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Published: October 19th 2008
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Pottsville '08
The full Team - 'Go Hard or Go Home' We have just returned from a week in Pottsville NSW where we spent the second week of the September school holidays under canvas with a large group of friends and three of the boys.
Just under 2 hours drive south from Brisbane, we were situated at Pottsville North campsite which is perhaps 300m from a beautiful sandy beach stretching for miles to the north and south. Fotunately, the beach was patrolled near to the entry track, so swimming was not a worry although we did not feel the strong current prevalent on many other beaches along this stretch of coastline. Also, there were no jellyfish here.
I was considered mad when going swimming on our very first afternoon in what was described as a 'freezing' sea - they should try the English Channel in Summer! It was lovely.
The campsite was great, boasting a swimming pool, basketball court and a beach volleyball court, good washblocks with excellent hot showers, laundries and kitchen facilities. We were next to a nature reserve and watched Ospreys nesting only 200m away atop a telegraph pole and saw White-bellied Sea Eagles every day. There was plenty of bird-life and we watched a beatiful
Beach Biking
A bit busy as you can see........... Pelican fly past us, only inches above the sand one afternoon and on a walk north along the beach to Hastings Point, we saw dolphins playing in the Ocean.
Camping in such a large group was fun and it was great to see all the kids (who ranged from 18 months to 23 years old) all bonding, laughing and joking, playing games together and generally having a great time (albeit far too late on a few ocassions!!).
The oldies beat the youngsters at beach volleyball and I'm not sure who won the basketball but it was great fun, as was the beach cricket at which Seb excelled.
Hilary and I took a cycle-ride to Cabarita Beach, the first 5km's of which we rode along the sand and it was just beautiful. We ate a picnic and had a swim at Cabarita before heading the 8km's back with the wind behind us, which was a bonus.
One day we headed south to Byron as Seb and Dominic had not been to the Cape or the Lighthouse and we delighted in watching the sealife on a beautiful sunny day and trekking out to the point. Great for the
Beach Volleyball
Oldies but goodies thrash the youngsters! knees going down (then back up) all those steps! It is so lovely, we never tire of going back there. From the Cape, we headed a short way south to White's Beach which had been recommended to us by an Aussie who was part of Hilary's sky-dive group.
We took the car in 4WD mode up a long dirt track through the sub-tropical rain forest (this area is one of the few remaining) and parked near the top of the cliffs in the shade. Yet more steps down through the trees onto a beautiful small cove with a couple of caves and hardly anybody there. We spent the afternoon sunbathing, walking on the sand, in the pools and playing Boules. It was great and we shall certainly go back.
Another day we decided to head inland for a trip through the Border Ranges National Park. We wanted to get close to Mt Warning (about 3800ft) which is such a strange shape and visible for miles around. I elected for the most direct route and within about 20 mins of leaving our campsite, what looked like a perfectly normal road on our map turned into a dirt track. After
In The Naughty Tent
Porter is sin-binned after a major contribution to the Swear-box. Where did all that money go???? a little while back in 4WD, there was no turning back as we headed further and further into no-man's land. There was the ocassional homestead - you certainly wouldn't want to run out of any essentials living here!! Hilary was convinced we had gone the wrong way, but we persevered and were rewarded by the sight of an enormous Goanna, probably 1m long which dashed out in front of us, stopped in the middle of the road right in front of us, before scurrying up the bank and into the trees. Eventually, we reached a tarmac road and 'civilisation' once more.
We stopped for a drink in Uke (pronounced Ookeye apparently), a town locked in 1950 something and soooo sleepy, before progressing to the Park. Some of the road was still under construction with mountainous earthbanks being constructed to prevent landslip in the wet season. The dirt was orange-red as was the car after not very long.
After entering the park we spotted Wallabies in the meadows and dragged on up the mountain, where there was not a soul in sight. At the signboard, we stopped and placed our $7 into a tin at the unmanned entrance and
After a Hard Night on The Tiles
In the woods actually.............he he :-) drove on. We ate a lovely picnic, enjoyed the birds and the solitude and some magnificent views before the long drive back.
The remainder of the week was spent cycling, walking and at the beach - the last day back at Cabarita which was fantastic despite a mild breeze. The highlight was seeing the whales from the headland returning south from Hervey Bay with their calves - it was perfect.
We will be going back
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