Sunday, 18th December 2022

---

After a final stroll on the beach we said goodbye to the Gold Coast and headed further south. Our aim today was to reach Port Macquarie which was quite a distance – almost 500km’s and over 5 hours driving without any sightseeing detours!

We travelled along the coastline at the start of the journey to find one of the lookout points. We found Lores Bonney lookout which needed a bit of a climb up some deep steps. We started making our way slowly up while another guy was heading down…. Just over halfway we were hoping that it was going to be worth the climb…. Got to the top and other than the bushes obscuring part of the view, it was a reasonable view of the Gold Coast. Once we’d caught our breath we turned to head down only to find the guy we’d passed earlier charging up the steps – all part of his exercise regime it would appear – made our stair climbing attempt look a bit pathetic!

We tried to avoid the motorway and did have a nice drive along for a while. Soon after we set off, our day was cut short by an hour thanks to crossing into New South Wales from Queensland. We drove along the coast road by Tweed Heads down to where it ended at Wooyung. Just before we reached Wooyung, we spotted something moving in the grass at the side of the road, slowed down and as we approached a large black cockatoo came wandering out then flew across the road in front of us! So that’s added to our ‘seen in the wild’ list of animals. Just a bit further down we saw a Brush Turkey too but we’ve seen a few of those now.

After this we had to join the motorway, so it was a little boring for a while. We did stop at Byron Bay to see the lighthouse, it’s been a while since we went to a lighthouse! We had to drive up a pretty steep hill to get here, there were a few pay and display parking area’s on the way up which were all full, we ended up right at the top where it cost $8 to park for 1 hour, which having seen the slope to get to this point was worth every cent!

It was extremely windy up at the lighthouse but the views were incredible. The beaches around here seem to be endless, they stretch as far as the eye can see. The waves are a surfers dream! We spent about 30mins wandering around taking pictures whilst Roy drank a coffee, then headed back to the car to get out of the wind!

At this point, we decided we should try to cover some distance as we wanted to get a bit closer to Sydney for our last few days (can’t believe the trip is almost over!). The best way to do this was to sit on the motorway, so we reluctantly joined the M1 for the most boring few hours we’ve had so far on this trip! The only entertaining part being the signs they have on the carriageway telling you “DON’T BE A TOSSER!”

We had a quick stop at Coffs Harbour just to look around but most places were closed as it was around 4pm, and it’s Sunday. We did spot a big banana though! (it’s a theme park apparently). After a quick drive around, we decided to press on and spend another 1hr 40mins getting to Port Macquarie. We arrived just before 6pm and found a motel to stay at, The Port O’Call Motel is fairly cheap, not luxurious by any means, but it has everything we need for a quick overnight stay.

We ventured out to see the town, the marina and the boats docked there. It’s a nice little place, lots of shops. We stopped at the marina to take a photo and there was a pelican swimming around! You know you’ve been spoilt with wildlife when spotting a pelican swimming nearby seems like a normal experience!

Thankfully we brought one of our homemade cottage pies so along with a tin of beans have managed to cook a lovely dinner in the microwave in our tiny ‘kitchen’. For the first time this trip, I even volunteered to do the washing up tonight! This motel is still has a lot of covid measures in place – plastic screens at check in, sanitised remotes in clingfilm and paper plates with wooden cutlery, so washing up was a breeze!

---

Photos

1. The Langham
A 7am walk along the beach to the Langhams.

2. Gold Coast, Lores Bonney
Saying good bye to the Gold Coast from Lores Bonney lookout

3. Byron Bay
Byron Bay from the Lighthouse

4. Byron Lighthouse
Looking up at Byron Bay Lighthouse, a beautiful lookout point

5. Tallow Beach
Tallow beach and surf from the lighthouse

6. Port Macquarie
The marina at Port Macquarie, our overnight stop

7. Don't be a tosser
Another amusing road sign travelling doen the M1

8. The Big Banana
The Big Banana Amusement Park at Coffs Harbour

9. The M1
Pretty much our view for nearly two ours