Friday 27 September 2013 – Last full day of holiday

We couldn’t believe it when we woke this morning and the sun was shining and the wind had dropped!  What a lovely surprise.  You could never expect such a radical change overnight.  It seems that the Latrobe Valley had the same severe weather yesterday as we had here as I heard on the wireless this morning that there are over 1000 homes still without power in the Valley.

We had a visiting morning.  After breakfast and doing a couple of chores we went to see my aunty Ike who lives here in a town house.  She is 86 now and keeping reasonably well – though dramatises everything, so I take most things she tells us with a grain of salt.  She seemed pleased to see us.

Ike Grix

From there we went to see my Uncle and Aunty – Alf and Helen.  That was a different story as they were really pleased to see us and are great company.  We had a heap of laughs there, especially when their friend Laura arrived with her daughter Julie and granddaughter Hayley who were all very funny.  Old Laura is 85 and a real dag – says what she thinks and in a pretty straightforward way, so that was good.  We were there for about an hour and a half.

Alf and Helen Jessup

Back at the caravan park we had some lunch then sat out in the sun reading the paper, then my book while Grant had forty or fifty winks in the sun.  He then went for a walk – I didn’t go as I have a very sore crack in my heel from wearing sandals and thongs all the time, and it’s not easy to put my foot down with normal walking pressure.  So I continued to read and chat to a couple of the neighbours.

Tonight we’ve wound up the holiday with take away for tea – and what else would you have at Lakes Entrance but fish and chips, and they were very nice.

Thursday 26 September 2013 – Dawn goes to school!

What a day!!  Early start today – I woke at 6 and went to the toilet, so I was up!  We had a pretty rough night last night – quite a bit of rain and some strong gusts of wind, but that was just a gentle breaking in for the remainder of the day.  From about 6.30 am it bucketed down, and by a quarter to eight I decided I had to run the gauntlet to the shower and just get wet.

As today I had a professional development day for my celebrancy (held at the Bellevue on the Lake, which according to Google maps is only 400mtrs from here), my plan was to walk around, but as conditions were so bad, Grant drove me there.  He intended going fishing for the better part of the day, but when he left me that looked highly unlikely.

My day went well: caught up with a few celebrants I have met at other PD days, and the course was run by a very nice tutor with a good sense of humour.  She was from Brisbane and wasn’t at all impressed with the weather.  Our topics for today were – some of the legalities about ceremonies and who can legally marry, the value of social networking such as Facebook in getting your name out there as a celebrant, and writing a blessing for a couple.

At morning tea time there was a massive downpour, complete with hailstones and strong winds, and at lunchtime it was still raging.  When Grant picked me up at about twenty to three he said he had spent most of the day dashing in and out of the van re-hammering in pegs (which anchor our flies) which were constantly pulling out of the ground in the gale force winds.  He had gone over to Eastern Beach in one short break in the weather, as he thought it was clearing, but was soon chased back to the shelter of the van.

Once back in the van we had some afternoon tea, expecting any time to hear the canvas on the upper half of our van rip – the wind was scary.  And we were still experiencing torrential downpours pretty constantly.

We’re now sitting down after tea and being buffeted by the gusts of wind which are still battering our van, random heavy showers of rain, heater going full bore and just hoping that it all abates by the time we wake up in the morning. As tomorrow is the last full day of our holiday it would be nice to finish it with some sunshine, but I’m not very hopeful.  I think Grant’s highlight for today was the fact that he could buy a Melbourne paper – the first in almost seven weeks, so that gave him something to do today.  And I suppose I was at least inside out of the weather all day in a nicely heated conference room, so I got the better deal of the day.

Victoria has certainly turned on a memorable ‘welcome back’ for us.

Wednesday 25 September 2013 – On the road again!

We managed to leave Wonboyn Lake at a quarter past nine on this very warm morning.  And highlights of the trip today were a couple of wallaby sightings – one on the side of the road out of Wonboyn and the other after we had crossed the border and were in Victoria.  And the other two sightings – a large black snake wriggling its way over the highway about ten kms north of Cann River – almost at the white line in the lane on the other side of the road to us, and another black snake (it looked pretty alive) half coiled on the side of the road just outside of Orbost.

We were here at Lakes Entrance by about a quarter past twelve and are now ensconced in the North Arm Caravan Park.  It has also been warm here today, but we’re not sure that the forecast sounds so good for tomorrow.  After lunch we went and got a bit of fruit, bread and yoghurt at the supermarket, then came back and sat around in the sun having a read and a chat.

Late afternoon Grant went for a wander over to Bullock Island to check out the fishing spots for tomorrow (I’ve got a Celebrants professional development day here), when he can hopefully catch us some tea.  It’s not sounding too promising though as a neighbour told us that no-one is bringing much in at the moment.

                                                 

Typical Lakes Entrance scene.

So as is obvious – nothing very exciting today, and I now have to decide what sort of day tomorrow will be, then decide what to wear and get it ironed!  Housework!!  We’ve booked here for three nights and will get home on Saturday – naturally in time to watch the grand final.

Tuesday 24 September 2013 – Looking for the big one!

Awake by 7 this morning to the sound of a rooster in the vicinity (also being loud much earlier than that), and the songs of numerous species of birds – a true morning chorus.

There was no hurry to do anything this morning, as this was planned as a total r & r day.  So after breakfast and a bit of a potter around we left the park at about 10.15 going fishing.  On the advice of Bucky (manager of the park), we made for the first of three or four options – the surf beach at Baycliff. 

Now the road to pretty well everything here (apart from going back onto the highway) is about 10 kms (1km sealed) and took us about 50 minutes each way, so it wasn’t a quick trip to find the fishing spots.  Once at the car park at Baycliff we walked the couple of hundred metres to the beach and set up to fish.  Well at this place Grant set up to fish as we only had one surf rod with us, but I was happy to sit on the beach and read my book.

    Grant preparing for the big catch.

We were there for probably a bit over an hour before deciding to pack up and move around to what is called the aquarium where we both fished as it is in the estuary of the river.  Well the aquarium didn’t live up to its name, so after quite a while there (the sun was lovely) without even a bite, we made our way back towards Wonboyn.

        Totally absorbed in my fishing.

We stopped off at Greenglade (another section of the surf coast) for a bit of a look before heading back to the lake access below our park.  By the time we got there it was 3.30, I was hanging out for a cuppa and had already had my fill of fishing without a bite, so I drove back to the camp, had a cuppa or two, started a new book,  paid for our two nights accommodation here (they didn’t want it yesterday), then went back down to the lake to pick up Grant – and he was still empty handed!  So no luck today on the fishing front.

This caravan park is in a lovely place though – lots of families with kids, a big birdfeeding table which especially the kids love, and it is very friendly, relaxed and peaceful.  And it also has a pool, so parents don’t have to do the trek to the coast for the kids to have a swim.  As I’m writing this the blue wrens are hopping around outside our door, the bell birds calls are echoing through the trees, and the lorikeets and king parrots are eager for their evening treats.  So as the sun sinks slowly in the west ………. we say goodbye from Wonboyn Lake.

Monday 23 September 2013 – Sanctuary Point to Wonboyn Lake

We were up pretty early this morning (a quarter to 7) as Margaret leaves for work at 20 past 7 and we wanted to see her before she left.  So we said goodbye to her, then had our brekky and got ourselves organised for departure on our next leg south.  We managed to leave at a quarter to nine, filled up with petrol and headed out to the Princes Highway.  Zola lost the plot this morning, as when we got to the T intersection, with Nowra to the right and Eden to the left, she confidently told us to go to the right.  Grant over-rode her instruction, and for the next half hour she constantly tried to direct us into side streets taking us off the highway and steering us back to Nowra.  So at that stage she was disconnected until we got closer to our destination when she DID get us where we were going.

Once on the highway it was pretty straight forward, as it was simply a matter of keeping to Highway 1.  The only problem was when we were nearing Moruya and we became aware of a long string of vehicles ahead of us, and they were behind some flashing lights.  It turned out to be a very large building being transported southwards.  This part of the highway was dual carriageway with only one lane going each way, and this building took up one and a half lanes in width, so even at the parts where there were overtaking lanes, overtaking was impossible.  You couldn’t see the end of the line of cars strung out behind us, so we were visualising a very slow, tedious drive.  But all was solved when, about twenty kms further along, the hauler pulled over into a sort of rest bay and let everyone pass.  PHEW!!

Pretty little town of Cobargo

The highway now bypasses a number of places – the picturesque historic township of Tilba Tilba and Merimbula being a couple of them.

We stopped at Bodalla rest stop for a wee break, chatted to a couple with a dog with dementia, then next stop was Eden where we again filled with petrol and had a leg stretch and something to eat with a cuppa.  From there it was only 33 kms to our latest home – Wonboyn Lake Cabins and Caravan Park, so we are about half way between Eden and the border, but 10kms in from the highway on the coast.  A few kms before we turned off the highway we came across an echidna scarping across the road.  He was only halfway across the lane going the opposite way to us, so still had a lane and a half to go.  We wished him luck in getting safely across, and I think he would have needed it, but we don’t know the outcome.

The park is not a big upmarket one, but in the bush, by the lake, full of birdlife – feeding the rainbow lorikeets, king parrots, etc, etc and very friendly and chatty.  We are here for two nights, so Grant will probably do a bit of fishing tomorrow.

Grant with friendly rainbow lorikeet.

Sunday 22 September 2013 – The Jervis Bay area

We had a sleep in this morning, not waking till around eight o’clock.  And we had only sat talking and having a first cuppa before breakfast when Marg’s daughter Deidre and the two girls Charlotte and Zoe arrived.  They were on their way around to feed a friends chooks, and called past to see if there was any sign of life here.  It was lovely to see them, and the kids (Charlotte is 5 and Zoe is 3) are real cuties and very friendly.  They probably stayed for a bit over an hour, so after they left Grant and I had our brekky (Marg had been up at 6.30 and had already had hers), then I had my shower and we decided to go out for a drive and explore the district.

We went with Marg in her car which was really good as she knew the best places to take us.  She showed us where she works, then we drove to just outside Huskisson which is ten km away.  There we parked and walked along the walking path into town – probably taking us about 25 minutes, then wandered around the shopping strip before going to the bakery where we had an early lunch.  We sat at an outside table and it was beautiful in the sunshine.

Dawn and Marg

After we’d eaten (and talked some more) we walked back to the car via the beach, so it was another good walk.  From there Marg took us to several little bays, obviously all very popular as there were people on every beach.  One of them was Iluka Beach and as we drove up the gravel road to the carpark there was quite a large snake lying half way across our lane of the road, with its tail curled round on the side of the road.  We stopped while grant took a photo of it.  We think it was a diamond backed python and it was probably about a metre or so long.  It didn’t move, so we drove around it, but when we came back a few minutes later it was curled up on the edge of the gravel.

Snake! 

This is an extremely pretty area, water in and out into bays, inlets and rivers, so that there would be a sheltered spot whichever way the wind was blowing.  But today was very calm and they were all pretty inviting.

Then we went to the Booderee National Park which borders on Jervis Bay, and went again to several local favourite spots before going to the Cape St George lighthouse which was built in 1860.  Controversy followed the decision about the approval of this lighthouse from 1856 due to incomplete and faulty planning, bad positioning and questions about its effectiveness. The resulting light was not visible from the northern approach to Jervis Bay, and was barely visible from the southern approach. When inspected by members of the Pilots Board it was found that on top of the inaccuracies, the contractor built the light 2.5 miles (4.0 km) north of the intended site, as it was closer to the quarry he was obtaining the stone from!

From 1864 to 1893 there were twenty three ships wrecked on the South Coast of New South Wales in the vicinity of Jervis Bay. The light was eventually replaced in 1899 by Point Perpendicular Light in Point Perpendicular, a much more suitable location for a lighthouse on this part of the coast.  After the commissioning of the new light, it was considered that the confusion of having two towers in close proximity to one another would be a hazardous to navigation in daylight, especially during foul weather. As a result, the Cape St George Tower was unceremoniously used from 1917 to 1922 for target practice by the Royal Australian Navy and destroyed.

Ruins of the lighthouse

While we were up at the lookout adjacent to the remains of the lighthouse we saw several whales frolicking out from the cliffs, and also a couple of dolphins. And as we walked back along the path to the carpark again there was a big blue-tongue lizard in the middle of the path (another photo) and we also saw a wallaby, so this was our ‘spotto some wildlife’ day.

So all up we had a great day and saw the best parts of this area.  Back at Margaret’s by about 4.30pm we enjoyed some cuppas, and then we’ve just relaxed for the rest of the day.   This is certainly a lovely part of the world.

Saturday 21 September 2013 – Road to Sanctuary Point

It was probably about 9.30 before we left the caravan park this morning on the next leg of our return to Newborough.  Once out on the Pacific Highway we made our way towards Sydney, hoping that Zola was going to take us on ring road route or at least avoid the city some how.  She did well – taking us on freeways most of the way, with only one seven kilometre stretch going through a couple of outer suburbs where even there the traffic was horrendous.

Once on the southish side of Sydney you go onto the M7 tollway which took us in the direction of Canberra for about 100 km, then turned us off to Nowra, heading for Sanctuary Point.  Before we turned off we came to a really good roadside stop where there was a coffee shop, and a truck with the whole side of it set up with shelves of fruits and vegetables – mangoes, avocados, strawberries, peaches, corn, etc, etc.  We had a stop and Grant had a coffee and I bought avocados (Small but yummy 10 for $5) and a kilo of strawberries for $5. 

Grant then told me that it was my turn to drive (I haven’t had a lot of turns this trip), which was fine, but I immediately thought of the last time we came down through here and the road you have to drive down (a scarily steep and winding 7km descent) caused the brakes to get VERY hot and we had to stop for ages until they cooled down.  So I was very nervous about driving down that very nerve wracking route.  However I didn’t say anything to Grant, as perhaps this wasn’t the same road.

Well we came down the freeway, then took the turn off Zola indicated, making for the coast.  All went well, we came to Mittagong and Zola suggested I turn off in 400 mtrs onto the Bowral Road.  Well I jumped the gun by about twenty metres and drove into a car park, but managed to find my way out of it via a back route, and thought I had got back onto the correct road.  Well, perhaps not quite, as I was to discover later.

As I continued along the road I was now on, I must admit that it did look a bit dodgy, but Zola wasn’t ‘recalculating’, so I assumed it was right.  Grant however, told me that I should just turn around and go back to where I had made the mistake, but as the road was pretty narrow I was unsure about being able to do that, I pulled over and just to be sure, put in our destination again, and Zola just told me to continue on this road for 9km.  

So I proudly forged onwards, the road was obviously narrow and rough, though still remained bitumen, and so I was confident.  Then I came to a 90 degree right hand bend in the road, but there was another road (same condition) going straight ahead, so I went onto that one, only about twenty metres – when I noticed the NO THROUGH ROAD sign.  Ooops! That meant I had to reverse!!  And reversing the van was something I had never done before, and I was reversing into any oncoming traffic about to make the right hand turn, and of course any traffic coming the other way had to be considered as well!  Very tentatively I put the car into reverse and started reversing slowly, with Grant sitting silently beside me.  The caravan was not going where I was trying to make it go, so I asked him to tell me how to get it going in the right direction.  So with him telling me ‘hard down on your right’, (whatever that means!), etc., then doing that badly and having to have another go, I made it and we continued on this obviously ‘alternative’ route.

Eventually we got onto the main Nowra road and yes – we came to the steep descent, and I managed that quite well, but then a further ten or so kilometres we came to yet another four kilometre VERY steep, winding descent, which was interspersed with some steep climbs as well, and the car was really pulling.  We are positive we never had that hill last time we did this road, so the hill must have popped up since then.  Anyway this time I had to pull over and the brakes were very hot, so we waited for a while to cool them down before getting down to the bottom.  So my drive to this stage was doubly stressful.

Zola again did well and we reached my cousin Margaret’s place in Sanctuary Point without any further ado.  It was lovely to see her after about two and a half years and she made us very welcome.  We then had to make the decision about where we wanted the caravan to be parked, as we are staying in her house for the next two nights.  Marg has an upward sloping drive, quite long, with kind of man-made bumps in it, so she had asked Deidre, and we had the option of parking it at her place.  However while we were bringing our stuff in to the house, Grant established that in Marg’s meter box which is on a pole in the front yard there is a power point.  So we were able to plug our van power into that to keep the fridge going and park it on the nature strip.

After a few cuppas we went for a walk to the shoreline of St Georges Basin at the end of Margaret’s street and walked for about an hour partway round the shore. It was a most enjoyable walk, and we saw a few people fishing and canoeing.

We had a nice evening here, catching up on lots of news, after eating a lovely roast tea, watching the preliminary final Fremantle vs Sydney footy, and eventually getting to bed about 11.30pm.

Friday 20 September 2013 – Visiting

We were awake pretty early this morning and had a slow start to the day, tidy up the van, rearranging a few things, then having a cuppa and a read before going up the street to raid the hole in the wall.

Back at camp we had lunch then got ready for our afternoon and evening outings.  First we drove about five minutes to Max and Mary’s place at Umina where we were made very welcome and visited for about two hours.  We had a good catch up, and it was good to see that they are both very well.  We left there a bit later than we intended – as of course you get caught up with extra conversation, etc., and it was probably about ten to four when we left there.  As we were supposed to be at Bateau Bay at 4 o’clock, and it is about 30 - 40 minutes drive depending on the traffic, I rang Fran to let her know that we were running a bit late.

The roads weren’t too busy going our way so we made pretty good time and were there by 4.30.  And we were in for a surprise!  Gary met us out the front of his house, and Fran opened the door to greet us, and there beside her were Caroline and Grant – their friends who were also on the Canada trip back in 2005!! As soon as I had rung Fran the other day and we had arranged to go up there and go out for tea, they had rung Caroline and Grant who live at Oyster Bay in Sydney to see if they were able to come up, and they were here for the night.

It was really good to see them all, so of course we talked non stop, catching up on the news, then later went into The Entrance to their favourite Italian Restaurant for dinner. We all went in Gary’s car and he took us on a bit of a cooks tour of the area (slightly after dark, but that was okay) on the way to the restaurant.  We had a beautiful meal – I couldn’t eat all mine, but it was yummy.  We got back to their place at about ten, and after looking at photos and remembering people from out Canada trip, we said our goodbyes at about half past ten and got back here at a bit after 11.  We’re really glad we caught up with them as we seemed to just pick up where we had left off last time we saw them.

Grant, Caroline, Dawn, Fran, Gary and Grant

So that brings an end to our three night stay here at Ettalong Beach.  Tomorrow we move further south and we intend to stay at Sanctuary Point.

Thursday 19 September 2013 – In and around Ettalong

The day once again was sunny and became very warm during the day.  As we had nothing major planned for the day we had a pretty slow start, and after eating breakfast and doing the housework we sat outside for a while before going for a drive to Tascott to see if any of the Michael Hulls were home, but they weren’t.  We stopped on the way back and enjoyed the spectacle of Brisbane Water, the water itself sparkling blue and quite calm.

We had a look at Woy Woy, and picked up a couple of prescriptions which we are running low on, Grant got himself a dozen oysters, then we came back and had a cuppa and read for a while.  This idleness continued for a while after lunch when the wind sprang up and was quite strong. 

By then we decided that it was time to go for another drive, so we went north about twenty minutes to Terrigal – very pretty place, and again quite hilly.  We found a lookout and climbed up a heap of steps to get to it – and the view from the top was well worth the climb.  There was sea about two thirds of the way round the view, with the other third made up of luxurious looking homes hanging off the edge of the hills, with no doubt spectacular views from their wall to wall windows and decks.  There were a few men fishing off the rocks below, but none seemed to be pulling in any finny monsters.

A view of Terrigal from the lookout

About then I got a phone call from Bronwyn (Amanda’s sister in law) who had got our message and invited us for tea, so that was nice of her.  As we started the return drive to our camp we turned off the main road and went in to see Avoca Beach.  That was a sight to behold.  It is obviously a popular surfing beach, and my rough count revealed at least eighty surfers out in the bay hanging five and sometimes even hanging ten!  We sat out on a park bench and watched them for some time – in fact we only moved on because I started to get cool.

Again it was cuppa time when we got back at about twenty past five, so after a bit of message checking, etc, we got ourselves organised and went to Tascott to the Hulls, arriving there at about twenty to seven.  Michael got home from work about 45 minutes later, and we had tea without the kids as they were all off doing stuff.  Elise came home from work at about 8.30, her boyfriend Bennie came in later, and Olivia came home after dancing.  Teagan was out celebrating the end of year twelve so we didn’t see her.  We had a good catch up and left there at about half past nine.

Grant, Bennie, Bronwyn, Olivia, with Elise and Michael in front.

Now I’m catching up on my blogging, and Grant is very cleverly reading and snoring at the same time!  I wonder how much of the story he is reading is sinking in?

Wednesday 18 September 2013 – to Ettalong Beach

It was good to wake again to sunshine, especially when it is pack down time for the van.  It’s always more pleasant to do that without rain!  After doing all our tasks and a chat to our neighbours who were also leaving today, we got away from camp by about ten past nine and took the Great Lakes Tourist Drive south from Forster.  It took us quite a while to get to the Pacific Highway, but it was a nice drive past and between the lakes – and we were pleased to notice lots of kookaburras.  Which brings me to the question of the day, posed by Grant after we saw two kookaburras sitting in the same length of power line:  Do you think birds know one another?

As the Pacific Highway bypasses most major towns, Bulahdelah was the only one we detoured through to get petrol.  The drive south was uneventful, more roadworks in some parts, and very strong winds for most of the drive, with Zola doing really well today directing us through to the right turn off at Gosford.  From there we followed the picturesque, winding drive down to the central coast and its beautiful waterways.

We arrived at our accommodation – Ettalong Beach Holiday Village – at 12.30 and were welcomed by relief managers Dawn and Rod who were ready for us (as I had booked and paid on the internet last night).  This is an interesting park, as it has only eight caravan sites for impromptu bookings like us – the rest of it comprises 84 permanent residences, 4 motel cabins, 3 one bedroom cabins, 4 standard family cabins, 3 poolside family cabins, 2 deluxe family cabins, and 6  privately owned weekenders.  Our neighbours are Sharon and Paul, and another couple here have a big sign on the front of their van ‘Curry Traders’.  I’ve haven’t ventured to ask what that’s all about yet.

The facilities here are excellent, particularly the recreation room which has a massive collection of videos to watch on the TV in there as well as a big bookcase (4 or 5 shelves) full of books, billiard table, etc.  Anyway, once set up I put some washing on and we had lunch while the washing machine did its stuff, then after pegging it out I made a few phone calls arranging the next couple of days.

First of all I rang Fran and Gary – a couple we met on out Canada trip in 2005, and we are going to their house at Bateau Bay – about a half hour drive from here - and out to dinner with them on Friday night, then I rang Max and Mary (Mark’s Dad and his wife) and managed to find a spot to see them on Friday just after lunch, as Max is bowling all day tomorrow and Mary goes to craft on Friday mornings, so that will be good.

We tried Mark’s brother Michael a couple of times and finally left a message, but haven’t heard from them yet.  And finally I rang my cousin Margaret who now lives at Sanctuary Point and told her that we will be there on Saturday, and she was pleased to hear that and offered for us to stay at her place if we want to.  We’ll give that some thought as I didn’t ask if the van can fit into her yard and be hooked up to power to keep our fridge cold.  Anyway, we’ll see!

Mid afternoon we went for a drive around part of the area – seemed to cross lots of bridges, drove around St Huberts Island and looked at all the fancy houses, went to Empire Bay, then came back across the bridge to the shopping streets of Umina where we topped up on a couple of things and where I walked into a hairdressers off the street and managed to get a haircut.

By the time we got back to camp it was time for a cuppa then get sorted for tea.  I’m now about to post this blog via a free Wifi connection – there’s no charge here, so that’s a one off.  Last night we played cards (euchre) but neither of us was very confident that we remembered how to play it, but we made it up as we went, so were probably way off beam.  Grant reckoned we were playing 500 rules which I didn’t see as a problem as I reckon they’re the same anyway.  Who knows – we may have another go at it tonight!

Tuesday 17 September 2013 – Catching up

Well during the night we felt as if we were back home and it was early July – we had heavy rain and wind all evening and well into the night, so we were very pleasantly surprised when we woke this morning to sunshine!  And fortunately it remained that way for most of the day, and it definitely gave us a better look at the Tuncurry Forster area in its glory.

So after our usual morning routine, including a lengthy chat to a bloke from Tassie, we got ourselves organised, went across the bridge to Foster to the bakery where I bought a nice blueberry teacake, then drove out to Darawank (about fourteen kilometres away to visit Mark’s Mum Terry and her husband Patrick who live in the Wallamba River Holiday Park there.  They made us very welcome, and had invited Terry’s brother John and his wife Wendy over for morning tea as well, so it was good to see them again.

We had a real catch up, as it was a while since we had seen them, and finished up staying for lunch (fish and chips from the little café attached to the camp).  They are all really well and seem to be enjoying life.  I took several nice photos while we were there – at least I thought they were nice until I got back to camp and went to load them onto the computer when I realised that the camera didn’t have a card in it!!  I take the card out each evening, insert it in the computer and upload the latest batch of photos, and the card was still in the USB port on the computer.

We left there at about 2.30 and drove through to Forster again (over the long bridge) as I had to get some medication, then came back to camp. Grant then went and threw the line in beside the caravan (spinning today – he had a go this morning as well), but had no luck.  I took my cuppa and book over to the park bench and read/watched him fishing for a while then came back as it looked a very threatening black sky.  However nothing came of it (we did have a shower of rain at Darawank, but it mustn’t have reached here as the towels I’d left out on the clothes horse were quite dry).

After tea tonight I booked our next three nights accommodation online, so that’s out of the way (school holidays starting here on Thursday), so that’s been today.  No photos to add to the blog tonight for obvious reasons!

Monday 16 September 2013 – Nambucca Heads to Forster-Tuncurry

Today in a nutshell – rain, rain, rain!  There was heavy rain during the evening yesterday, and I heard it through the night as well, but it had stopped when we woke at about 6.30am.  And though the clouds were quite threatening, we did manage to get the van packed up and readied for travel before the rain started this morning.  We filled up with petrol before we left and joined the Pacific Highway with its continuing roadworks making a regular appearance.

The drive was uneventful, with the only major town along the way today being Kempsey, which we could have bypassed, but we didn’t.  It is a very old town, most of the buildings were showing their age, and the houses were quite small – a dead give away in this age of mega-houses.

Drizzling rain accompanied us for the majority of the way, so we weren’t looking forward to setting up the van in the rain.  Once here we booked into the Big 4 Tuncurry Great Lakes Holiday Park, and picked a waterfront site – well we can live in hope of sunshine, when the outlook would be beautiful – I think.  Setting up time could have been worse, it wasn’t bucketing down, but there was constant mizzle, so we were looking a bit the worse for wear when we settled into the van (around 1pm)

After lunch we went to find the Telstra shop to get my dongle problem sorted …… simple – it had run out or money (it’s pre-paid). I was horrified as I had put a lot of money on it just before we left, and it’s all gone – well there was 1 cent left!  I obviously overdid keeping up with a couple of tv shows I was watching when we left home – they must gorge on the bytes.  Lesson learnt! I know, I’m a slow learner.  So now that I have put some money into it I am back on air!

By then it was raining very steadily and has continued since.  So once back at camp we indulged in a couple of cuppas, I finished the book I started the day before yesterday, and since tea we’ve played a couple of games of scrabble.

So that’s where we are at – let’s hope it isn’t so bad tomorrow and we can get a bit of a picture of the area in its glory!

Sunday 15 September 2013 – Up and down in Nambucca Heads

I was up at a quarter to seven this morning (Grant beat me by about twenty minutes) after a rude awakening at some ungodly hour this morning of a little girl in the campervan next door to us screaming/crying for what seemed like ten minutes.  And while we were having our early morning cuppa, a really strong coloured wallaby came past our van.  So at about 9.30 we went off to explore Nambucca Heads.

I’ve never seen such steep streets – and so many of them!!  It’s a very hilly town and countless times you come to the top of a steep street, only to find the road drops away down the next hill, and you can’t even see the road ahead of you, it’s so steep – literally a big dipper every two minutes!  But it is also very picturesque, almost surrounded by water – the Pacific Ocean, The Nambucca River and the Inner harbour make for lots of beautiful views from any of the lookouts which dot the coastline.  And the day was beautifully sunny, with no breeze early on, but strengthening wind as the day progressed.

We stopped and enjoyed the views at three or four lookout spots, went to a couple of the beaches and walked the length of the Vee Wall – a very long man-made breakwater constructed of huge rocks and blocks of concrete.  The interesting thing about the Vee Wall is that is regarded as a giant outdoor gallery for graffiti artists, locals and visitors alike. Everyone is invited to leave their mark on the rocks, and the overall result has become quite an attraction.  The messages are many and varied, and there is very little space left to make any additions.  Some of the messages are funny, some are clever, some are romantic and many are in memory of someone.  Some are tiled, brass plaques have been attached, marriage proposals preserved there forever, religious messages – in fact there is a bit of everything.  And together they have converted a stark grey wall into colourful and interesting feature of the town.

The Nambucca River meets the sea.

          

Dawn at the end of the Vee Wall

Back at camp we had lunch then went for another walk along the ocean beach adjacent to our park.  We walked for a bit over half an hour in the direction of the township, then sat for five minutes and watched a surfer before turning for the return walk.  In the short time since we’d passed that way, there were about five big blue jellyfish dead on the beach.  They were about twenty centimetres across and domed (like an upside down mixing bowl).  I reckon it was the chosen place for suicidal jellyfish.  Weird!

As we got back the track into our camp there was a bloke on the beach preparing his parachute for when they parasurf (not sure if that’s what it’s called, but they zoom across the water carried by the arc shaped parachute), so we sat on the sand and watched him get it ready, then launch himself into the water.  He went out a long way before manipulating the parachute to bring him back – not sure how he did that when the wind was very strong and blowing offshore.  He did several runs before we decided that we’d seen enough, and returned to camp for a cuppa and a read.

Tomorrow we are going to Forster (pronounced Foster) where there is a Telstra shop, so I’m hopeful I can sort out my dongle problem – at least someone there can sort it out!

Saturday 14 September 2013 – Ballina to Nambucca Heads

Change of plan today when we decided to balance out the next two travel days instead of having one longish drive and a very short one.  So instead of making for Port Macquarie we are instead camped at Nambucca Heads.  We were up pretty early this morning and were actually on the road at 8.30am!!  Very good for us. 

We were probably only about an hour into the drive when we made the decision to change today’s destination, and I think it was a pretty good move as there were massive roadworks along the way, which I’ll write about a bit further along.

here are some pretty little places along the way on this stretch of the Pacific Highway, and though practically impossible, it would be nice to spend some time in each of them as they all seemed to have something of interest – historical, quirky, museums and just plain ‘out there’! A few examples are: Broadwater, in the middle of huge sugar cane plantations and where you are hit by a strong smell emanating from the sugar refinery which dominates the township – not an unpleasant smell, just different; Woodburn – where a market was in full swing in the main street, and situated on a huge river; New Italy, where the only feature was an old museum building with large Australian and Italian flags flying outside; Harwood, with a sugar refinery and a most impressive bridge over the river; Tyndale had a display of model windmills from about letterbox size to two metres high; Ulmarra, an 1860’s river port, with quaint buildings and Maclean, advertising itself as Australia’s only Scottish town and home of the annual Maclean gathering of the clan.

Sugar mill at Broadwater.

We noticed a huge difference in the area around Woolgoolga where many years ago we had two annual holidays.  The town itself has now spread to include both sides of the highway, and though we did see a sign indicating a caravan where the old Colonial Surfside Caravan Park was situated, the massive road works under way there (overpasses, increasing lanes, etc.) the entrance road to the caravan park was practically hidden behind all the earthmoving and road surfacing vehicles which went from Woolgoolga to about 30 kms south of there.  So obviously there were roadworks speed restrictions, but we managed to get to our park here at Nambucca Heads by a bit after midday.

Boy it is hilly here!  In fact we think we might be stuck here forever as we are not sure we’ll be able to get up some of the steep hills to get out!! We are at the Big 4 Nambucca Beach Holiday Park which is at the end of a road, and it’s lovely.  A young NZ couple (Janine and Sean) with two children are managing the park, and when I asked Janine if there was a Telstra shop in town (to sus out my useless dongle), she told me that there wasn’t, only an Optus, but perhaps her son Kade (13 year old) could help.  After we set up the van he came to see if he could help, but after going through all the appropriate checks he told me I should go to a Telstra shop!

As we won’t be getting to Forster (nearest Telstra shop) till Monday, and I had a couple of bills to pay, Janine gave me a complimentary hours use of the WiFi they offer here (at $10 for an hour).  So I was able to pay the bills, and hopefully will sort out the problem on Monday.

We are only a two or three minute walk from the Pacific Ocean here so we went for a walk over there this afternoon.  Though the day has been nice and sunny, there has been a strong wind, so it was very choppy, with white caps visible to the horizon.  We are here for two nights so tomorrow we’ll explore the area.

Grant checking out the surf at Nambucca Heads.

As I had finished reading all the reading material I brought away with me, I went to the recreation room and there was a big bookshelf full of books, so I swapped what I had for three books which should keep me going till we are close to home.  Grant is, at present, sitting back on our lounge, open book balanced precariously on his stomach, eyes firmly closed and occasionally making himself heard with random snuffly sort of snores!

We were talking to a lady walking her dog here late this afternoon, and she comes from Mt Beauty.  She knows Don and Dot Wharton (Grant’s old work associate who lived in Mt Beauty 50 years ago, and her husband worked at Yallourn many, many years ago and boarded with Richard and Di Zupecki!!  Talk about six degrees of separation.

Friday 13 September 2013 – Skennars Head/Ballina

We were conscious of rain through the night, and woke to very cloudy conditions which continued all day – the first such day of this trip.  There were several small showers during the morning, but I still did a bit of washing – just a bit of hand washing, and pegged it out on the lines here as the caretaker reckoned that it would dry as there was a wind, and I guess it wasn’t cold.

After I did that, and Grant chatted to a funny man who lives in his van opposite us (we found out later that he is 85!), we went for a drive and to do some shopping.  But first – a bit more about the 85 year old (Ray).  He is quite a character and travels with his dog Toby – has a sign on his caravan door ‘Ray and Toby’.  When he spoke to Grant this morning he had his van hooked up and he told Grant that he was going down towards Coffs Harbour for a couple of weeks.  Grant asked him: ‘Where’s Toby – is he in the van’ to which Ray replied: ‘No, I’ve already got him tethered in the car.  He’s got his own seat where he can see out of the windscreen and see what’s going on’, and led Grant to the car to look.  Sure enough, Toby was in the back, looking out between the seats – but he’s a big stuffed toy dog!!  Apparently he’s a bit of a celebrity at the caravan park, as someone gave him a Beware of the Dog sign which they laminated for him in the office and that is stuck on the door of the van underneath their names, and someone else has given him a leash and feeding bowls.  

When he first came to the park he told the girl in reception that he had a dog, but it was stuffed.  Very sympathetic, she said: Oh! You must have thought a lot of him to have had him stuffed!  She assumed that he’d had the dog taxidermed. Apparently someone a while back told him that Toby was a man’s name, so Ray thought that others may think he was gay, so he took a photo of Toby, had it enlarged and laminated and it is stuck on the door beside the names.  Talk about whacky!!

We drove into Ballina (about four miles away), got petrol, had a look around the town – the riverside, the boat harbour, the historic manor (now a boutique hotel), did a bit of food shopping, followed the signs down Lighthouse Road to the lighthouse, which we couldn’t find, stopped at a couple of lookouts, then came back to the camp.  The sea was dark grey, the water was choppy and the day was bleak, so we didn’t see Ballina at its best.

Ocean looking southward at Ballina.

We had a late lunch when we got back, then read, etc, and at about 4pm I thought I’d better go and get the washing off the line and put in the dryer.  I was most surprised that the wind had almost dried it, so it only needed five minutes in the dryer to finish it off.  I then finished off a marriage ceremony I have been working on and sent it off to the couple, sent another email or two, then the dongle ceased to work.  I’ll try it again later as the reception here hasn’t been strong, otherwise it’s another visit to a Telstra shop when we find one.  Ahhh …. the joys of technology!

So all up a pretty nothing day today, and tomorrow we make out way to Port Macquarie for a couple of nights, so hopefully we’ll get some sunshine again.  We’ve been spoilt and don’t like it when the sun is not showing its face!

Thursday 12 September 2013 – Cotton Tree to Skennars Head, NSW

Well we are officially heading south as we are now in NSW!  We again woke this morning to beautiful sunshine which continued throughout the day.  It was about 9am when we pulled out of the park, Zola primed and ready to navigate our drive to Skennars Head right beside Ballina in northern NSW.

She went well – taking us towards Brisbane on the Bruce Highway, and as we got to within about 25 kms from Brisbane she cleverly led us onto the Gateway which bypasses the city and takes you directly to the Gold Coast.  This is a toll way, so once we got to our destination I logged onto the internet and paid our fee – this time making sure to enter the correct number-plate!

Hills behind Byron Bay

We crossed the border into NSW and cruised on down the Pacific Highway, negotiating several batches of roadworks, but coming across a huge roadwork site on the highway in the hilly region behind Byron Bay.  The roadsigns were showing Ballina straight ahead, with various turn-offs to seaside spots along the way, so Zola was excelling!!  But then a few kilometres along …… she once again blotted her copybook!!  She directed us to turn off at a sign pointing to Suffolk Park.  Well this seemed an option, as presumably she was going to take us down the coast road from Suffolk Park to our destination – maybe a more scenic road!  And of course, with the aim of keeping our car rides as harmonious as possible, I have now vowed to never argue with Zola again.  So we took the turn off.

BIG MISTAKE! The road we embarked on was high in the hills, windy, narrow one car width with broken-edged bitumen, gravel in parts, and as each turn we were required to make was to the left (our destination was to the right), we were obviously heading back towards the Qld border.  After the fourth such ‘take the next turn to the left’ instruction we found ourselves back on the Pacific Highway, about ten kms back from where we were directed to leave it!!  We’d done a big mis-shapen circle, and once again endured the delays of the big roadwork project we had experienced half an hour earlier.

What we found interesting though, was when we again neared the Suffolk Park turn-off, Zola remained silent and didn’t try that trick again, instead choosing to send us down the right exit – to Lennox Head, just four kms from where we are now settled.

  

We are staying at Ballina Headlands Leisure Park and it is lovely – and only cost us $28.50 per night compared to $46 per night at Cotton Tree.  The amenities appear to have been newly built as they are lovely – even a mirror in the ladies section with lights around it and a chair to sit and make yourself beautiful!

The very modern hand basins at the caravan park.

We got here at about 1 o’clock, had lunch after setting up and just sat and read/relaxed/dozed (Grant) and had cuppas for the afternoon.  We are staying here for two nights, so we’ll do some sightseeing tomorrow.  We are pretty close to what is obviously the Ballina airport, so have had a few close encounters with landing and taking off aeroplanes.  There haven’t been any for a while now, so hopefully they have a curfew.  

And I wonder if the 4.30am butcher bird serenade will continue to follow us – it came to Cotton Tree with us, but we may have shaken it off – hopefully.