Di and I wish you all
a very Merry Christmas
and
a Happy and Prosperous New Year
See you back here in the new year
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Christmas-New Year Break
Well it's Christmas time again and as we all get excited about Santa arriving overnight it's time to take a break from the Blogging for awhile.
Di and I wish you all
a very Merry Christmas
and
a Happy and Prosperous New Year
See you back here in the new year
Di and I wish you all
a very Merry Christmas
and
a Happy and Prosperous New Year
See you back here in the new year
Step 17 Byron Bay - Chinderah.
Friday 17th December - Day 46
Well getting into the site was fun, getting out even more so. But with a crowd gathered around and a bit of help from a German guy on the next site we managed to negotiate our way out. As if the sites weren't tight enough as you turned the corner the people in the adjacent cabins had their cars parked on the exit.
But all was forgotten after an hour on the road when we made it to Chinderah and my Mummy and Daddy :-) :-)
Couldn't get on to the site we have booked for the next two weeks so have to take a temporary site overnight.
BBQ for tea and a good night catching up.
Saturday 18th - Friday 24th December
Well it's straight in to the clubbing scene, that's Bowls Club, Twin Towns Club and who knows where else. It will be one long social whirl from here until early January.
Lot's of good cheap meals, free entertainment, good company and as of yesterday another meat raffle win for Di.
OK, so a little less detail this week, but it is Christmas after all.
Step 16 Ballina - Byron Bay
Thursday 16th December
Great start to the day - emptied the toilet. I don't want to go into tooo much detail but we probably shouldn't leave it quite that long next time. Enough said - move on. Which we did.
As we didn't have far to go to get to Byron we decided to take the scenic route via Alstonville (disappointing), Lismore (surprisingly attractive for a big town) and the Minyon Falls.
Now I am not going to say who recommended visiting Minyon Falls (you know who you are Mum) but I can tell you that by the time the third "Road narrows" and the fourth "Windy Road next 5 kms" signs appeared it was getting really narrow and really windy for MM and the trailer!
 |
| RTA please note: vehicle was stationary when driver took this photo |
Then when the bitumen ran out and the road became a goat track, complete with river crossing and ditches 2 foot deep I was beginning to wish we still had the Husqvarna dirt bike not the imitation Harley !
But, when we got there, the Falls were certainly pretty to look at.
That is once I managed to prise my eyes open on the viewing platform which did seem rather precariously balanced on the side of a cliff. I probably wouldn't have been quite so worried but for the sign which stated "Falling from here could seriously kill you" (or words to that effect)
 |
| Note DANGER sign on viewing platform!! |
Eventually arrived in First Sun Caravan Park in Byron Bay, which is perfectly placed right in town. Walk out the front gate and you are in the main street, walk out the back gate and you are on the beach. The owners have obviously worked out that this is quite a unique opportunity to charge like wounded bulls. $52 a night for a powered site, the most expensive by far so far and they tell us that this is not yet peak season and next week it will be more expensive. But it looks like this is not deterring people and we got the second last available site and that only available for one night.
It also appears that the owners are making the most of the location and the sites are extremely squeezy. Another confirmation for us to leave the trailer in Chinderah when we move on in the new year. MM would have slotted in quite easily but getting in with the trailer proved a little more challenging.
But we managed to make the most of the location and wandered into town to check out the scene of some of Elke's finest work - her schoolies trip :-) Also managed to get a very nice iced coffee frappe.
Interestingly, despite the cost the park is half full off international backpackers and the average age here is about half that of any other park we have stayed on.
Given the "coziness" of the sites and the cost we have decided to get to Chinderah and Mum and Dad a day earlier and will leave in the morning.
Step 15 Yamba - Ballina via Little Italy
Tuesday 14th December
Headed off to Ballina this morning, excited about the prospect of stopping at Little Italy on the way. The brochure says "Italians love their coffee - and you will too." Well I'm not saying it's the worst coffee we have had so far but these Italian coffee makers are not the same Italians we know and love in Melbourne. Never mind 7 out of 10 anyway.
As I know you rely on us for cultural, historical and geographical information and updates I can tell you that Little Italy is a settlement here in NSW that was settled in 1882 by a group of Italians who had made their way to Australia after being ripped off by a French nobleman (con man) who promised them land in a new settlement in the South Pacific that turned out to be not quite what was promised (damn those Froggies!) Today, like rabbits, their descendants are spread throughout Australia (just kiddin Mario. By the way - no Staffieri's were conned by the original schemer).
After the coffee the next disappointment for the day - The Big Prawn has shut down. Noooooooooo. The prawn itself is stiil there, just, but age has certainly wearied this poor old crustacean.
Checked into the Big 4 park, right on the edge of town and a lovely walk back along the river to the newly refurbished RSL.
Wednesday 15th
Laaaazy day around the park today, catching up on washing and a bit of a blog update (already published).
Steve visited the Ballina Naval museum during the day, which contains an exhibit of the Las Balsa rafts that a group of adventurers sailed from Ecuador to Australia in 1973. Sailing across the Pacific in a waterlogged raft, not something that "floats my boat"
The museum also included an example of late nineteenth century humour. Well maybe not that old but a very old joke none the less
Dinner at the RSL which seriously jeopardised the budget again - until.....
Di won a tray of rump steak in the FREE raffle. You gotta love NSw clubs - don't get me started on how badly Victoria mucked up the introduction of Pokies, after waiting 30 odd years from when NSW got it so right.
Headed off to Ballina this morning, excited about the prospect of stopping at Little Italy on the way. The brochure says "Italians love their coffee - and you will too." Well I'm not saying it's the worst coffee we have had so far but these Italian coffee makers are not the same Italians we know and love in Melbourne. Never mind 7 out of 10 anyway.
As I know you rely on us for cultural, historical and geographical information and updates I can tell you that Little Italy is a settlement here in NSW that was settled in 1882 by a group of Italians who had made their way to Australia after being ripped off by a French nobleman (con man) who promised them land in a new settlement in the South Pacific that turned out to be not quite what was promised (damn those Froggies!) Today, like rabbits, their descendants are spread throughout Australia (just kiddin Mario. By the way - no Staffieri's were conned by the original schemer).
 |
| Replica of the statue of David (not Leary). Censored for PG. Original available on request |
After the coffee the next disappointment for the day - The Big Prawn has shut down. Noooooooooo. The prawn itself is stiil there, just, but age has certainly wearied this poor old crustacean.
Checked into the Big 4 park, right on the edge of town and a lovely walk back along the river to the newly refurbished RSL.
Wednesday 15th
Laaaazy day around the park today, catching up on washing and a bit of a blog update (already published).
Steve visited the Ballina Naval museum during the day, which contains an exhibit of the Las Balsa rafts that a group of adventurers sailed from Ecuador to Australia in 1973. Sailing across the Pacific in a waterlogged raft, not something that "floats my boat"
The museum also included an example of late nineteenth century humour. Well maybe not that old but a very old joke none the less
 |
| Why are you a pirate? Because I Rrrrrr |
Dinner at the RSL which seriously jeopardised the budget again - until.....
Di won a tray of rump steak in the FREE raffle. You gotta love NSw clubs - don't get me started on how badly Victoria mucked up the introduction of Pokies, after waiting 30 odd years from when NSW got it so right.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Step 14 Coffs Harbour to Yamba (NOT Wooli)
Saturday 11th December - Day 40
After our single night stop at Coffs, we headed off with the intention of stopping off at Woolgolga just 30 kms up the road. It is supposedly the site of the first Sikh temple in Australia and with a large Indian poulation, famous for its Indian restaurants. Now I am not saying the brochure lied but:
The original temple has seen better days
and we saw more Italian and Chinese restaurants than Indian
well actually there was only one Indian restaurant so it wasn't that much of a stretch.
To be fair the new temple looked ok. But glad we didn't stick to the original plan of stopping here to get an Indian meal
The next part of the plan for today was to stay at Wooli, on the recommendation of the farmer family who recommended Urunga. One out of two ain't bad! Wooli turned out to be the Loch Sport of NSW (refer Blog for step 1 - Sale). I would describe it as a one horse town, but we didn't see the horse.
Anyway it didn't take long for us to work out "Wooli or Won'tI stay?" We WoolNOT
So we continued on to MacLean, "The Scottish Town in Australia. Which turned out be having a Scottish weather in Australia day. It was bucketing down with rain. We managed to get some supplies at the supermarket but pretty much everything else in town was closed or closing. Well that's not surprising you say, everyone knows that NSW country towns close for the weekend at 12:00pm on Saturday afternoon. Didn't you know that Steve? Well actually yes I did, what I hadn't remembered was that today was Saturday (slipping in to the Nomad life, no need for knowing what day it is - well except in country NSW towns obviously).
While eating our hand made, by Di, Ham & Cheese rolls for lunch it occurred to us that the next destination we were heading for, Iluka, was also a recommendation from the increasingly unreliable farmers. Quick change of plan, next destination will be Yamba just across the river from Iluka and a Vicki & Herb recommendation. A much more reliable pair of guides (most of the time).
Checked in for 2 nights, into the park right in town, as it was still precipitating quite steadily (and raining) . Bravely venturing out we wandered into town and checked the place out. Ten minutes later, tour completed. I tell a lie it was actually quite a reasonable sized seaside town with quite a few shops and eateries. But given the weather, I decided to catch up on the new Harry Potter movie that was showing at the salubrious Yamba Roxy. I was so surprised at the $7 (all sessions) ticket price that I lashed out on a $2.50 Choc Top. Di meanwhile, retired to the van to continue some reading and a (she tells me) quite acceptable self made Harvey Wallbanger. She also tells me it was only one, but I have my doubts.
To finish off another pleasant day on the road, we lashed out on Pizza for tea. Again no match for our regular haunts but washed down with a bottle of red - not too shabby.
Sunday 12th December
A lazy day today (mm that's becoming a bit common). Bit drizzly in the morning but bright and sunny in the afternoon. Started the day with a walk together along the riverfront before a good old fashion fry-up for brekkie.
After brekkie walked out to the surf beach and up to the lighthouse.
That should have walked off breakfast so we stopped off at the cafe for an iced coffee each and a shared cheesecake. It is now decided that we will leave the trailer and bike in Chinderah, because Mighty Merc is not going to be able to drag all the extra weight the way we are going.
The lesson for today: Do not just get up and go for a walk, leaving your newspaper on the table as if you were at home. The difference is, the table here is outside. So if the wind gets up, and it did, the newspaper blows away. Luckily only as far as the annexe of the caravan across the way. Even luckier the guy in that van is not the violent type and he just bought it back (albeit all screwed up).
Given we survived that, checked in here for an extra night.
Monday 13th
Lesson for today, I am STILL not a handy man and there is a reason I have worked with software not hardware. Well to be fair, the story has a happy ending, but it didn't start well.
We have had a suspicion for some time that the grey water tank has not been emptying properly.
(fear not non-caravanning types - grey water is just the run off from the sink. Now black water - we don't want to talk about here). So anyway, I crawled underneath MM and quickly worked out that the tap was not opening properly and so the water was not draining at all. In a fit of (it turns out misplaced) confidence I got a bucket under the van and unscrewed the tap completely, the water flowed out and when the bucket was nearly full I replaced the tap and emptied the bucket. No drama.
I repeated the process and all went well again. Now at this point I realised that there could be upwards of 30 buckets of water in the tank and decided to modify the process. I grabbed a funnel from the trailer and connected one end to the sullage hose and positioned the big end of the funnel under the tank and removed the tap again
Now honestly that didn't seem like a bad idea and quite possibly with better execution it would have worked. On the other hand what actually happened was:
I unscrewed the tap again
The water spurted out (that's a technical meaning "came out quite quickly")
Ipanicked and dropped the tap (into the top of the funnel as I found out later)
The top of the funnel filled up (quickly) and the "water" started pouring out all over the ground under the van
I calmly(?) called for Di while I tried to find the tap
at this stage I didn't know it was in the top of the funnel,
which I was still vainly hoping was going to actually collect some of the water
and redirect it down the hose
Did I mention the water was a little smelly.
Anyway eventually, with some of the water going down the hose as planned, the tank emptied. Had it not been raining for two days the water would probably have soaked into the ground quite quickly but in this case it kind of pooled a little bit, well quite a lot actually. But as Di reminded me, when I flooded our flat in Camberwell (over 26 years ago I might add, but she still remembers) my solution was to leave it overnight and let it soak away. (I think it actually got soaked up by the carpet in the flat, but the insurance covered it so that story had a happy ending too). Anyway, after a quick redistribution of the water with a broom - we went out for the day.
One of the plans all along was to catch the local ferry across the river to Iluka, to check out what we had missed out on by ignoring the farmers advice. The ferry ride is a pleasant 35 minute meandering trip across the Clarence River taking in the sights, and avoiding running aground on the sandbars and the wall inexplicably built down the middle of the channel
Now Iluka was a lovely town but let's just say we will be abandoning any further suggestions from the farmers on places to stay. One highlight though was the good old fashioned, giant sized, ham salad sandwiches we had for lunch and the exceptional iced coffees.
Back at MM the water had all soaked away and the smell had disappeared so I loosened up the tap so it worked and refitted it to the tank. Another job done.
But life on the road always throws up little maintenance tasks so it was then that I noticed that the wire from the trailer to MM had worn through (probably explains why the trailer lights weren't working). Now I'm not sure why they don't make the wire strong enough to resist abrasion when being dragged along the highway at 100kmh. But they don't. So it was off to the shop to pick up some wire joiners to splice the wire. Now the short story is "it's all fixed now". The slightly longer story is "that was after undoing the first attempt, a second trip to the shops for different connectors and redoing the whole job". But let's be glass half full here people - I fixed it. AND the job involved using tools - to whit - wire cutters, a blade ( and I didn't cut myself) and a pair of pliers, as well as finishing off with waterproof tape.
A relaxing night in MM tonight - watching NCIS. I may have failed to mention in previous blogs that I now have Di addicted to it as well, so much so that we ended up watching two episodes tonight. El - you must be so proud, OK, maybe not, but us old people are enjoying it
After our single night stop at Coffs, we headed off with the intention of stopping off at Woolgolga just 30 kms up the road. It is supposedly the site of the first Sikh temple in Australia and with a large Indian poulation, famous for its Indian restaurants. Now I am not saying the brochure lied but:
The original temple has seen better days
and we saw more Italian and Chinese restaurants than Indian
well actually there was only one Indian restaurant so it wasn't that much of a stretch.
To be fair the new temple looked ok. But glad we didn't stick to the original plan of stopping here to get an Indian meal
The next part of the plan for today was to stay at Wooli, on the recommendation of the farmer family who recommended Urunga. One out of two ain't bad! Wooli turned out to be the Loch Sport of NSW (refer Blog for step 1 - Sale). I would describe it as a one horse town, but we didn't see the horse.
Anyway it didn't take long for us to work out "Wooli or Won'tI stay?" We WoolNOT
So we continued on to MacLean, "The Scottish Town in Australia. Which turned out be having a Scottish weather in Australia day. It was bucketing down with rain. We managed to get some supplies at the supermarket but pretty much everything else in town was closed or closing. Well that's not surprising you say, everyone knows that NSW country towns close for the weekend at 12:00pm on Saturday afternoon. Didn't you know that Steve? Well actually yes I did, what I hadn't remembered was that today was Saturday (slipping in to the Nomad life, no need for knowing what day it is - well except in country NSW towns obviously).
While eating our hand made, by Di, Ham & Cheese rolls for lunch it occurred to us that the next destination we were heading for, Iluka, was also a recommendation from the increasingly unreliable farmers. Quick change of plan, next destination will be Yamba just across the river from Iluka and a Vicki & Herb recommendation. A much more reliable pair of guides (most of the time).
Checked in for 2 nights, into the park right in town, as it was still precipitating quite steadily (and raining) . Bravely venturing out we wandered into town and checked the place out. Ten minutes later, tour completed. I tell a lie it was actually quite a reasonable sized seaside town with quite a few shops and eateries. But given the weather, I decided to catch up on the new Harry Potter movie that was showing at the salubrious Yamba Roxy. I was so surprised at the $7 (all sessions) ticket price that I lashed out on a $2.50 Choc Top. Di meanwhile, retired to the van to continue some reading and a (she tells me) quite acceptable self made Harvey Wallbanger. She also tells me it was only one, but I have my doubts.
To finish off another pleasant day on the road, we lashed out on Pizza for tea. Again no match for our regular haunts but washed down with a bottle of red - not too shabby.
Sunday 12th December
A lazy day today (mm that's becoming a bit common). Bit drizzly in the morning but bright and sunny in the afternoon. Started the day with a walk together along the riverfront before a good old fashion fry-up for brekkie.
After brekkie walked out to the surf beach and up to the lighthouse.
That should have walked off breakfast so we stopped off at the cafe for an iced coffee each and a shared cheesecake. It is now decided that we will leave the trailer and bike in Chinderah, because Mighty Merc is not going to be able to drag all the extra weight the way we are going.
The lesson for today: Do not just get up and go for a walk, leaving your newspaper on the table as if you were at home. The difference is, the table here is outside. So if the wind gets up, and it did, the newspaper blows away. Luckily only as far as the annexe of the caravan across the way. Even luckier the guy in that van is not the violent type and he just bought it back (albeit all screwed up).
Given we survived that, checked in here for an extra night.
Monday 13th
Lesson for today, I am STILL not a handy man and there is a reason I have worked with software not hardware. Well to be fair, the story has a happy ending, but it didn't start well.
We have had a suspicion for some time that the grey water tank has not been emptying properly.
(fear not non-caravanning types - grey water is just the run off from the sink. Now black water - we don't want to talk about here). So anyway, I crawled underneath MM and quickly worked out that the tap was not opening properly and so the water was not draining at all. In a fit of (it turns out misplaced) confidence I got a bucket under the van and unscrewed the tap completely, the water flowed out and when the bucket was nearly full I replaced the tap and emptied the bucket. No drama.
I repeated the process and all went well again. Now at this point I realised that there could be upwards of 30 buckets of water in the tank and decided to modify the process. I grabbed a funnel from the trailer and connected one end to the sullage hose and positioned the big end of the funnel under the tank and removed the tap again
Now honestly that didn't seem like a bad idea and quite possibly with better execution it would have worked. On the other hand what actually happened was:
I unscrewed the tap again
The water spurted out (that's a technical meaning "came out quite quickly")
I
The top of the funnel filled up (quickly) and the "water" started pouring out all over the ground under the van
I calmly(?) called for Di while I tried to find the tap
at this stage I didn't know it was in the top of the funnel,
which I was still vainly hoping was going to actually collect some of the water
and redirect it down the hose
Did I mention the water was a little smelly.
Anyway eventually, with some of the water going down the hose as planned, the tank emptied. Had it not been raining for two days the water would probably have soaked into the ground quite quickly but in this case it kind of pooled a little bit, well quite a lot actually. But as Di reminded me, when I flooded our flat in Camberwell (over 26 years ago I might add, but she still remembers) my solution was to leave it overnight and let it soak away. (I think it actually got soaked up by the carpet in the flat, but the insurance covered it so that story had a happy ending too). Anyway, after a quick redistribution of the water with a broom - we went out for the day.
One of the plans all along was to catch the local ferry across the river to Iluka, to check out what we had missed out on by ignoring the farmers advice. The ferry ride is a pleasant 35 minute meandering trip across the Clarence River taking in the sights, and avoiding running aground on the sandbars and the wall inexplicably built down the middle of the channel
Now Iluka was a lovely town but let's just say we will be abandoning any further suggestions from the farmers on places to stay. One highlight though was the good old fashioned, giant sized, ham salad sandwiches we had for lunch and the exceptional iced coffees.
Back at MM the water had all soaked away and the smell had disappeared so I loosened up the tap so it worked and refitted it to the tank. Another job done.
But life on the road always throws up little maintenance tasks so it was then that I noticed that the wire from the trailer to MM had worn through (probably explains why the trailer lights weren't working). Now I'm not sure why they don't make the wire strong enough to resist abrasion when being dragged along the highway at 100kmh. But they don't. So it was off to the shop to pick up some wire joiners to splice the wire. Now the short story is "it's all fixed now". The slightly longer story is "that was after undoing the first attempt, a second trip to the shops for different connectors and redoing the whole job". But let's be glass half full here people - I fixed it. AND the job involved using tools - to whit - wire cutters, a blade ( and I didn't cut myself) and a pair of pliers, as well as finishing off with waterproof tape.
A relaxing night in MM tonight - watching NCIS. I may have failed to mention in previous blogs that I now have Di addicted to it as well, so much so that we ended up watching two episodes tonight. El - you must be so proud, OK, maybe not, but us old people are enjoying it
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Step 13 Urunga - Coffs Harbour
Friday 10th December
I didn't mention in previous blog but it wasn't just a beautiful morning it was hot, damn'd hot ! 28 degrees at 8:00am, 32 by 9:00.
Luckily, and quite by chance, we had planned a seriously short journey today. A new PB for this trip 35 kilometres park to park! with no stops along the way :-) We actually managed to check in before 10:00am, for one night at Park Beach Van Park - Coffs Harbour .
In another case of "your planet baffles me" the original site that the check-in lady allocated us was right next to a group of about 10, each by the look of it with their own surf ski, as well as 3 cars and 2 trailers. Now I know you're thinking "don't be harsh Stephen, the park must have been full, she had to put you on that site". "Au contraire" I respond 'the park was nigh on empty". Anyway, we moved to a different site - so there.
Having settled in, and still with two hours to go until lunchtime we wandered in to town.
Editors note: an oversight in the previous blog - we did consider going for a swim yesterday but when it came to the crunch ie "Di, where are my bathers?" we came to the conclusion that they were probably still hanging on the soap holder in the 2nd shower cubicle from the left at the amenities block in South West Rocks. While the swimming shorts are a great loss, everyone in the near vicinity and probably quite a ways beyond will be quite relieved that my BMC Software speedo's ( a remnant of my brief but illustrious triathlon career) are finally Missing In Action.
Back to the story - we walked into town, not Coffs Harbour CBD but Coffs Harbour Marina, to buy a new pair ofspeedos swimming shorts and some rolls for lunch. Missions accomplished we returned to the park for lunch and a swim in the very well appointed swimming pool. And that really was the day, spent the afternoon lazing around (although I did work on some of the previous blogs to get a little more up to date) and BBQ for tea.
Around tea time the weather closed in again and the rain set in for the night. Yet again we are lucky that it hasn't interfered with our day.
I didn't mention in previous blog but it wasn't just a beautiful morning it was hot, damn'd hot ! 28 degrees at 8:00am, 32 by 9:00.
Luckily, and quite by chance, we had planned a seriously short journey today. A new PB for this trip 35 kilometres park to park! with no stops along the way :-) We actually managed to check in before 10:00am, for one night at Park Beach Van Park - Coffs Harbour .
In another case of "your planet baffles me" the original site that the check-in lady allocated us was right next to a group of about 10, each by the look of it with their own surf ski, as well as 3 cars and 2 trailers. Now I know you're thinking "don't be harsh Stephen, the park must have been full, she had to put you on that site". "Au contraire" I respond 'the park was nigh on empty". Anyway, we moved to a different site - so there.
Having settled in, and still with two hours to go until lunchtime we wandered in to town.
Editors note: an oversight in the previous blog - we did consider going for a swim yesterday but when it came to the crunch ie "Di, where are my bathers?" we came to the conclusion that they were probably still hanging on the soap holder in the 2nd shower cubicle from the left at the amenities block in South West Rocks. While the swimming shorts are a great loss, everyone in the near vicinity and probably quite a ways beyond will be quite relieved that my BMC Software speedo's ( a remnant of my brief but illustrious triathlon career) are finally Missing In Action.
Back to the story - we walked into town, not Coffs Harbour CBD but Coffs Harbour Marina, to buy a new pair of
Around tea time the weather closed in again and the rain set in for the night. Yet again we are lucky that it hasn't interfered with our day.
Step 12 South West Rocks - Urunga
Thursday 9th December
Headed off bright and early (well, before 10:00 anyway) for Urunga, on the recommendation of local farmer couple we spoke to last night.
Had planned to stop at Nambucca Heads Bowls Club for their $9 lunch special (will we ever get back to our Melbourne lives ?) but on the way through town we spotted the RSL $5 lunch special - be still my beating heart.
As we had arrived a little early for lunch we had a stroll along the boardwalk beside the river and took in the MDV (remember from the previous blog - Million Dollar View, try and keep up people).Anyway, lovely walk, beautiful day all is good in paradise. Rather than follow the path back along the river we took the steps up the hill back to the RSL and along a path that was a little overgrown. As is SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) I let Di walk in front, she's going to tell me where to go anyway so it's easier to follow :-) As we reached the top I noticed that she seemed a little short of breath, must be the hill I thought. Hang on though, that's not short of breath, she's not actually breathing and her hands are flapping around, quite agitatedly. Hang on Sherlock she is trying to tell you something (I thought to myself). Words would help I thought.
AND then I spotted the source of her consternation - a giant monitor sitting (vertically) in the tree, right next to ME. Now when I say giant monitor I don't mean Michael Murray, the rather large milk monitor from grade 3, although he was quite scary in his own right. No, I mean a Monitor lizard, also known as biawak or goannas, genus Varanus, members of the family Varanidae. Varanus is a group of largely carnivorous lizards (Copyright - Wikipedia 2010). CARNIVOROUS !! Please excuse me if the following photo is a little blurry !
Let's put that in perspective - his head is above mine and his tail nearly touching the ground !!!! I think I did remarkably well getting any photo's at all - all in the interests of you, our reading public.
After that it was straight to the bar for a stiff drink, and a quick chat to Di about finding a more effective way of communicating impending danger. In her defence she did say by the time I saw it it was up a tree whereas it ran across the path right in front of her. Also, she said, there are no recorded monitor related deaths in Australia - on the other hand if you have been eaten by a giant lizard you're not going to be doing much recording are you.
BTW - the $5 lunch special was braised beef, roast potato and a medley of vegetables - very nice, thanks for asking.
Taking care to leave the RSL via the front door and the paved car park it was back on the road to Urunga (pronounced Oorooonga in case you were wondering). Top marks to the farmers for the recommendation, the caravan park is right on the water and very pleasant.
To top it off the pub is right out the front of the park
Well, it is all very pleasant apart from the re-enactment of Hurricane Katrina that is going on. OK Hurricane might be a bit of a stretch but it was the windiest day I have seen since we left Holland and as Elke will tell you the wind there was so strong it blew my hair off.
Nonetheless we managed to walk out on the (newly finished) one kilometre long boardwalk to the end of the breakwater to take in the views of the river and surf beach.
The wind continued through the night but we awoke to a beautiful still sunny day and a view out the back of MM that makes this trip all seem like a good idea
At this stage though, with so much to see on this part of the coast, we are experimenting with one night stops, so it is time to pack up and move on
Headed off bright and early (well, before 10:00 anyway) for Urunga, on the recommendation of local farmer couple we spoke to last night.
Had planned to stop at Nambucca Heads Bowls Club for their $9 lunch special (will we ever get back to our Melbourne lives ?) but on the way through town we spotted the RSL $5 lunch special - be still my beating heart.
As we had arrived a little early for lunch we had a stroll along the boardwalk beside the river and took in the MDV (remember from the previous blog - Million Dollar View, try and keep up people).Anyway, lovely walk, beautiful day all is good in paradise. Rather than follow the path back along the river we took the steps up the hill back to the RSL and along a path that was a little overgrown. As is SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) I let Di walk in front, she's going to tell me where to go anyway so it's easier to follow :-) As we reached the top I noticed that she seemed a little short of breath, must be the hill I thought. Hang on though, that's not short of breath, she's not actually breathing and her hands are flapping around, quite agitatedly. Hang on Sherlock she is trying to tell you something (I thought to myself). Words would help I thought.
AND then I spotted the source of her consternation - a giant monitor sitting (vertically) in the tree, right next to ME. Now when I say giant monitor I don't mean Michael Murray, the rather large milk monitor from grade 3, although he was quite scary in his own right. No, I mean a Monitor lizard, also known as biawak or goannas, genus Varanus, members of the family Varanidae. Varanus is a group of largely carnivorous lizards (Copyright - Wikipedia 2010). CARNIVOROUS !! Please excuse me if the following photo is a little blurry !
After that it was straight to the bar for a stiff drink, and a quick chat to Di about finding a more effective way of communicating impending danger. In her defence she did say by the time I saw it it was up a tree whereas it ran across the path right in front of her. Also, she said, there are no recorded monitor related deaths in Australia - on the other hand if you have been eaten by a giant lizard you're not going to be doing much recording are you.
BTW - the $5 lunch special was braised beef, roast potato and a medley of vegetables - very nice, thanks for asking.
Taking care to leave the RSL via the front door and the paved car park it was back on the road to Urunga (pronounced Oorooonga in case you were wondering). Top marks to the farmers for the recommendation, the caravan park is right on the water and very pleasant.
Well, it is all very pleasant apart from the re-enactment of Hurricane Katrina that is going on. OK Hurricane might be a bit of a stretch but it was the windiest day I have seen since we left Holland and as Elke will tell you the wind there was so strong it blew my hair off.
Nonetheless we managed to walk out on the (newly finished) one kilometre long boardwalk to the end of the breakwater to take in the views of the river and surf beach.
The wind continued through the night but we awoke to a beautiful still sunny day and a view out the back of MM that makes this trip all seem like a good idea
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| That's my left foot in the photo - not to be confused with the Daniel Day Lewis movie of the same name |
Friday, December 10, 2010
Step 11 Port MacQuarie to South West Rocks
Wednesday 8th Dec
You will be happy to know that we have actually learned from some of our previous lessons and given the weather was still nice last night we packed the bike on the trailer in case it rained. And it did, so good on us.
With the rain beating time on the roof we stopped off at Fredo's Pies (another renowned NSW pie shop). Given it was too early for lunch, we just had coffee and cake and bought a couple of pies to take away (mmm maybe we just think we are losing weight).
It continued to rain all the way up the highway until we turned off to our destination for the night - South West Rocks. Then, continuing our rather blessed fortune so far, it cleared up as we arrived. Rather than completely unpack we just unhitched the trailer and ate the pies. (Yummo - nice one Fredo).
We then headed out in MM to peruse the local tourist attractions. Another experiment to see if we can continue the trip from Chinderah with out the motorbike.
First stop Trial Bay Gaol (that's how they spelled jail when Britain ruled the world, which was before America took over the job). Those of you who knew that Edmund Barton was our first Prime Minister may also know that Trial Bay Gaol is the only gaol (jail) built in NSW to support a single public works project. In a pre-cursor to government projects ever since, the actual public work - the building of a breakwater to protect Trail Bay, was a complete failure.
We then headed out in MM to peruse the local tourist attractions. Another experiment to see if we can continue the trip from Chinderah with out the motorbike.
In a stroke of luck for the government just when they were wondering what to do with the empty jail (ok I'm giving up on the gaol bit) - World War 1 broke out. The government in it's infinite wisdom decided that anyone born in Germany or born in Australia but with at least one German parent was a threat to national security and needed to be locked up. Phew, lucky we have this empty jail sitting around they thought let's wack some of them in there. I'm guessing it hasn't escaped the notice of family members reading this that this would have meant locking up not only Herb but Richard and Marita as well. Now while some of the less kind members of the family may be suggesting that the government might have been on to something here, Di mounted a one woman solidarity protest
but the guy next door complained and she was moved along
Next stop - Smoky Cape Lighthouse
Now I know it's probably a given that Lighthouses should be set on the high ground, because their main purpose in life is to warn shipping of danger, and being up high helps the light (if not the house) be seen more easily. But, it does make for a rather strenuous walk.
It does make for a rather spectacular view though
Back at the park it was time for our second swim in two days and then a loooooong chat with the couple next door who were yet another family who were holidaying less than an hour's drive from home. To be fair they were farmers and couldn't travel too far from whatever they were growing because of the need to water. But the good news was they gave us some (hopefully) good tips on places to visit over the next few days.
After chatting to them it was a bit late to cook tea, so we just polished off the cheese and dips we had in the fridge (ok, maybe we are putting ON weight, a little). Another really pleasant night so we sat outside and planned the next couple of days and then we were joined by.....
Yep - Skippy. Well Daddy Skip anywayWe had seen his family earlier, and to be honest the caravan park was somewhat covered in their calling cards. (Not really calling cards, that's actually a euphemism for "there was a lot of Kangaroo sh@# around)
Anyway, back to the story. Di and Steve munched their way through the cheese and biscuits and daddy Skip munched his way around the park
and the light faded and it got dark.
"Time for bed" I said and got up to head off to the amenities block.
As I rounded the corner of MM there was Daddy Skip, still munching away.
Opinion is divided who got the biggest fright but Daddy Skip let out a loud hiss and bounded away and I let out a bit of a 'iss of my own and leapt straight up in the air.
But the important thing is Di found it hilarious.
Step 10 Tuncurry to Port MacQuarie via Kendall
Sunday 5th December
Another morning travelling in the rain, although at least it was fine for packing up,
and chatting to Ernie.
First stop was the wonderful town of Kendall,
heart of Kendall country,
named after the poet Henry Kendall and quite possibly the town with the most signs incorporating the town name. There are signs counting down the the kilometres until you reach Kendall, including the last one - "Kendall 1/4". Obviously there is a sign as you enter town, then a "where to go ? Kendall Country", Kendall school, Kendall tennis club, Kendall Opp shop, Kendall Pottery and Art Gallery, Crafty Shoes of Kendall, Kendall Craft Co-Op - not to be confused with Kendall Craft at the train station and Kendall Bottle O. This, in a town the size of Olinda (quite a small town in the Dandenongs).
But then again - it's a wonderful name and they are quite rightly proud of it :-)
BTW - Had the cheapest coffees of the trip so far - $3 each and they weren't too bad 7/10. Resisted the temptation of the house speciality - Beetroot Cake.
Tearing ourselves away from my spiritual home we moved on to Port MacQuarie and checked in at the Big 4 Breakwater Caravan Park. Lesson for today
Monday 6th December
Steve managed to get out of bed early again and got in a walk before breakfast - regular little Iron Man.
Another beautiful day beckoned so we jumped on the bike and rode back south down the coast. Through Lighthouse Beach, Cathie's Lake, North Haven, Laurieton and ended up at the North Brother Mountain lookout. Surprisingly the brochures had not exaggerated when they said it had the best views on the coast - OMG another "Million Dollar View" (hereinafter abbreviated to MDV or $MV).
We arrived at the lookout just in time to see a couple of paragliders taking off - one tandem, one solo.
I am told by Peter King and others that this is quite exhilarating, but as the guy threw himself off the edge of the cliff I renewed my vows to the Church of the Latter Day Cowards.
In another start to a budget conscious day we ate our home made Ham & Cheese sandwiches and rode back to MM.
Editors note: It was only after we returned from the trip that Steve found reference in a brochure to Miners Beach, the unofficial "nude beach" for Port MacQuarie. Now I'm not saying that the brochure was hidden but ...
Having expended all my energy watching the guys para gliding - I promptly fell asleep on the bed. In my defence it was quite warm and it is quite tiring riding the bike - even if it does have a motor.
Having perused the brochures (before I fell asleep) we had decided to hit the Leagues Club for their 2 for 1 Monday night meal offer. Betty Budget eat your heart out. Deciding to save even more money we decided to walk the 3kms to the Club - forgot about the heat! First round of drinks didn't touch the sides and the savings on the meal look like going out with the drinks bill. Anyway the meal (pork schnitzels & veges) turned out alright and we managed to get away with just one more round of drinks and headed off for the walk home.
On the breakwater they have allowed people to paint the rocks in their own designs and with their own messages. Lesson for today - some people are artistic
And some are not!
Got chatting to a couple back at the park and ended up sitting up well past our bed time (11:30pm, that's what time we sat up to, not our bed time). They were on holiday from the UK touring around in a motorhome. Back home they are also experimenting with retirement and have moved to Alicante in Spain for 6 months of the year. Could be another place for us to visit on the European leg of the journey.
We were already planning on leaving tomorrow but discovered today that we have to be out of the park anyway because the Festival of the Sun music festival starts on Thursday. ApparentlyDi is we are too old to attend. No really, it's written in the terms and conditions on the tickets. It's a shame really because Dallas Frasca as well as the The Gin Club are playing and they are like totally awesome and like my fav bands. Bugga
Another morning travelling in the rain, although at least it was fine for packing up,
and chatting to Ernie.
First stop was the wonderful town of Kendall,
heart of Kendall country,
named after the poet Henry Kendall and quite possibly the town with the most signs incorporating the town name. There are signs counting down the the kilometres until you reach Kendall, including the last one - "Kendall 1/4". Obviously there is a sign as you enter town, then a "where to go ? Kendall Country", Kendall school, Kendall tennis club, Kendall Opp shop, Kendall Pottery and Art Gallery, Crafty Shoes of Kendall, Kendall Craft Co-Op - not to be confused with Kendall Craft at the train station and Kendall Bottle O. This, in a town the size of Olinda (quite a small town in the Dandenongs).
But then again - it's a wonderful name and they are quite rightly proud of it :-)
BTW - Had the cheapest coffees of the trip so far - $3 each and they weren't too bad 7/10. Resisted the temptation of the house speciality - Beetroot Cake.
Tearing ourselves away from my spiritual home we moved on to Port MacQuarie and checked in at the Big 4 Breakwater Caravan Park. Lesson for today
If you are asked "would you like a waterfront site?" Check whether there is a water view.
In this case the answer was no - due to the 20 foot high breakwater between us and the water
To be fair the name of the park is the Breakwater Caravan Park so we probably should have seen that coming.Settled in and walked into town to pick up some tea. Walking along the river couldn't help but notice the water is extremely brown and murky. Bit of a surprise because everywhere else we have been the water has been crystal clear. But as someone explained, there has been so much rain inland that the rivers are starting to get muddied up (that's an environmental term meaning the rivers are full of @#$%)
Monday 6th December
Steve managed to get out of bed early again and got in a walk before breakfast - regular little Iron Man.
Another beautiful day beckoned so we jumped on the bike and rode back south down the coast. Through Lighthouse Beach, Cathie's Lake, North Haven, Laurieton and ended up at the North Brother Mountain lookout. Surprisingly the brochures had not exaggerated when they said it had the best views on the coast - OMG another "Million Dollar View" (hereinafter abbreviated to MDV or $MV).
In another start to a budget conscious day we ate our home made Ham & Cheese sandwiches and rode back to MM.
Editors note: It was only after we returned from the trip that Steve found reference in a brochure to Miners Beach, the unofficial "nude beach" for Port MacQuarie. Now I'm not saying that the brochure was hidden but ...
Having expended all my energy watching the guys para gliding - I promptly fell asleep on the bed. In my defence it was quite warm and it is quite tiring riding the bike - even if it does have a motor.
Having perused the brochures (before I fell asleep) we had decided to hit the Leagues Club for their 2 for 1 Monday night meal offer. Betty Budget eat your heart out. Deciding to save even more money we decided to walk the 3kms to the Club - forgot about the heat! First round of drinks didn't touch the sides and the savings on the meal look like going out with the drinks bill. Anyway the meal (pork schnitzels & veges) turned out alright and we managed to get away with just one more round of drinks and headed off for the walk home.
On the breakwater they have allowed people to paint the rocks in their own designs and with their own messages. Lesson for today - some people are artistic
And some are not!
Got chatting to a couple back at the park and ended up sitting up well past our bed time (11:30pm, that's what time we sat up to, not our bed time). They were on holiday from the UK touring around in a motorhome. Back home they are also experimenting with retirement and have moved to Alicante in Spain for 6 months of the year. Could be another place for us to visit on the European leg of the journey.
Tuesday 7th December
Woke to grey sky and drizzle but by 10:00am it had cleared enough to walk to the shops to pick up bits and pieces - including toilet chemicals. (I knew you'd all be interested to know that - if you work backwards through the blogs you will be able to work out how often I have had to empty the toilet canister. If you're really keen you could then work out how many times we have used the toilet).
By the time we walked back to MM the weather had cleared and it had really warmed up. So after lunch we decided to take advantage of the pool at the caravan park. Very pleasant it was too and refreshing.
The tip from the brochures for dinner was the buy one fish and chips get the second for $1 special from Jims Fish and Chip shop. Lesson for today (which I should have remembered from my childhood visits to NSW) is that NSW does not do good fish and chips! Even after we passed on the special, which was Hokey Cokey (or something like that). Having opted for the Barramundi, it suddenly occurred to me that Barramundi is not a local fish. After eating half of it it occurred to me that I miss the Mt Waverley and Torquay fish and chip shops. But the setting was very pleasant, sitting on the jetty watching the sun go down and the energetic people paddling their canoes.
On the walk back, in an effort to move on from Ernie, Di stopped for a cuddle with Sir Edmund BartonEditors note: Shame on you who know that George Washington was the first president of the United States but didn't know that Sir Edmund Barton was Australia's first Prime Minister
We were already planning on leaving tomorrow but discovered today that we have to be out of the park anyway because the Festival of the Sun music festival starts on Thursday. Apparently
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