14 days to Sydney........... Part 2!

Oceania » Australia » New South Wales » Katoomba
June 6th 2007

Published: June 6th 2007

Sublime Point in the Blue Mountains

Next stop on the Pacific Highway was Coffs Harbour and the Big Banana. A random tourist attraction all about bananas. We chose not to take the tour of the plantation and learn the history, instead we discovered a toboggan run which looked much more fun. It wasn't quite the same as the rides at Dreamworld but it kept us amused for a while. There didn't seem to be much else to see or do in Coffs so the next morning we hit the highway again and drove further south to Port Macquaire, another coastal town just off the Pacific Highway. Again the town was pretty small with not much to do so a quick stroll around the town and one night in a random campsite was more than enough. Another day on the road and we found ourselves in Nelson Bay the self proclaimed dolphin capital of australia. We arrived late afternoon so quickly checked out what there was to see and do and then hit the pub. We got lucky on a bet on the horses so with our $32.77 winnings we treated ourselves to fish and chips from Aussie Bobs. The following day we were on a whale

Views from the summit of Tomaree Headland

During the whale migration season the whales swim from the right of the photo around the lighthouse on the left and...

and dolphin watching mission, we had arrived at the start of the annual whale watching season. Apparently six thousand humpback whales travel through the nearby waters on their migration north. Heading to Tomaree National Park we climbed to the summit of Tomaree Headland and were rewarded with amazing 360 degree views of the coastline, a few whales far out to sea and a pod of dolphins swimming around the rocks beneath us. After an hour or so of taking in the views we headed to the sand dunes at Anna Bay for some sandboarding. It was something we had both wanted to do for some time and it didn't dissapoint! The only drawback was having to climb back up the steep sand dune after the slide down... it was a well needed workout! We finished the day by sitting on the rocks at Boat Harbour watching more whales swim past. This time they were much closer but unfortunately not close enough to get any decent photos. After an hour or so of whale watching and a numb bum we set up camp for the night and entertained ourselves at the local pub awaiting a phone call from Rachel's girlies who

Whale watching from the summit lookout

...the whales then swim out to sea! The whales we were watching were just out by the two white boats.

were holding a suprise baby shower for Joanna. It was lovely to speak to you all, hope you had fun!
With only three days left until Sheila had to go home we headed further south to the industrial city of Newcastle. Once again there wasn't much to see or do except walk around a little coffee market.... and neither of us like coffee so we didn't stay long! Instead of spending the night there as planned we decided to head west of Sydney to the Blue Mountains. If we had known how cold it would be we might have changed our minds! After five months in the sun we weren't prepared for the harsh winds and frosty mornings. We dug down into our backpacks for jumpers and socks and headed off to check out the amazing scenery. Our first stop was Scenic World in Katoomba, another tourist attraction with a Skyway across Katoomba Falls, the world's steepest railway into the Jamison Valley below and a Cable car back up to the top. It was a bit theme park ish and full of bus loads of Japanese but the views were definately worth seeing. We watched the sun set from Sublime

Ben and Sheila at Lennox Head Lookout

point Lookout, sat upon a rock watching the sky change from blue to yellow to pink to red.
The time has now come to make our final journey with Sheila into Sydney and say our farewells. It has been great to have our own space and the flexibility to drive where ever we want but we are both looking forward to the sights and sounds of Sydney and hopefully a decent nights sleep in a real bed!
P.S there's videos on this blog, check them out if you can! Sorry for the image quality but our photos should hopefully improve from now on as we have splashed out on a new camera as Ben's is on it's last legs!

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