What a Difference a Day Makes

TERRIGAL on the Central Coast, what a pretty spot with the sheltered beach and shops on the foreshore which was dominated by a large hotel complex with great views. It was so nice to have a sunny day again after an overcast day yesterday. We had a storm in the evening, fortunately no damage.

BOUDDI NATIONAL PARK, Bombi Point. Great to see how New South Wales has saved a lot of the coastline as National Parks, they are also very good at dedicating rest areas on the main highway, sure could teach Queensland a thing or two in that area - excuse the pun.
LILLIE'S at Captain Cook Lookout, funny thing was there were lot's of them around the point, somehow they just looked out of place. In New Zealand they are Christmas Lillie's.

Where has the sun gone?

NORAH HEAD on the Central Coast. Not used to this overcast weather, storm clouds and thunder rolling around after having been spoilt with over a year of sunshine. Alas some places don't look quite as good without that blue sky back drop. The last few days have been pleasant with days around 28 degrees.
THE ENTRANCE in the distance, unusual coast line with these rock bases at the heads between the lovely beaches. We travelled around Lake Tuggerah today and we were surprised at the mixture of homes that abutted the lake and it felt like there were pockets that were just neglected which seemed a shame when you saw their view.

Other Side of the Lake

WATAGANS NATIONAL PARK We moved to the western side of Lake Macquarie as we were not able to extend at Swansea, Wangi Point has turned out to be a good move, smaller park and hardly any children. It sure was hot here on Saturday, it got to 42 degrees and the air-con in the van struggled to get below 30. Luckily we had the lake to cool off in and around 5pm a southerly change came through and the temperature dropped to 25.

Today we went to Watagans National Park, good green undergrowth, the views weren't the best as a bit of cloud hovering around. From there we headed into Cessnock a mining town and the entry to the wine region of the Hunter Valley.

HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY FOR THE 26TH JANUARY!

Newcastle

NEWCASTLE CITY a real mix of architecture with some lovely old homes, terrace houses, modern high rise overlooking the harbour and a open space foreshore. We visited Fort Scratchley which is on a hill overlooking the ocean and city, it even returned fire at a Japanese submarine during World War II. There were dolphins making their way along the coast and they looked great as they went through the waves where the surfers were.

We weren't able to access a spot that had good views of the coal ships arriving or being loaded. There is a huge new loading terminal being constructed, presume this is to alleviate the backlog of ships on the horizon.
CHRISTCHURCH CATHEDRAL had to visit here as it is a namesake of our old hometown in the land of the long white cloud. A magnificent Cathedral and they must have some very handy parishioners as all the kneel pads were cross-stitched with different themes, such as military forces, transport and biblical messages.

Swansea by the Sea

LAKE MACQUARIE We are now staying at Swansea which is on the banks of the lake which is four times the size of Sydney Harbour and has 174 km's of foreshore. There sure are a lot of boats around but not too sure as to how many fish are caught.
CAVES BEACH have to hand it to New South Wales, there are lots of National Parks abutting the coastline and the areas that do have residences seem to have a three storey height restriction. Great that everyone can enjoy the great outdoors.

SWANSEA HEADLAND it is hard to see the ships through the heat haze but we were able to count 36 ships on the horizon hovering off Newcastle.

More Beautiful Coastline

PACIFIC PALMS south of Forster along The Lakes Way, another little coastal town that is tucked away off the main road. We have had a few swims, but must say the water temp is a bit cool; very refreshing to say the least.

The area is very diverse with beaches to the east and lakes to the west and lush valleys, the grass is so green it doesn't look real.
DARK POINT Myall Lakes National Park, amazing sand dunes and out from here is Broughton Island which is meant to have great fishing and diving.

MYALL VALLEY south of Taree on the Pacific Highway.

One Year Down the Road

TUNCURRY ROCKPOOL It is hard to believe that we have been on the road one year today, where has the time gone? We have seen some amazing places, walked up hills and down dales and felt like our feet were about to drop off. Looking where we have been marked on the map it looks like we have barely scratched the surface of this great land even though we have clocked up 39,500 kms.

There are a lot of other people out there doing what we are doing and we have met some lovely people. It also staggers us the families that are out there caravaning/camping home schooling and what a great learning curve it is for their children. This year we look forward to travelling across to the West Coast before heading home and back to reality.

Crowdy Bay National Park

DIAMOND HEAD We are now at Tuncurry another coastal town with great beaches, river and lot's of people enjoying the great outdoors. Today we headed back up north about an hour and visited the National Park, this spot is featured on the book promoting caravan parks in NSW so couldn't resist going there today and getting our own photo. DIAMOND HEAD CAMPING GROUND - who can't read? There wasn't much traffic on the gravel road in, but the camping ground sure was very busy.

History By the Sea

TRIAL BAY GAOL at South West Rocks; an interesting old gaol that was originally built in 1886 as a public works prison with the prisoners being used to build a rock retaining wall just out from the bay. During the First World War the gaol was then used as an Alien Internment Camp with the detainees being Germans who resided in Australia. Just mind blowing to learn that this thought of thing went on, they of course had more of a free run and had an orchestra theatre and great bakery. GUARDS WATCH TOWER - not a bad view over Trial Bay.
NAMBUCCA HEADS BEACH this is where we are staying, just a two minute walk through the dunes to the beach. Unfortunately the sea was a bit too rough for me, really spoilt at Woolgoolga which was very sheltered.

GOANNA - 5 foot (1.5 metres) long at the caravan park enjoying the pickings.

Waterfall Way

DANGAR FALLS at Dorrigo which is along the Waterfall Way highway. The highway goes all the way through to Armidale but we only went this far. It was really nice to come across a waterfall with some water flowing.
DORRIGO VALLEY rolling countryside on the tableland with cattle, potatoes and macadamia trees. The rainforest surrounding the area was lush but the undergrowth really dry.

STINGING TREE LEAVES, they sure are vicious looking and to be avoided.

Banana Country

THE BIG BANANA at Coffs Harbour, a really pretty city with lovely beaches, lush hinterland and hills covered with banana plantations.
JETTY at Coffs Harbour, very protected beaches and lot's of people swimming in the sea. We walked out to an island which is accessed by a rock retaining wall and walkway off the marina, it is one of the many Solitary Islands and is a nesting ground for mutton birds.

WOOLGOOLGA BACK BEACH with a local in the foreground.

Yahoo, back on the road!

WOOLGOOLGA BEACH Yesterday we headed south and are now parked up here, a little seaside town 25km's north of Coffs Harbour. This morning we went for a walk along the beach and I had a swim. The water was really clear and you could see the fish in the swell, it just reminded me of my swim at Noosa on the Sunshine Coast, a great way to start the day. CATTLE view of a farm as we were driving along, just north of Grafton.

Happy New Year!

XMAS DAY 2009 We had a great day with family Mum and Dad, friends Heather and Neil and Antony a fellow camper, Sara, Shane and Billie called in later in the day. It was lovely to have a house with a pool to be able to share the day, a good time was had by all.

The time here has just flown by and we look forward to hitting the road again at some stage next week, 2009 has been amazing so if 2010 is anything like that we will be in heaven.