We were happy dancin' this morning seeing blue skies and a weather forecast predicting only a 5% chance of rain. The motorway was less smooth than we'd previously experienced, providing Florence with a bumping ride, but roadside signs indicate a major highway upgrade is in the pipeline, which couldn't be more deserved. Geez and I thought the roads in Queensland were bad. Oooohhh I went there. The wonders of the GPS took us on a hassle free route straight into our next destination, Lane Cove River Tourist Park, situated within the Lane Cove National Park and operated by NSW National Parks. The park is only 10 kilometres out of the centre of Sydney, but honestly feels remote, we can't even hear the bumper to bumper traffic jam that is North Ryde from our site. We were again happy dancin' as we backed Florence into her new home for the next five nights and set her up with ease.
We woke up just short of sunrise and took a drive out to Mount Tomaree, one of the Volcanoes that welcome the ships into the Karuah. We took a walk to the summit that sits 161 metres over the Port Stephens region. The views are blissful panoramas of the sun rising over coastlines, islands and deep blue ocean. Another walk below the summit track took us around to remains of the Tomaree Fort gun emplacements. The Fortress is a great showcase of how hard the military worked during World War II not only in training regimes, but also in building magnificent structures to survive the worst-case scenarios and protect the steel being manufactured in nearby Newcastle.
After our arrival the rain returned momentarily, definitely having us believe the rain is following us, but it didn't stop us taking a drive up to Gan Gan Lookout to survey the region.
Gan Gan LookoutPort Stephens is a town of 20 odd thousand people that sits well into the enormous Karuah River, 33 kilometres north of Newcastle. Karuah River is 134 square kilometres and outsizes the Sydney Harbour. The stretch of beaches and towns of Port Stephens sit in between two volcanoes on the doors of the river mouth, Mount Tomaree and Mount Yacaaba. Captain Cook named the port in 1770 after Sir Phillip Stephens a well-respected secretary of admiralty. Port Stephens became a haven for escaped convicts, in 1795 the crew HMS Providence found a group of them living with the local Worimi People. In 1820 a garrison of troops established themselves in the area, which is known as Soldier’s Point. During World War 2 the region still had very little civilization, which made it training grounds for the Royal Australian Navy. As years carried on after the war, better road access created small towns and ports that attract fishing, holidaying and retiring. Birubi BeachWe were pumped from the great ocean views of the morning so we set out to Birubi Beach, the northernmost section of the ‘Golden Bight’. Birubi is not just your standard stretch of golden sand, it’s a 32 kilometre stretch of desert like dunes that are up to 30 metres high. There is plenty of activity on the Birubi, camel rides, four wheel driving and sand boarding down the dunes. Even the Airforce flexed their muscles, with some low passes in their fighter jets. It’s an impressive sight, one side you have pristine waters and on the other you would almost think you’re in the Mad Max Movie, which was a prime location for some of their scenes in the 1970’s. We weren't too keen on the idea of riding on an animals back, but we encouraged ourselves to give Camel riding a try. We were hesitant at the start about doing it; the shonky car salesman personality of the owner and the handling of the Camels had us slightly concerned. After a few questions answered we threw ourselves on the saddle of the most loyal hard working endurance athletes in Australia. The Camels popped themselves up and got ready to stroll, I had Dolly - who was a little competitive and Gumby had Shannon who was pretty easy going. Dolly and Shannon easily strolled along with the rest of the herd; Dolly liked to over take Shannon and also tried to eat more grass than the camel behind us. The Camels trotted along the sand dunes and into the water, they enjoyed splashing around too. After the water we rode back with the experience only lasting about fifteen minutes, which felt like a pretty short time. Although it didn’t last long, the experience to hang out with a camel makes you appreciate all the hard work they’ve done in the country, whether its hauling ore out of a mine, exploring the deserts for new towns or just carrying tourists around all day, they’re all jobs humans can’t do on their own. We spent the rest of the day checking out a couple of beaches near Nelson Bay, one was Wreck Beach, which we were far to over dressed for (unexpected nudist beach) and Box Beach, a small slice of paradise surrounded by fifty metres of beach and rocky escarpment.
We were spoilt with beaches around Port Stephens, with 26 of them to see and such variation in all of them its got all bases covered for fishing, swimming, four wheel driving and getting nude. Our day was certainly unforgettable here, from watching a sunrise off the summit of an old volcano to riding a camel on the beach, the Port Stephens region certainly showed us a good time. Okay, so we are starting to think the rain is following us down the coast... And although yes it is beneficial to practice driving while towing Florence in all conditions, but seriously we are getting over the rain. We are also beginning to understand now why when Grey Nomads arrive at the Caravan Park, they set up and sit down, generally with a beverage in hand... It's bloody tiring towing a caravan, particularly in drenching rain. But, we had this highlight on our journey to our next destination of Port Stephens today... The Rock We wanted to pull up somewhere for lunch and the rest area we had decided on was quite busy, so we pushed on to the next one, and we are thankful we did. The Ayres Rock Roadhouse is the tragic legacy of the infamous Leyland World, started by brothers Mal and Mike Leyland in 1990. The theme park met I want to say an untimely demise in 1992, but from what I've read, the joint sounded shite to say the least and I don't believe should have ever opened in the first place. Anyway, as we pulled into the rest area, Shovel mentioned the Leyland Brothers and actually thought it might have been The Rock. We couldn't stop laughing when we discovered it actually was the original site of Leyland World. Shovel and I got on to the Leyland Brothers back in 2016 when researching places to visit in Australia. We watched loads of Youtube videos of their show from back in the day and found them, the show and the brothers really interesting and rate them for their entrepreneurialism and inspiring spirit of adventure. Before purchasing Florence, we came close to purchasing a Kombie Van, because we'd seen them get about in one. Unfortunately, despite all their wanderlusting inspiration, they fell short on hitting the mark with Leyland World, which included this shockingly hideous 1:40 scale replica of Uluru that we witnessed at the rest area. Leyland World may have bombed, but their side project, an outdoor educational camp, has had a reincarnation. Taken over by a couple of dedicated families ten years ago, the area behind The Rock Roadhouse, known as The Great Aussie Bush Camp is an outdoor educational camp facility that, so we have read has an amazing reputation for providing children with 'a memorable teaching and learning experience in a family friendly atmosphere.' Check out one of our adventures inspired by the Leyland Brothers
Despite the rain clearing on our 250 kilometre trek from Port Macquarie, another sloping site at our next caravan park located at One Mile Beach in Port Stephens had us struggling with Florence's steadies for another two hours. We love the freedom of traveling with our home, but sometimes caravan parks, particularly the price you pay for them and what you get in return can be a real drain.
Port Macquarie’s was first discovered in 1818 by a nomadic sailor and surveyor that went by the name of John Oxley. The port was named after the governor of New South Wales at the time, Lachlan Macquarie. The area back in colonisation times was rich with rainforest, marine life and a spring to the entrance to the port. In 1821 the port became prime ground for a penal colony after Newcastle couldn’t facilitate secondary criminals any more. Further on in time it has been a shipping port conveniently located close to rich agriculture locations. The many inviting beaches and pleasant climate make it a mecca for holidayers and retirees. After we settled Florence in to the caravan park, we took a drive into town to see what it was all about. We strolled around and had lunch at the beach house, a nicely done pub near the bay area. The food was great and spoilt us with clear blue water views of the Hastings River. Going around town gave off a relaxed easy going vibe, with plenty of activity on the water front, seaplanes, fishing boats and families having picnics. Driving around the place was barely a fuss, not even a fraction on Byron Bay’s craziness. The weather was perfect, so we set off to do some exercise on Windmill Hill, although no windmills to see, the park has a paved walking track that boasts stunning endless views of Port Macquarie’s nine beaches. If walking is not your thing, the Pacific Drive can help you with those gorgeous beach views. Port Macquarie is a cruisey place; we only had one night there but wish we had a little longer to take in the weather and the beaches. The area feels like it moves at a steady pace, just how a nice beach town should.
Grateful for an easy drive of only 110 kilometres today. As we travelled a little further down the east of Australia we were blessed with blue skies and a smooth motorway. Setting up Florence was effortless of which we were thankful, giving us the afternoon to explore one of the oldest towns in New South Wales, Port Macquarie.
In local indigenous Gumbaynggirr culture the word Nambucca loosely translates to 'Entrance to the Waters.' The story goes, John Oxley surveyed the Nambucca Heads Region in 1820, although there may have been european settlers in the region prior to this time, with the logging of cedar beginning in 1842 and the development of the town occurring shortly thereafter. Nambucca Heads boasts one of the oldest Life-Saving clubs in Australia and holds the reputation as the club that started the junior life-saving movement, we now know as 'Nippers.' We walked, admiring the V-Wall, an outdoor rock art gallery located on the breakwall of the heads. Anyone and everyone has either painted or created an artwork in spray paint or mosaic in tribute to or in memory of a person or a trip to Nambucca Heads. It's an interesting assortment of colour and personal creativity and well worth a look. We then jogged a track called, The Nature Walk that lead us through a rainforest located right in the centre of town and up a hill towards Captain Cook lookout, which provides views out over the Pacific Ocean. We took the same path back traversing the boardwalk parallel to the River and back to our caravan park situated on the heads.
A long drive of 275 kilometres had us setting off early towards our next destination, Nambucca Heads. Despite the torrential downpour, we pushed on travelling ever so slowly through sheets of rain on roads well below standard. And that says a lot coming from living in Mount Isa this past year. But thankfully the further south we drove the more the roads began to smooth out and the rain began to die out. We passed through Coffs Harbour taking in a quick glimpse of the 'famous' Big Banana and reminisced about it appearing much bigger when we were kids. And stopped at a quaint town adjacent to the Highway called, Ulmarra, which butts up against the Clarence River. The Clarence River is the second largest river below the Tropic of Capricorn, in mainland Australia, after the Murray River. Unlike the caravan park at Broken Head, this caravan park had us parked on a flat site and set up without any hassle, which gave us time to head out and explore the town.
We ventured over to Brunswick Heads after a recommendation from the 'suave' hairdresser I went to in the now uber-trendy, Bangalow, she mentioned calling it 'Bangahole' as a kid, but now it's a haven for the insta-stylish. Bang on recommendation, Brunswick Heads is what I had imagined Byron Bay to be like. It's casual, but tidy and charming with a hit of retro chic and there's even a few groovy vintage second hand shops scattered around for good measure. We ate a much needed steak at the 'Bruns' hotel, but deciding we were still hungry and found a proper classic bakery, decked out in rustic furnishings and chowed down on a lamb and rosemary pie with an enjoyable almond mylk chai latte for myself and a delicious almond mylk latte for the Shovel. Despite the bleak weather there were still plenty of people traversing the pavement or relaxing in cafes, but the atmosphere, unlike Byron Bay wasn't grungy or intense. We reminisced about what our week would have been like had we stayed in the Caravan Park here instead, until we checked out the prices... Nah to be honest we've had a fantastic week in Broken Head. It just wasn't the completely chilled vibe we were hoping for. Nevertheless there's still a few more places to visit down the coast so we'll see what else is out there.
Rayners Track treks through the Koonyum Range, which is part of Mount Jerusalem National Park in the Byron Hinterland. The track passes through lush green forest before arriving at a private lake, then climbs extremely steeply for about 200 metres before heading out onto a gravel road and up to Teales Lookout. The lookout provides views out towards the coast and surrounding Byron Hinterland mount ranges. As rain consistently fell we completed the track absolutely drenched with muddied shoes from a creek crossing, but it was totally worth it for the magical experience of seeing the forest twinkle with crystallised rain drops and for the entertainment of ducking and weaving the numerous spiders and their webs intrinsically constructed across the track.
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November 2023
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