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Day 1
Brisbane - Minnie Water <Map>
Today: 319kms, Total: 319kms
Finally, we're underway! Friends have regrettably been said goodbye to, neighbours have been told of our movements, all essentials have hopefully been packed and only the odd infinitive has been split. This leg of the trip is one we've done on a number of occasions, so we hope for no surprises either on route or at our destination. We're really glad at leaving home as the weather has been hot and sticky and we're looking forward to slightly cooler climes. What we're not looking forward to is all the rain that's sweeping across NSW.
Those of you who have followed our travels will remember that we've tried to travel down the Darling River, but have been unable to complete it due to floods. Well, it's happened again this year. It would seem that every time we leave Qld for NSW, the Darling floods. Maybe we should hire ourselves out as drought-breakers?
At the Sleepy Hollow Rest Area - time for a tyre and general equipment check.
It was an uneventful trip, but it's always good to do checks about an hour out from home to make sure everything is going as planned.
We stopped for lunch at another favourite spot - the headland at Ballina where the Richmond River enters the ocean.
A lovely place for lunch.
Minnie Water was its usual self, but very windy. We decided that as the awning had been renewed late last year, we weren't about to risk it being made into a sail.
Our usual site at Minnie Water.
In this idyllic setting, something had to happen. In our case it was our communications that died. The mobile smartphone that we use to connect the laptops to the Internet died - or at least kept trying and failing to boot. Nothing would make it work, so there were no comms of any persuasion. Sue's phone wasn't any use either as it was outside her phone company's coverage.
Day 2
Minnie Water - Sawtell <Map>
Today: 116kms, Total: 435kms
The first item on the agenda today was to get a working phone so we could talk to the world (and the Internet). A visit to the Telstra shop in Coffs Harbour ended up with a promise to fix our ailing phone and return to wherever we are when they fix it (my credibility gene is having a problem with this), and a new phone (and a new plan) to keep us in contact. With this problem out of the way, we repaired to the harbour for lunch... in the rain.
The view from the heights of Coffs Harbour was delightful, but a bit dull through the rain.
What wasn't dull was the welcome awaiting at today's destination. We were staying with my cousin's family at Sawtell and had a really lovely evening catching up.
Day 3
Sawtell - South West Rocks <Map>
Today: 110kms, Total: 545kms
Today we headed off for two days at South West Rocks. The first half of the journey was in pouring rain. We hope that it wouldn't continue, and our luck held as we eventually drove out of it. We booked into a very pleasant caravan park on the local creek.
Day 4
South West Rocks
Today: 25kms, Total: 570kms
Our 'touristy' day today as the forecast was for the weather system coming up the coast to arrive late this afternoon. The focus was on Trial Bay Gaol on the far side of the bay across from South West Rocks.
The name of the bay has nothing to do with legal proceedings or the jail but originates from the ketch 'Trial' that was stolen by convicts and then wrecked here in 1816.
Looking across Trial Bay to the Gaol from South West Rocks.
The cairn is to the captain and crew lost in the wreck of the ketch 'Woolloomooloo' in 1864.
Trial Bay Gaol was commenced in 1877 and was finished in 1886. Its purpose was to house prisoners (not convicts) to build a breakwater out into Trial Bay to afford protection to sailing ships in times of rough weather. It is the only known jail in Australia built specifically for the purpose of housing a work gang.
Welcome to Trial Bay Gaol...
A prisoner in his cell. His furnishings were a hammock, a chair and a jug of water.
Cell Block A. The roof and all removable fittings were sold off in 1922.
Between 1886 and 1903, only 300m of the planned 1500m breakwater had been built, heavy seas having demolished parts of it, so the prison was closed and the construction abandoned.
The remains of the breakwater as seen from a prison watchtower.
In 1915, the prison was reopened to house German internees from Australia, New Guinea and parts of SE Asia.
A German internee in his cell. Furnishings were a small desk, a deck chair(!) and 2 beds due to severe overcrowding (2 men per cell).
A current inmate of the jail relaxing on the lawn.
After the jail, we drove into the next bay along the coast.
Little Bay.
Friendly family of picnickers at Little Bay.
A few more kilometres down the coast was Smoky Cape Lighthouse.
The climb from the carpark was good for the cardio-vascular system!
But the view from the top was well worth it.
Captain Cook first sighted the cape in 1770, noting that there were smoky fires on the headland. The lighthouse was completed in 1891 and still uses the original lens system, but was fully electrified in 1962. One of the original lighthouse-keepers' cottages is now available as a B&B.
Day 5
South West Rocks
Today: 7kms, Total: 577kms
This morning we looked on the BoM radar site and saw lots of nasty rain coming up the coast. Rather than camp in the rain, we've decided to stay another day in this delightful caravan park next to the creek. A quick trip into town to have lunch overlooking the bay was the highlight (only 'light' of the day).
Sue in foreground, creek in background.
Day 6
South West Rocks
Today: 15kms, Total: 592kms
Much the same situation with the weather this morning. Here in SW Rocks, it was patchy cloud with some sunlight, while further south it looked rather bleak, so we decided for another day here.
We went off exploring to Gap Beach. The road said '4WD ONLY', so that was a good omen!
My sort of beach - clean white sand, blue skies and no one around...
...but not so good looking back the way we came. It started spitting as we walked back to the car.
What had been great fun on the way in, was now getting a bit serious.
Low range, 2nd gear on damp rutted clay. It'd have been really exciting if the rain had got heavy, but our luck was in and we just ambled back up the hill.
Day 7
South West Rocks - Gosford <Map>
Today: 424kms, Total: 1016kms
As we'd arranged to stay with a friend in Gosford for 3 days, we finally set off today to head south, whatever the weather. As it turned out, we were lucky most of the way down. It was only as we heading passed Newcastle that we ran into a very heavy downpour for about 15 minutes.
Before we caught up with the rain, we had lunch by the water at Tuncurry.
Off to the left of the photo above, the commercial fishing boats were cleaning down their decks with some very interested onlookers.
Ever the optimists!
Our friend has a 'battleaxe' block with a smallish turning area at the bottom by the house. It was a bit of a puzzle to figure out how to turn the caravan around (I was hoping that I wouldn't have to back the whole rig down her driveway!). Fortunately the area was brick paved so we unhitched the van, moved the Cruiser out of the way, and man- (and women-) handled it through 270 degs.
How to fit, then rotate, a quart in a pint pot! Not the best photo, but it does give some idea of the fun we had pushing 2 tonnes around by hand.
Not a lot of clearance. :-))
(Also note the remains of the red dust from last year's trip to WA)
It just proved how fit we oldsters really are...
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