressive piece of rock. The rain forest walk was also well worth the short walk.

Rainforest at Mt Warning

Mt Warning

Some trivia. A little guy called a “Hip Pocket Frog” can be found in this area, so called because the male has small pocket-like slits on his back and sides.  The baby tadpoles climb into these “pockets” where they are nourished by the father and grow until they are large enough to emerge as tiny froglets.

Uki and Terragon were the next small towns to visit with the lovely drive reminding me of English countryside.  We ignored the GPS device and choose dirt road over sealed road for the next phase to Tyalgum.  We were rewarded with more exquisite countryside and scenic hills.

After that we moved through the small hamlet of Chillingham and continued onto Natural Bridge—so called because of the rock formation that forms a bridge over a small creek.  We had now ventured back into Queensland.

There was a large natural cavern under the “bridge”.

 

Cavern Under the Arch at Natural Bridge

Sun reflecting through the falling water

The sun passing though the water provided a lovely rainbow of colours.  

More trivia. The above creek contains eels that were spawned in the Coral Sea before journeying upsteam into many freshwater rivers and creeks.  They can remain in the creek for 8 to 30 years before they head back to the Coral Sea to breed.

We found a little café near the above rock formation that had lovely homemade food, pies being one of the specialities.  So we had a pie for lunch.

Our drive back to base included a mango ice-cream, again a local speciality.

Wednesday saw us heading further south.  We called into Brunswick Heads and had a look around.  It is a nice small town with some quality caravan parks.  We had a coffee and headed on to Byron Bay.   

Against better judgement and sound advice from Darryl I went looking for the Byron Bay lighthouse (caravan in tow) as Shirley wished to check it out.  After a while I wondered whether I had made the right move.  However fortune favours the brave and we found a great parking spot in a great location, about 750 metres from the lighthouse.  We headed along a boardwalk and up many steps and reached the most easterly point of the Aussie mainland.  We saw dolphins in one direction and whales in another.  However they would not pose for my camera. 

We pressed on and arrived at the lighthouse, a quite impressive sight.  Shirley had achieved her aim for the morning—and the car and caravan were intact. It was a spectacular walk.

Byron Bay Lighthouse

Darryl & Kay had booked caravan sites at Lennox Head so we headed south and set up camp.

After lunch we went for drive around Lennox Head and Ballina.


Rain was the feature of Thursday which saw an extensive change of plans.  Touring countryside became scones (plain & date), cream & jam in the morning.  We then went for a walk on the beach and along the edge of Lake Ainsworth, which is renown for its therapeutic qualities—that come from the local tea trees.

 

Later we drive into Ballina where Darryl and I went to the Naval & Maritime Museum while the ladies went “browsing”.  The museum was superb and one you should consider if you are into that sort of thing.

A feature of the museum is one raft and lots of details from the “Las Balsas Expedition” of 1973 when 12 guys and three balsa-wood-log rafts sailed from Ecuador to Australia.  They had intended to land at Mooloolaba (the name of one of the rafts), but bad weather forced them into Ballina.  It is an amazing story.

Still more trivia. The term “thunderbox” is originally a nautical term that is defines as “Toilet facility rigged over the stern of the ship for the use of native crew members”. It was later introduced into Aussie vernacular for obvious reasons.

On our way home we called into Bunning’s where the “Big Prawn” now resides.  Bunning’s helped restore the tired prawn to the tune of $400,000.  

 

Then we visited “Thursday Plantation” - a local tea tree processor and producer of health & welfare products.  I felt much better afterwards.

For dinner Shirley cooked pasta bolognaise and Darryl & I cooked a garlic pizza.  The pasta was great but the pizza base did not rise enough.  All teeth intact, so no harm done.

It was still raining, and the locals were very happy.

After a very wet night Friday saw us depart Lennox Head, after packing up between showers.  Our first stop was the Evans Head aerodrome where my father was stationed during WW2 with the RAAF.  

He was an Aircraftsman and his main topic of learning was the Fairey Battle plane.  The town has a replica of the plane in the main street.

Fairey Battle replica

It was good to visit a place that has family history of that calibre.  The two museums in town were both closed.  One of them now houses an F-111.

We passed through Grafton and headed on to Arrawarra, just short of Coffs Harbour.  We set up camp at the NRMA Darlington Beach Holiday Resort.  It is a superb park.

Within minutes we were greeted by the arrival (on the car door) of four Rainbow Lorikeets.  Two of them then jumped onto my arm.

Rainbow Lorikeet

After lunch we went for a walk to the beach and admired the many native flowers in bloom.  The weather was not conducive to a beach walk so we took a photo (next page) and headed back to camp.

Darryl, Kay, Shirley, Chris overlooking Arrawarra beach

Dinner was easy at the camp restaurant.

We had constant rain all night and Saturday started with puddles everywhere.  A visit to Coffs Harbour was on the agenda but the miserable weather dampened our attempts at tourism.  However we were able to visit the Big Banana for a photo shoot and some excellent bananas,

prior to a short walk out on to the Coffs Harbour pier.

Under side of the Coffs Harbour pier

The afternoon was quiet as we sheltered from the weather and caught up on the odd Sudoku or some reading.

We were back on the road on Sunday with Darryl & Kay about to head home.  However we met for lunch at Port Macquarie before going our separate way.  During this break I convinced all that we should have one last hurrah and consider one final bush camp.  My suggestion was Coopernook State Forest, about 60 km south of Port Macquarie. 

It involved about 3 km of dirt road, and our destination was a large clearing in the middle of the state forest—enough to hold a large number of campers.  However there were only a small number of (free loading) residents.   

Chris, Darryl, Shirley & Kay in Coopernook State Forest

We set up camp and lit the campfire—using wood that we had carried since being on the Gold Coast.

Darryl cooked the lamb stew, I cooked the damper (in my new gas bottle BBQ) and the ladies drank the G & Ts.  It was a great team effort.  It was a great night, although late rain caused an early end.

Damper in new Gas-Bottle BBQ

We departed Coopernook State Forest on Monday, and said our goodbyes to Darryl and Kay after morning tea and headed off to Port Stephens. 

We set up camp at One Mile Beach and went for a drive around town. We met Fred, a pelican who frequents a fish shop (the door behind him).  He stands in front of the door and stops people entering the shop until someone shoos him away or feeds him some fish.  We bought some oysters after Fred let us pass.

Fred

The view from the Nelson Bay lighthouse was spectacular, as was the view from our local beach.

View from the Nelson Bay lighthouse

The threatened heavy rain started very early on Tuesday, and continued throughout the morning.  It thwarted my desire to get a sunrise photo on the beach.  However a sleep in was not unpleasant.  We toured the local area and found time for an excellent coffee. Soldiers Point has an excellent caravan park beside a bowls club that has an outdoors green with a waterproof cover.  Must remember that for some later trip.

We took the opportunity of a break in the rain to go on a walk to the Tomaree Lookout, a walk with an elevation of 161 metres to the summit of Tomaree Head.  The views were breathtaking, albeit filtered by a very moist atmosphere.

View of Shoal Bay (west from Tomaree Lookout)

View across Port Stephens heads (north from Tomaree Lookout)

View of Fingel Spit (south from Tomaree Lookout)

 I took a photo of a Gould Petrel (right), Australia’s rarest seabird that only breeds on a local island. Unfortunately it took wing as I pressed the shutter.  It is quite a pretty bird.

Rare Goulds Petrel departing the scene

Tomaree Head also has WW2 gun emplacements that were installed to repel any potential incursion into Port Stephen.  This was considered a risk to the Newcastle steel industry and the nearby Williamtown aerodrome.

One of the WW2 Gun Emplacements

As we completed our walk the rain restarted so it was time for home, coffee, sudoku, emails, blog update and maybe a (later) chilled glass.  Spaghetti marinara for dinner.

Although the rain eased late in the day the wind strengthened, such that we lowered the awning about 11:45.  As the wind grew stronger so did the noise from the nearby crashing waves.

Although the start of Wednesday was overcast I was able to head for the beach (about 6:20) for my early morning stroll and photo taking.  There were two of us on about 3 km of beach.   

One Mile Beach on an overcast morning

Even the birds struggled to fly anywhere but with the wind. 

After morning duties we went for a stroll on Zenith Beach and Wreck Beach, 

 

Shirley on Wreck Beach

Chris on Wreck Beach

then visited the popular sand dune which stretch for 32 km.  It was a struggle to climb to the top of one of the dunes.

Small sample of the sand dunes

 By then it was time for some shopping and a coffee.

On the way back to camp we checked out the Gan Gan Lookout which gave a 360 degree view of Port Stephens.  The camera could not do this view justice.  However we did get a couple of bird photos that were also very popular with a couple of German tourists.  The first was an Eastern Osprey (I think) that was sitting in its nest near the top of a communications tower.  The second, near the bottom of the tower, was a kookaburra with his lunch in his mouth.  I missed the photo of the kookaburra thumping his lunch on a rock.

Eastern Osprey

Kookaburra with lunch

As we pack the car and caravan for the last time on our trip we know that we have 1063 km to travel before we get home.  That will take at least three days.  Hopefully we will be home before I unhitch the car and caravan again.

Trip (approximate) summary to date:

Distance to Date (km) 8086

Nights 92

Travel 88  Km per day

This time last year 157 Km per day

Fuel cost per day $22

Caravan park cost per day $31

***  This posting is complete.***
as at 8pm Wednesday 27 August 2014