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Published: March 5th 2007
our first campsite
Seals Rock Campsite. Great start to our camping experience.The next stop on our travels is a place not far from hawks nest. Seal rock is our first experience of camp sites, and this was actually not a bad start. Situated right on the beach front, seals rock camp site is well facilitated, with outdoor bbq, clean and up to date toilets and showers, friendly atmosphere, and secure. Its a bit windy up there, but the views are astounding, and what a place to wake up to!! The tent help up, and we actually had a fairly good nights sleep. However, it was also our first experience of the rain here, and it rained pretty much throughout the whole night. However, the morning was met with glorious sunshine, and with that tempting clear turquoise water just across the road, i could not help but take an early morning dip!! And it was great!!!! Great swells to, and buying a surfboard was going to be my next thing i had to do!!
Seals rock was always going to be a 1 night stop, and in view of how far we had planned to travel before heading back to sydney, we had to leave seals rock before we really got a
beached at seals rock
the sound of the surf was our wake up call. Cross the road, and enter this great beach, with great swells you could surf all day here. Bit windy, but who cares!! chance to know the area. But we will try to come back to the area on our return.
Next stop was a little shipping port called port macquarie, and another top quality camp site, courtesay of the lonely planet guide. However, this is really where we encountered our first problem of the adventure- the rain!! Now, australia is in the middle of a drought, or so the newpapers say. Well you could have fooled me, because this rain did not stop, and came in belts of it. Thunder, lightening, and torrential rains suddenly made things a little more serious for us. The problme was really comfounded by the fact that we had a 2-man tend, which isn't really that big, and with the tropical storm heading out way, we were literally floating on the saturated ground. "Time for a new tent" we thought, and the next day, promptly headed to the nearest camper shop, and bought an oztrail 4V tent. This was luxury in comparrison (Sorry dave!!), as i could stand up in this thing and move around. It took us about 45 minutes to put thing up the first time, but we got better and better at it,
view of blueys beach
The story goes that a cow called bluey fell to its death from a cliff top, and the beach was named in memory!
As you can see, people still flocked to this beach, even though you couldn't see a damn thing here!!! and started to have competitions on how fast we could get it up!!! However, it was not long before we encountered our second problem-holes in the mattress. For those of you who are planning on something of the same adventure, a little bit of advice........DON'T BUY AN AIR MATTRESS!!! we tried to patch up every hole we could, and still had sore backs in the morning, due to slow leaks from the valve. This was going to be a big problem, as sleep is something very important, especially when your driving for about 4 hours, or fishing, or doing any type of physical activity.
Coffs harbour was the next stop, and this was by far the best camp site we had stayed in yet. We had a swimming pool, tennis courts, beach only a few meters away, fishing area, great big kitchen and cooking facilities, great toilets and showers, and a plethora of backpackers, holiday makers and such blending in and enjoying the area. EXCEPT for the damn rain!!! Now, we in England are used to rain. It causes us a lot of depression and ill feeling, and in coming to australia, we kinda expect hot sunshine................NO!! Not for
it never rains but it pours
its day 2 of this non-stop shower, and we can't do anything!! us!! for 4 days and nights we had non-stop rain. Now i remaind you that australia in in the middle of its worst ever drought, and there are plans for resalination points to recycle waste water!! Infact its the basis for most of the political parties, as voting time is upon them here. Who need that when your having so much rain?? However, the new tent is holding up, as is the car, and so its not all bad, although i wish it would stop raining. Infact there are times when you wonder if god is playing tricks on you. I give you an example. Its been raining for a few hours non-stop, and its starting to let up a bit. Infact it stops, and you quickly get out to sort out the tent, which has not been put up quite right, and needs to be partly taken down and put up again. Just as you get the outer sheet off, it starts to rain again, more heavily that it did before it stopped. "come on man, give us a break!!" so you end up with a soaked tent, and soaked shoes. Infact, my feet were constantly wet for 4
Coffs Harbour
Its actually spelt Koff, after James Koff, who, after the discovery of Australia by James Cooke, used the harbour to shelter from a storm.
This campsite was the best we had encountered to date. days an nights that by the end, they started smelling like Paul D's (on of the regular attenders at my hospital who lives on the street!!). I ended up throwing my sandles away, and buying a new pair.
Now due to the incessant rain, we also encountered mossies.....lots of the damn things. Its not funny!! We nearly became anaemic from all the blood that was sucked out of us. We bought all sorts of things like "Rio" and "Aeroguard", but these things just kept coming. They managed to bite us in places that you would not think possible (like your butt crack!!). How do they get there?!! So to sum things up at the moment, we've got non-stop rain, a leaky mattress, and mosquitoes biting us all night, and so much that we look like the elephant man in the morning!!
As the weekend beckoned, the rain let up, and we got a chance to watch the junior pro surfing champs. This was an amazing event, not least for the fact that you've got girls and guys doing amazing things on surf boards!! Their basically doing skateboard manouveres on the surf, and to people like me, who can
stand up, but can't really do anything amazing, this was awesome!!
Next stop was Lennox Head, which is about 20 Kms before Byron Bay, and my surfing blood is beginning to boil. After watching those kids on the surf, i'm ready to give things a go, and try to kill myself!!
The campsite is based on a beautiful looking lake, with NO mossies this time. The lake water looks brown, and whilst you may think this is disgusting, its colour actually comes from the tea tree, and is apparantly good for your skin. There's lots of people swimming in the lake, and i go to investigate the surroundings.
Now those of you who know me, know that my eyesight is rather poor, due to the fact i had cataracts removed when I was 20 years old. Subsequently i cannot focus my eyes, due to the plastic lenses, and this can cause some problems, and embarrasement, as i was about to find out!! On my little excursion around the lake, I came across a couple who were swimming. Not unusual, except they seemed to be quite surprised and shocked to see me. They were in a close, clentched position,
Lake at Lennox Head
This was our back Garden. No fishing allowed here though!! and i could only see an old person with grey hair, and a girl, whi i also assummed was old. So I politely waved to them, and stood at the mouth of the lake, looking at the brown coloured water, and around at the massive nature of this lake. Oblivious was i to what was actually going on, until I turned around to see a barking dog, and a buntch of clothes, with panties and all, on the ground. "hey!! what the....Oh shit!! These old people are skinny dipping!" So I politely walked away from their spot, and back to the tent. 10 minutes later, I saw them walking past. I recognised the man with grey hair, but i did not recognise the young, quite attractive looking girl with him. The penny finally dropped. An Old man, and a young girl, naked in the lake. Not quite an outing with grandpa!! And actually, this sort of behaviour seems rife in Australia. The younger women seem to be having relations with older, and sometimes much older, men. Madness!!
Byron Bay is a fantastic looking place, with loads of surfers and surfer chicks, great surf, and loads of partying!! One strange
tea tree water
as you can see, the water is brown from the tee tree thing though. Being so close to Asia, their curries are dispicable!!! Call that hot, its as sweet as a lollipop!!! I asked for hot! Next time i think i'll bring my own chillies!!! I could not stop laughing when i asked the waitress at a curry house if she had got the order wrong. "No, that is hot sir."
Cape Byron (and Byron Bay) is named after Lord Byron, who went for a swim in the sea and never returned. The story goes that he defected onto a Russian submarine. Who thinks of these things???
Cape Byron is the most easterly point in Australia. We have now done cape point in SA (most southerly point in africa), and now cape byron. The lighthouse is still in working order, and a walk down a winding footpath takes you to the point, wher the view of turquoise sea is breathtaking. During the months of May-August, you can see whales swimming past. On this occassion, however, we saw a pod of Dolphins playing in the surf. We couldn't get a clear picture of them, but we had the trusty binoculars, so got a great sight of them, before the cround came
Lennox Head Beach
down the road from our campsite. And all for $20/night!! in, and it all got a bit too much!!
Byron is where i bought my surfboard. A 9ft2 malibu with leash, was and comb for $300. Not a bad price (about GBP125). Strapped that to the beast, and off we go!!
We've been in australia for nearly a month now, and all is well. Our money is going quite quickly, and we may have to work sooner rather than later, but we'll keep it going till the last!! There's no way i'm going back to work just yet!!! We've still got about $25K left, but at the rate we're going, we won't make the 6 months we had planned. Ahh well...que sera, sera!!
We are heading back to sydney now, but i can't tell you why just yet. Due to this, the next installment won't be for a while yet. But stay tuned, and all will be revealed.
So Long Folks!!
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big vern
non-member comment
homo!
good lad