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Published: March 3rd 2007
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sand and surf
lifes a beach Blog 13 lifes a beach
We are now back on the mainland or as the Tasmanians would call it the north island. We called in briefly to see Sue and Alex . (thanks for your hospitality it is greatly appreciated )
And so our journey north begins to meet up with Kate ( Maureen O’Leary as was ) first we headed south to Wilson’s Promontory , we think we have found paradise , the first evening we had wombats eating the grass around us , they look so cuddly about the size of a pig , first thing the next morning we begin to explore , we wander down to the beach the sand is white ,the sea is blue ,we follow a small river that flows into the sea , the walk takes us to tidal river look out the view is where the river meets the sea and we are so high up we can see numerous little beaches and coves all along the coast. , and to our right mount Oberon, we return to the van for lunch then make our way to the beach , the water is warm and very refreshing , we spend the
big banana
what a whopp[er rest of the day taking dips., we spend the evening watching the wombats and possums . The next morning we go to Squeaky beach , so named because when you walk on the sand it squeaks , the sand grains are the shape of very small platelets silicone based. It is the whitest sand we have yet seen , again the water was that lovely turquoise blue and lovely to swim in.
From here we head east stopping for lunch at Lakes Entrance , very touristy . I then spot on the map paradise beach with a camp site this is where we head, paradise it ain’t, the sea is full of red seaweed , the undertow and rips make it unsafe to swim in, it is about halfway along ninety mile beach. The next morning we continue along the coast passing through Eden , stopping at Merimbula overnight , everything is touristy and busy , we wished we had stayed at Wilson’s promontory longer.
Next morning we look at the map and decide it will only get busier the nearer we get to Sydney , and so we head inland after all this is our third visit and we
surfers hell
what nowhere to park have yet to see the capital , and so we head for Canberra , well we were on the right road , but before we new it the city was over to our right , we turned around , got back on the road to Canberra and before we new it we were out the other side , this really is a most confusing place . It was getting late and so we pulled into a park where camping is permitted·(this was the equivalent of Hyde Park in London ) we had just broken out the compulsory glass of wine when a travelling fun fair arrived !!! A chap came up and suggested we may be better if we camped over the back , this was much better it even had a laundry. In the morning we once again headed for the city centre , we think we found it , there was another park area , no shops though , but we did see signs to them . We visited parliament house , it’s very loosely based on the houses of parliament in England , with green seats in the house of representatives and red seats in the senates,
cant stand up to surf
what with these knees this is like our house of lords but they are senators. So it’s based on both the English and American systems of government . We saw the portraits of passed prime ministers including Harold Holt the prime minister they lost. After this tour we drove around to look at the embassies .
From here we went north to Abercrombie national park we watch kangaroos feeding all day , from here to the Jenolen caves. We decided it was right now to head once more for the coast , via Lithgow , Bilpin , through the Wollemi national park the scenery was beautiful , we hit the coast at Hawks nest , we then followed the coast road through Forster , Taree and down to Crowdy bay , the sea was red with seaweed , Then through Port Macquarie , named after the Governor to Kempsey , home of the Akubra hat , and birthplace of Slim Dusty , Australia’s first international music star , his record reaching number one in the British charts, can any of you name the record ? ‘’a pub with no beer’’. We passed through Smokey Cape , named by James Cook , because, as he
sunset
life really is a beach passed by on his way to crashing into the great barrier reef at Cape Tribulation , he saw smoke from the fires lit by the aborigines.
We stopped briefly at Macksville, this was where Bryson realised Brisbane was a lot further from Sydney than he thought, and was forced to stay the night. Although the road we are on was called the Great Pacific Highway we rarely saw the sea from it, during early settlement the towns were built where the rivers met the sea , so that there was freshwater for the settlers to drink , and when the road was built the towns were just joined up not following the coast. From Kempsey on the Pacific highway, it is a 64 kilometre round trip to the sea, We stayed at South West Rocks below the site of an old goal , I pointed out to Dave what a beautiful place to be sent to , it wasn’t until Dave pointed out that the residents probably didn’t have time to pack buckets and spades , let alone swimming trunks. A lot of the history along the coast is lost under motels , and touristy things. Most of the remaining history is in the names , as in Byron bay named after lord Byron’s grandfather , who was a friend of cook and a bit of an adventurer .
And so we made our way to Brisbane passing the big banana at Coffs Harbour , the big prawn, wherever that is , surfers paradise, which looked like hell on earth, no parking, loads of traffic, and a very tense David. And so we reach Brisbane , we find out where Kate will disembark , book a nearby motel , and relax.
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Linda
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Sea safe to swim in
OK Fizz....I'm warming to a bit of the country it's safe to go in the water.....so is there anywhere safe in the lil bit I'll be visiting???? Can't wait to see you both in May......hugs to Maureen O'Leary as was. Keep safe and well.