Day 46: Coffs Harbour down to Taree‏

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We had a fair distance to cover today in order to ensure we got to Sydney for Australia Day, so we had to make some decisions about where to stop! After a bit of lonely planet advice we opted for Coffs Harbour. We walked along the marina jetty out to Muttonbird Island, a small island where the seabirds 'Sea ' come to mate and rear their chicks on land. Around 12,000 of these birds nest on the island during this time of year and guess what... yup we didn't see a single one! We did however see a blue-tongued lizard, and we've decided he's single-handedly responsible for their disappearance. During the afternoon we covered quite a few more miles and planned to set up camp in a nearby nature reserve. After 30 minutes down a dirt track, Maurice our campervan was highlighting the instructions in his manual 'do not drive on any unsealed roads' and the half fallen trees and thick rainforest were creeping me out. There was still no sign of any campsite, in fact the only life-form was a kangaroo (we think a tree kangaroo as its was pretty small), so we decided to head back towards the main road. Unfortunately this meant another rebellious night at a 'motorway rest area'.
Bailey bit: I shall take the blame for our off-road experience, although the internet and map said there was a spot to stop. Still it is another adventure to add to the list, just don't tell the hire company! We covered some good distance today which should mean we can take our time tomorrow morning, although Maurice is proving a thirsty boy!

Daily mileage: 4 just a steady one in the morning around Yamba again, was hoping for an evening run but had to sacrifice it to cover the distance we needed to travel!

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