Mid North Coast - New South Wales

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1 - 16 July 2011
We travelled south from Brisbane to Ballina for a quick stop at Ballina Campers to get their new signage added to the van.
Marg drove this leg and was soon quite at home in the driver's seat. We towed our pantech trailer for the first time. I had fitted a laundry inside the pantech as well as our bikes, tool boxes etc etc.
The Sprinter is very sweet to drive - we would recommend it to anyone looking for an auto van for conversion. Good ecconomy and comfortable ride.
1 July was very wet - at one stage almost white out. The rain cleared later and remained fine until we returned to Brisbane - and then only light showers.
We stayed at Park Beach Motorcamp at Coffs Harbour for two nights and took some time to have a look around Coffs. The weather was bright and sunny with chilling high winds. These cold winds continued for most of the time we were on the road. This camping ground is highly recommended with good clean facilities. A free breakfast for all campers each Friday morning, and entertainment on the green at weekends is common.
After two nights we drove south to Medowie (NSW) where our son, daughter in law and three grand children live. We enjoyed a couple of days with the family who inspected the motorhome. The youngest grandson thought he would like to move in and travel with us.
We then went on to One Mile Beach Motorcamp. While the camp is mature with good sites and trees as well as being beach front, it is a little tired. We enjoyed our time here walking on the beach and looking around Nelson Bay. The high winds show in many of the photos.
We visited the Hunter Valley Gardens on yet another bright but cold windy day. These gardens are a MUST for any visitor to the area. They are beautiful in winter, and we can only immagine spring's transformation as the new season bursts to life.
We returned to Medowie for a couple of days again and then went to Stockton Beach Caravan Park on the north side of Newcastle. This is an excellent caravan park - a lot of construction closed one section of the park - good facilities and sites. There is a ferry from Stockton to Newcastle Central (pensioners $1.10 each way) as well as plenty to see in walking distance of the park.
We also drove around Newcastle including Bars Beach. Newcastle is a very busy coal and grain port and one can see many ships on the move. There is a long history of ship wrecks on this river port - six within a few meters of each other. Photos show the remaining hull of the Adolphe wrecked in 1904 - a steal hulled sailing ship only two years old at the time. Apparently the towing rope to the tug assisting the Adolphe into the harbour snapped, and the ship foundered on Oyster Reef. (No loss of life.)
We returned to Medowie via Williamstown airforce base and watched F18s in action.

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