On the Road with "Morris"

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On the road with Morris

Tuesday 9 March

On a very hot Tuesday morning we pick up the camper van in which we will be living in for the next 10 days travelling north up the east coast and eventually arriving in Brisbane. We immediately have to cope with driving through Sydney to enable us to get to the Pacific Highway. Never having driven one of these things before it was a bit of a steep learning curve but I think being automatic helped (eventually)! We visit a reptile/animal park just outside of Gosford en-route to our first overnight stop where, amongst other things, we see our first live Kangaroo - but still no sighting of one in the wild!!

Our first overnight stop is a campsite in Cessnock which is the gateway to the Hunter Valley wine region. Whilst we had seen the DVD and had read the van hand book you have to appreciate we are camper van virgins and it took us far longer than it should have to get ourselves sorted and connected up etc. - so long in fact that it was too late to use the BBQ so we settled for a meal in the on-site Thai restaurant - whilst very good we have, of course, already done the Thai food thing quite extensively.

On Joanne’s instruction we set about giving our camper van a name. We eventually settled on “Morris” - not very original I hear you ‘Van’ Morrison fans say!

The next day, you’ve guessed it, we go wine tasting. As there are several wineries near by we walk surprise! surprise! We get very chatty to the lady in the 1st one and she ends up driving us to the next one - she also delivered our purchases to the campsite. We enjoy ourselves visiting 4 wineries, however we walk miles and when it starts to rain we head back ‘home’ We are more organised this evening (perhaps it was some of the afternoon purchases that had been consumed) and we have ourselves a splendid BBQ.

Thursday 11 March

Having spent two nights at the campsite in Cessnock we are on the road again heading Morris north on the Pacific Highway stopping off at Port Stephens and various picturesque bays and beaches. We drive through the Myall Lakes National Park which has some great scenery although we found ourselves crossing a river by ferry and driving for about 8 miles on an unkempt road of gravel under much protest from Morris - that was never mentioned on the map! We then travelled “The Lakes Way” through Booti Booti National Park and eventually arrive at our second stop over at Forster which is situated on Lake Wallis. This is a great setting teaming with birdlife that I have normally only seen in books! Pelicans and parrots are as common as sparrows!!

Friday 12 March

We wake up to glorious sunshine and head off again continuing through Booti Booti National Park and re-join the Pacific Highway - but not for long as we turn off for Harrington and Crowdy Head. These are two small fishing villages but they also have brilliant surf beaches which seem to go on for ever. Believe it or not as this is Autumn in Australia the beaches are virtually deserted. We stop for lunch by the beach at Crowdy Head (named after Captain Cook witnessed a gathering of Aborigines on the headland in 1770 apparently). There is a spectacular view from the lighthouse - looking out over the Pacific Ocean, the deserted beaches and impressive coastline. It then starts to rain (this isn’t meant to happen)!

We continue on and travel the ‘OceanWay’ which is a far more picturesque route than sticking to the Pacific Highway and pass through small sea-side towns with some wonderful surf beaches. These beaches again are almost deserted except for a lone surfer or two. We reach Port Macquarie which is our third stop - and again it starts to rain albeit warm rain. Port Macquarie is a much bigger town than we have been used to so far and is very much geared to the seaside holiday maker - apparently there are about five excellent beaches here and all the usual surf and water based activities are on offer. There is also a hospital for poorly Koalas - Ah…….. apparently the Koalas live very near urban areas around here……. but still no kangaroo sightings!

Saturday 12 March

Hoorah!! To-day we see kangaroos in the wild - but more of that later. We head further north re-joining the Pacific Highway for a short while but then detouring off again for the coast heading for South West Rocks. On the way we stop off at Crescent Head which apparently is where the Malibu surfboard gained prominence in Australia during the 60s riding the waves of ‘Little Nobby’s Junction’. We arrive at South West Rocks which is a lovely little town with a quaint little Museum called the ‘Boatman’s Cottage’ - the museum is very interesting detailing many of the shipwrecks in the area. We look for somewhere to have lunch and find a little gem of a cove called ‘Little Bay’ - beautiful small beach with rolling waves, spectacular ragged cliffs and some great headland walks. It is here that we spot our first kangaroo in the wild - not just one, however, there were about 20 just as interested in us as we were in them!

From South West Rocks we travel a little further north following lakes and rivers on one side and the ocean on the other. This is obviously an area prone to flooding as many of the farm houses are built on stilts. We arrive at Nambucca Heights in a campsite set in tropical forest but also fronting a huge beach. During the night the heavens open and we had visions of Morris floating away!

Sunday 13 March

We awake after a very restless night and are relieved that Morris is not afloat - the sun is out so we head off again. To-day we head inland up the ‘Waterfall Way’ towards Dorrigo National Park. On the way to Dorrigo the climb becomes very steep and bendy but there are some spectacular sights looking down (keep your eyes on the road I hear Jude say) there are also a number of waterfalls precariously near the road. At Dorrigo there is a visitor’s centre with a short skywalk which takes you over the top of the tropical forest. The weather is not good here - mist, cloud and rain which restricts the views somewhat but we do go for one of the mapped walks through the rain forest. We then go to the town’s main attraction which is Dangar Falls - quite spectacular especially in view of the amount of rain which has fallen over the last few weeks.

We head off the mountain and return to the Pacific Highway and decide to carry on to Yamba where we find a pleasant campsite near the river Maclean again teaming with birdlife.

Monday 14 March

We awake to the sounds of magpies warbling, kookaburras chuckling, cockatoos a squawking and other tweeting noises from birds which I do not recognise (where is my I-spy book of birds when I need it). This is banana and sugar beat county with the countryside reflecting the growth of these products. We drive through Coffs Harbour (Pacific Highway gives you no choice) where bananas are “Big” - there are also fields and fields of sugar beat

We again detour from the highway and visit Evans Head - a small prawn fishing village with also some fabulous surfing beaches. From the top of the ‘Head’ which I believe is called Sharks Head there is a beautiful view of the Pacific Ocean and impressive coastline and while watching the surfers (which are becoming more numerous now) we see a shoal (or is it a school) of Dolphins. We drive through the unspoilt Broadwater National Park heading for Byron Bay. On the way we stop at Lennox Head to take in some more spectacular views and serious surfers. We arrive at Byron Bay which is to be our next overnight stop.

Whilst Byron Bay is a very popular destination for the surfing fraternity it has a great deal of charm and somehow takes you back about 20/30 years - whilst there is a certain amount of commercialisation it still retains a wonderful feel. Camper vans of all colours and ages are in abundance - dudes come here for the surf and the ambiance and in this place the hippy lives on. We find a pretty cramped campsite but it is in woodland and fronts the main beach. We like the feel of the place and decide to stay 2 nights. The campsite is in walking distance from the town and we have a look around the shops on our arrival. The next day the weather is good and we spend most of it on the beach and believe it or not Jude goes in the sea!!! - a fabulous day and in the evening we hit the town for a rare meal out BYO, of course, since we were still enjoying the purchases made in the Hunter Valley!

I would mention at this point that the insect fraternity have seemed to have taken a liking to me - I have been bitten all over by mosquitoes - whilst I don’t like to whinge I don’t have much skin that has not been bitten - I will soon be getting bites on bites - Jude on the other hand has remained bite free. I do miss you, John & Judy, as usually they go for you instead of me! One other thing - during the evening we were alerted, by a young lady, to something crawling underneath our van and to our astonishment an Iguana some 4/5 feet long and 8 inches wide ( I kid you not) crawled out - Jude and I were a little shocked but it was one more tick for the I-Spy book!

We were reluctant to leave Byron Bay but we were now getting near to the end of our camper van experience and we had not yet reached the Gold Coast!

Wednesday 17 March

We awake and move on - not sure where but somewhere up the Gold Coast. We nearly run out of fuel but the detour to find a petrol station takes us through some national parks and near the foot of Mount Warning - the highest peak in NSW or is it Queensland. I would mention at this point that we crossed the state border into Queensland. There is a time difference of 1 hour here (we thought the hour should have gone forward but we got it wrong)! We passed through what can only be described as tropical forests - very green - lots of banana trees and lots of water - and lovely views.

We hit the coast again - The Gold Coast. Most people we have met over the last month have not been too complimentary about this area which is only a 30km strip but is, of course, well known throughout the world as a holiday destination. We drove through the ‘Strip’ including Surfers Paradise and immediately agreed with what we had been told. The Gold Coast is virtually one long beach with Surfers Paradise the main “attraction”. A brilliant beach but the rest of it looks like the Costa Del Sol with numerous high rise hotels, loads of bars and restaurants and very very commercialised. Needless to say we didn’t stay, apart from a quick look at the beach. We both agreed that the laid back coastal towns and resorts we had visited since we had left Sydney bore no comparison with this being infinitely preferable.

We now have only one more night left in Morris and are now a little unsure where to go having dismissed the Gold Coast. We head inland and find a campsite in a place called Helensvale which is just off the Pacific Highway and only about 80Km from Brisbane. The campsite is near a number of theme parks including ‘Movie World’, ‘Sea World’ and ‘Wet ‘n’ Wild - we were not tempted although we may well have paid a visit to one of these had we had more time! The campsite is good and it is at this point I find I should have put my watch an hour back instead of forward - we have more time than we think and spend a couple of hours by the camp pool.

Thursday 18 March

Our last day with Morris. Not having to drop him off in Brisbane until about 3.00pm we head for the hills! We steadily start climbing again heading for Tamborine Mountain. The weather can change very quickly in this country, especially in mountainous regions and we go from pouring rain to glorious sunshine within a very short distance. We visit Cedar Creek Falls which involves a beautiful walk and spectacular waterfalls. We also visit the town of Eagle Heights, a central point in this area, where we have a “Devonshire Cream Tea” - these are very popular in Australia believe it or not and whilst the cream was certainly not clotted the scones were wonderfully light.

Time to go so we head off down the mountain and hit the Pacific Highway towards Brisbane. The Sat. Nav. takes us safely to the drop-off point following which we find our way to our hotel in Brisbane where we will be staying for the next 2 nights.

Despite never having experienced ‘camper van life’ in the past, we both thoroughly enjoyed these last 10 days and agreed that 10 days is not long enough - we would have liked to have stayed in some places longer and it would have been nice to see the coastline north of Brisbane. There is so much more we would like to see and this is an ideal way of doing it. There is always next time of course!!!

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Photos

Morris
Jude being introduced to "Morris"

Hunter Valley
Let wine tasting commence

Little Bay
Ideal spot for lunch!

Guess what?
Our first "Roo" in the wilds!

Dorrigo National Park
End of the Sky Walk

Dangar Falls
The first of many!

Iguana
Uninvited guest ay Byron Bay!

Cedar Falls
On Tamborine Mountain

Comments

[Christopher Paul Wiggins]

Morris
Love reading the blogs and seeing the pics. You guys look like you are having a whale of a time. Bet you dont want to come home. Love Chris x