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Sydney, around the world it’s the first thing that comes to mind after Kangaroo when you ask anyone about Australia. Indigenous Australians inhabited this part of the land for over 30 thousand years. It’s the country’s largest capital city with its most recently recorded population coming in at approximately 5 million people. It’s also Australia’s oldest city, ever since the first fleet landing in 1788, it has evolved from a colonial outpost to becoming a city in 1842. Events like the gold rush and world war two brought many migrants in, to seek opportunities they couldn’t find in their home countries, creating a lot of growth in Sydney. Although one of the most expensive cities in the world, it is the 10th most liveable city in the world, making it still statistically appealing for migration. Most notable landmarks are the architectural wonders of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. Well-maintained historical buildings from the colonial era still keep themselves present after surviving horrid high-rise development proposals on the rocks, courtesy of activist Jack Mundey. With mild subtropical weather it makes it an inviting all year round destination for local and international tourists. Lane Cove National Park
We arrived into Lane Cove Caravan Park at North Ryde, Florence was unhitched and set up in a National Park and we were only 10 kilometres from the city of Sydney. Surrounded by a variety of large local gum trees and the lights of the city in the background, the location was beyond believable.
Thursday, we went into Mosman to do a Pilates session, public transport was a long trip over so we opted to take the car. We navigated our way through 15 kilometres of highways, tunnels and some off-peak (thankfully) traffic. The drive wasn’t too bad and we got there with some time on our hands, so we went for a walk to get a feel of the place. Mosman is rather posh, old buildings are filled with boutique shops, fancy cafes and chemists that didn’t have vitamin c’s. Streets were filled with cars like M series BMW’s, Porsches, Maserati’s and all the other fancy stuff from Europe. Locals are hard at work here, with image and an occupation to fund it. After pilates we took the train into the Quay and went for a look at the Sydney Museum of Contemporary Art. Only level 2 was opened that day but was filled with some inspiring modern art from across the country and around the world. Its art deco styled building used to facilitate the maritime services board but had been an art gallery since 1991. After getting in a dose of art we went for a walk around the Sydney Opera House, one of the 20th century’s most famous and distinctive buildings. Taking in the exterior of the opera house makes you appreciate Jørn Utzon’s unique form of Architecture; the building to this day still feels well ahead of its time. We were craving a burger, so we went on a Google adventure for food and it led us to a place called Bar Luca in the city. The place was packed so we thought we couldn’t go wrong eating here. We ordered burgers that go by the name of ‘Blame Canada’ it was loaded with poutine, maple bacon, lots of liquid cheese and a beef paddy, maybe vegetables. After making our way through the burger marathon, we ventured our way back home. (Semi) Circular Quay & CBD
On Friday, we kicked the day off exploring some of the track along the river that goes through Lane Cove. The views were endless with stunning waters, wildlife and trees. It was a great feeling to be living next door to all of this iconic nature for a few days. We took the train into the city and then boated our way along the Harbour arriving at Cockatoo Island. Arriving into the island you see an amazingly diverse range of buildings, industrial and residential. We went for a look around for half the day and got enriched with its history. We jumped back on the boat and it made its way back through the busy Harbour to Circular Quay. Dinner-time had come upon us so we boarded the train to a place called Newtown. This colourful inner city suburb welcomed us with a young open-minded vibe. Cool bars, cafes and restaurants nestled themselves in revived old buildings. Blank walls were filled with street art and alternative styles of fashion were worn casually in the Newtown neighbourhood. We come across an Indonesian Café called Solo, it looked inviting so we gave it a go. We sat on the top verandah looking over the street through the 19th century arched window. We went with a dish called the Lamb Gulal, it had things like okra and roti along side good old potatoes, it was definitely one of the best feeds we’ve had on the trip down south. After some brilliant food we explored more further back up street and come across a book store open late at night called ‘Better read than dead’. The entrance looked average and humble until it opens up to a massive 3 level catalogue of books, it kept us busy for a while. Alternative Newtown is a fun place to hang out, whether to just walk around, eat food or just take in the atmosphere it’s certainly worth a visit. Newtown
On Saturday, we got onto a walking tour around Sydney. The tour was called ‘The Rocks Journey Walk’. It was an informative 3-hour walking history lesson, which took us around some of the first buildings and landmarks in the country. We learnt a lot about Sydney and Australia in that time and have it in more detail in the rocks journey walk blog. We walked around the rocks area to find some lunch; passing through a few narrow laneways of sandstone we dropped into the Glenmore hotel. The Glenmore is a gorgeous pub, and is one of the few buildings standing after the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. This Aussie icon was built in 1921, and on the inside it takes you back to that era with art deco styled rooms with original furniture. The lunch hit the spot and so did the views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. We caught the train home and rested for a while, to preserve some energy for the big night out at the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. We ventured our way into Wyndham station to walk over to Oxford Street, where the fun and games kicked off. On our way we had a quick look through the Queen Victoria building, built in the 1890’s its Romanesque style architecture is rich with stained glass, mosaic floors and windy staircases. It also features a statue of the ever so happy Queen Victoria out the front. We made our way towards Oxford Street, along side 300 thousand other people to witness the 40th Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. We were blown away with lights, glitter and loud music. After having a blast dancing the night away, we zig zagged through the streets of the city to make our way home. C'Mon 'N Ride The Train
Sunday was a day of relaxation, we were pretty much dead to the world after days filled with walking, walking, dancing and walking. We put our feet up and enjoyed the sounds of nature in the Lane Cove National Park. We finished off the day with a drive into a trendy suburb called Glebe; the route took us over the Harbour Bridge and through the city, leading us out behind Wentworth Park. It’s an old but well looked after area, the houses were restored beautifully and the park nearby was well manicured. We went into this place called Soul Burger, a café where they make burgers taste like beef, chicken and pork….but they don’t have any of that in them. The food was nicely done and surprisingly cheap for vegan, certainly a hit with the university students. To finish off the day, we sat down at the well-manicured park and ate our cow, chicken, fish and swine friendly burgers.
Our time in Sydney was certainly a good one; it’s easy to dismiss the city as overrated and hectic to get around. Our time here proved to us that it is anything but that, we drove in and out of Sydney pretty easily with a caravan, the traffic is horrid on peak times but easy enough to avoid. We loved the drive around the city on the Sunday, its surreal driving over the Harbour Bridge and going past all the famous icons of the city. If you don’t fancy driving, the trains will happily take you over the Harbour Bridge, a connecting ferry at Circular Quay boats you through the Harbour itself. The Mardi Gras is truly the most fun anyone can have, the streets filled with colour and dancing will bring a smile to anyone’s face. The city is rich with fascinating history; every street and building has a story to it. Sydney was certainly a highlight for us, if you give it the chance it will show you a great time.
 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 Lookout
Port 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 Beach
We 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.'  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.
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