Road Trippin'

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Ok, so now we had the van and we were truckin’. What a feeling….wind in your hair… moaning in your ears. We had just 7 days to get to Brisbane in order to meet Duncan and Lisa at the airport. That was nearly 1000km to cover, but to try and enjoying exploring the coastline too. We left Penrith on Monday afternoon stopping for supplies at Woolworths - yes, it’s kind of like Asda over here, only the bread is not as good and everything is the same price or more expensive than home. Oh, and of course, they don’t sell alcohol in supermarkets, you have to go to a separate ‘bottle shop’ or ‘liquor store’ - how inconvenient? Anyway all loaded with supplies, we aimed for the North Sydney beaches that have surfing folklore attached. On route to the campsite we passed over the Harbour Bridge lit up in all its glory at dusk. Luckily Smith had his glasses on and it went without incident. Free camping is a little tricky in Sydney as there are so many rules so we settled for a campsite just north of Manly.

Narrabeen is just north of Sydney and the campsite was opposite the beach, a bit pricey at $45 a night mind! Frank would have an enema paying that for accommodation, sorry I meant heart attack (He just has the enemas for fun). But we were really enjoying having the van, it was great for exploring. The sun decided to finally come out too! We used this as a base for the next 2 nights to explore some of the northern beaches, such as Manly, which was really nice but quite touristy. Stu managed to get a surf in while I strolled around the shops. The surf was small at about 2ft, still very rideable, but was predicted to rise over the next couple of days.

We left Narabeen and hit the Pacific Highway which goes all the way to ‘smelly old Brizzy’. We stopped at Newport Beach, (which is much nicer than its namesake) then Avalon Beach, Whale beach and Palm Beach - which is better known as ‘Summer Bay’…..where they filmed ‘Home and Away’. We went into the surf club thinking that Alf Stewart was going to serve us a couple of smoothies but no joy there - ‘you great galar’…. We both got a surf in there and had a spot of lunch. It was one of our favourite places, a really beautiful spot.

We stocked up again from local shops as we passed through towns with names such as St Ives, Cardiff, and Swansea. All of them looking very similar to each other but nothing like back home…….except maybe Swansea which looked like a place where people steal.

We wanted to spend our next night in the Munmorrah Lakes National Park. These are similar to National Trust areas back home, except that camping areas are provided, either with or without basic eco-facilities, at a minimal charge. It was dark by the time we reached the parks. We had been warned that we were not allowed to drive at night because kangaroos and other native creatures that have small brains (Marco don’t get jealous) are attracted to the headlights. Road kill was very common and a lot worse than hitting a fox at home, as it could be fatal for the driver if the ‘roo’ was big and its legs hit the cab of the vehicle and kicked you to death!! (I know, a bit dramatic but I saw an example of it on pet rescue once). In addition to that warning we were also told not to park anywhere alone. No real reason was given, but ‘Wolf Creek’ is a true story you know!

Anyway, we drove into the park entrance and it was another 10km or so to the camping area. We got spooked, just like when Matt Powell first told everyone that he was gay - a very scary business. It was dark, and it was heavily wooded, we saw burnt out cars on the side of the road, and really had no idea if it was safe (Or if Phillips had been taking driving lessons over here). A truck ominously followed behind us for a while, and then finally disappeared down a track. When we got to the camp area it was deserted. We bailed out and decided to get out of there as soon as we could, it was too much like all those horror films that Em and Lisa like watching, and Stu is too scared to! (I wouldn’t say scared…… it is just that I don’t like the predictable storylines)

So we still had to find somewhere to stay. There were many camp sites in the area, but everything closes early in Oz (Even the Emerald City), and it gets dark at about 5.30pm, so after about our 5th campsite, all with the gates locked we parked down a side street in a beach town called ‘The Entrance’ (weird names eh?). The next morning we were up early and had our breakfast at Shelly Beach just after sun rise. The Ozzies are a health conscious bunch and are up as soon as dawn breaks walking or running or just enjoying the beautiful beaches that they are lucky enough to have. They also can’t resist talking to anyone especially any ‘nubies’ like us, and they always have the best advice…..most sentences start with ‘what you should’ve done is…..’ They are a kind hearted bunch, friendly and always willing to lend a hand, sometimes they are a little too friendly, as they can’t help getting involved. The weather was also continually improving. We may have moaned about the weather so far, as we are British and it is inbuilt in us to do so, but we had to remind ourselves that it was the middle of winter for them and the sun still shines everyday. How lucky!

So after The Entrance we headed north again, and passed through beautiful wooded scenery, trying to spot roos and koalas on the way. We were able to just pull off the highway at any point and pull into the nearest beach for a coffee or lunch or wet slides. Pacific Palms was another stunning spot, where we stopped for a surf, a run on the beach and spot of lunch. The weather was fantastic and so was the surf. It was about 3-4ft and perfect offshore breeze. With only a hand full of people out there a great session was had.

Our next stop was a bay called ‘Seal Rocks’, as the name suggests in the right season it was possible to spot seals, and whales, and the ever present sharks. To our delight on the road into Seal Rocks we spotted our first wild kangaroos, and were able to stop and take a few snaps. It was the first of many. At Seal Rocks we booked into a lovely relaxed camp site. The beach was just in front, a beautiful sweeping bay with white sand and clear water. While we were watching the sun go down we were joined by dingos on the beach, they came right up to us, we were a little nervous of what we should do, but they soon backed off after sniffing Smithy. All night we could hear them howling, as apparently it was mating season……similar to the noises that the Smith boys had heard as young children, being not much TV in the valleys in those days. The national parks all along the NSW coastline have a ‘dingo aware’ and protection programme in place so they were quite plentiful. Brush turkeys roamed freely through the campsite. The wildlife was amazing, especially the birds (Easy Dunc, not that kind of two legged creature). Instead of sparrows and seagulls they have ibis, lorikeets, cockatoos, birds that we would keep in a cage at home, all live freely in Australia.

The next day we headed for another National Park, to Point Plomer, a place that was recommended by Cara and Adam. After passing through as charming little holiday village called Crescent Head, we followed the very difficult gravel, pot holed road for 15km into the camp area. We were a bit worried as our insurance didn’t cover driving on unsealed roads or damage to the chassis. So it took us nearly 1 ½ hours to get that far. It was nearly dark again and we were worried about a repeat of our last efforts at staying in a NP. But we were rewarded with a fab camp site, full of other like minded people, all beautifully set in the bay. In fact, there was a wedding party setting up for the ceremony there the next day, so you can imagine how beautiful it was. In the morning a 6ft roo hopped right in front of us as we were coming out of the bathrooms! Then we saw a pod of dolphins playing in the bay. This was a stunning place, a real highlight for us.

After Point Plomer we had to make some miles as the time was ticking on and the troublemakers were due soon, and we were still les than halfway up the NSW coastline. After chatting to a hippie in Valla beach we were given some tips on places to free camp, so the next night we stayed on the wharf in Yamba by the fishing boats, right under a sign saying no camping, but nobody bothered us. Our prepared excuse was that Stu is dyslectic and he thought it said ‘No crapping’ (Water tight, I know). Yamba was a cute little place and apparently Kylie has a house there, she didn’t invite us in though. There were 3 surfing beaches, we both got in at main beach, but it would be a place we would later visit again.

The next day we passed through Ballina, Lennox head and Byron Bay, and spent another night free camping at South Golden Beach in Ocean Shores. Now a decent swell was running at every break since Yamba, and it was pumping through. In Australia everyone surfs, from the embryo that is surfing before school to the retired granddads that catch a wave in the day. It really produces a great vibe, and predictably, the better places are usually the least known.

Finally we got to Southport, Main Beach Campsite by Monday afternoon. We had time to give the van a quick spruce, and have a laze on the beach before our 5.30am wake up to pick them up at the airport the next morning. The main beach at Southport was experiencing good sandbanks for this time of year and would be the surf base for the next couple of days while loud and louder would settle in (I’ll let you choose who will be whom).

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Comments

[Dunc]

Get on with the main event
Stop stalling and get on with the good bits when i was there, yes?

[tracey and mark]

clarence
photo four...you know what they say stu..when the wind blows!!!!! happy birthday darling sis....aus looks just like barry island!